Orgeat

History

The name "orgeat" comes from French orge ("barley"), from Latin hordeum; the word is a doublet of Spanish horchata and Italian orzo. Despite the barley in its name, the drink is now defined as "a sweet syrup made from sugar and almonds (or originally barley) and rose water or orange-flower water". It "was originally made with a barley-almond blend".

The shift from barley to almond happened in France. For many centuries the French made a barley syrup after harvest as a way of storing calories through the winter; because barley syrup is not especially palatable on its own, sometime between the 17th and 19th centuries they began adding almonds for flavor, and eventually the proportion tilted so far that orgeat became an almond syrup and the barley was phased out entirely.

Mary Randolph's version in The Virginia House-Wife (first published 1824; text here from an 1836 printing) is an almond-milk drink rather than a barley syrup. She prints it under the subtitle "A Necessary Refreshment at all Parties," and directs: "Boil two quarts of milk with a stick of cinnamon and let it stand to be quite cold, first taking out the cinnamon; blanch four ounces of the best sweet almonds, pound them in a marble mortar with a little rose-water; mix them well with the milk, sweeten it to your taste, and let it boil a few minutes only, lest the almonds should be oily; strain it through a very fine sieve till quite smooth, and free from the almonds; serve it up either cold or lukewarm, in glasses with handles."

The historical record I could open does not document an Islamic Golden Age or Middle Eastern origin for orgeat, nor any association of the drink with wealth or social status; the reliable sources trace it to a French barley origin.

Ingredients

• 2 quarts milk
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 4 ounces sweet almonds
• rose-water
• sugar

Instructions

1. Boil two quarts of milk with a stick of cinnamon. Let it cool completely, then remove the cinnamon stick.
2. Blanch the sweet almonds and pound them in a marble mortar with a little rose-water until well combined.
3. Mix the pounded almonds with the cooled milk and sweeten to your taste.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil for just a few minutes—do not boil longer, lest the almonds become oily.
5. Strain the mixture through a very fine sieve until completely smooth and free of almond solids.
6. Serve in handled glasses, either cold or lukewarm.