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Papua New GuineaFlavors · Alboraya
Cold drink made from ground chufa, water and sugar, served chilled with fartons, elongated cakes for dipping. Alboraya, in the huerta of Valencia, is regarded as the birthplace of the drink and is home to the council of the Chufa de Valencia Protected Designation of Origin.
Traditional drink from Alboraya, Comunidade Valenciana
Also known as: orxata, orxata de xufa, horchata, horchata de Valencia
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Horchata de chufa — Alboraya, Spain
Horchata de chufa, orxata in Valencian, is Valencia’s summer drink. It’s made from chufa, a small sweet tuber grown in the fields of the Horta Nord, north of the city. Alboraya, adjacent to Valencia, is the centre of that growing area and is known as the birthplace of horchata.
The chufa grown in the region has the Chufa de Valencia Protected Designation of Origin, whose regulatory council is based in Alboraya. Harvest takes place in autumn; afterwards the tubers are washed and dried for weeks before they become horchata.
To make the drink, the dried chufa is rehydrated, ground with water, pressed and strained, and the liquid is sweetened with sugar. Natural horchata is served very cold, either liquid or granizado (partly frozen). A popular legend attributes the name to a remark by King James I when he tasted the drink; this is told as a legend, not as a documented historical origin.
At the table, horchata is served with fartons, soft elongated cakes coated in sugar made for dipping into the glass. Alboraya celebrates Horchata Day in July, with distributions of the drink along the avenue that bears its name and visits to the chufa fields.
Alboraya , Comunidade Valenciana
Alboraya is at the centre of the chufa growing area and houses the council of the Chufa de Valencia Protected Designation of Origin.
Chufa (dried and rehydrated), water and sugar.
Very cold, in a glass, either liquid or granizado, served with fartons for dipping.
Summer drink, from May to September. Alboraya’s Horchata Day takes place in July.
Your questions
Chufa, a small sweet tuber grown in the huerta north of Valencia, ground with water and sweetened with sugar.
Soft elongated cakes coated in sugar, made for dipping into horchata.
Because it sits at the centre of the chufa growing area and houses the council of the Chufa de Valencia Protected Designation of Origin.
No. It’s made only from chufa, water and sugar.
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