Re: [Goanet] [Goa Research Net] On the track to re-discover Orchata, a health drink from Goa (Eunice Lima Fernandes De Sa)

[Helga do Rosario Gomes]

I recollect that orchata was bottled and sold at Cecol in Panjim (across
from the ferry jetty) by the food products company, Coelho's.
I have also drunk Horchata in my Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights,
NYC - it's different but equally refreshing.
Helga

On Mon, Jun 29, 2020 at 2:35 PM Jules Fausto Mendonca de Sa
faustodes...@hotmail.com [goa-research-net] <
goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

>
>
>
>
>
> Sent from Outlook 
> --
> *From:* goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com 
> on behalf of Goanet Reader fredericknoro...@gmail.com [goa-research-net] <
> goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com>
> *Sent:* 29 June 2020 16:53
> *To:* Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! ;
> goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com 
> *Subject:* [Goa Research Net] On the track to re-discover Orchata, a
> health drink from Goa (Eunice Lima Fernandes De Sa)
>
>
>
> A discussion on Orchata started off on the Goa-Research-Net
> (Yahoogroups) recently, after Dr Leopoldo da Rocha commented:
> "This reminds me of another soft drink that was served only in
> solemn occasions, such as weddings etc., normally in landed
> gentry houses. Its name is orchata.  After decolonization, it
> ceased to exist in Goa, at least during my time. Here in
> Portugal I asked many people. Nobody knew a drink by the
> name of orchata. Curiously, many years ago while on holidays
> in Benidorm (Spain), I saw the drink called 'horchata'.  It
> tasted exactly as the one of my childhood.  The monumental
> Dictionary of the Portuguese Language by the Bazilian author
> Houaiss, of Lebanese stock, does register the term 'orchata'.
> It is a soft drink made of ground almonds. Etymologically it
> is a Spanish word introduced in 1734. I presume only in Goa
> and Spain." Below is the story of the recent revival of the
> drink in Goa itself
>
> By Eunice Lima Fernandes De Sa
>
> For me, it was not the great nutritional value of almonds
> (omega 3 fatty acids, proteins, fibres, Vit E) or its health
> benefits, like being antioxidant, lowering blood sugars,
> cholesterol, pressure or helping in skin tone, that attracted
> me to this almond drink called Orchata.  It has always been
> the taste.
>
> I have loved it as my summer cooler, winter warmer, as a
> teenager, nursing mother, and now as a senior.
>
>   Being in the field of education, I always felt the
>   need to encourage in my students the love for
>   home-made foods and beverages.  Having discouraged
>   in them the consumption of fizzy and aerated
>   drinks, I had no other choice but to experiment
>   with yummy and healthy beverage solutions...what
>   a better way than to introduce them to that which we
>   enjoyed as kids?  At home, I was always ensured
>   that milk went smoothly down the throat when
>   accompanied by Orchata.
>
> It was easily available in some of the outlets of the
> yesteryears -- Capuccina and Loja Agni in Panjim.  A
> production of the Family of Coelhos, along with Xarope de
> Brindao, it used to be very popular.
>
> Unfortunately, it went out of market in the late 1990s.
>
> Longing for it, I had no option but venture to make it.  My
> first guinea-pig was my mother, and she couldn't tell what it
> was.  But later it passed a sibling test and I began gifting
> it to family and friends.
>
> Having no recipes as such to lean on, and depending only on
> my taste buds, after 13 odd years of working on it, I can say
> that I have achieved the perfect taste which *my* preparation
> of Orchata has to have.
>
> It's been years, and we all love Orchata in the family.  This
> year, my daughter-in-law Efigenia decided to share it with a
> wider circle.
>
> During the 1960s, our food and drink had a strong influence
> of the Portuguese cuisine.  In fact, I lived in Fontainhas
> and had Portuguese families as neighbours at the side and
> front of my house.
>
>   I remember growing up eating manteiga Dinamarquesa
>   -- butter from Denmark, bacalhao and chourico de
>   reino from Portugal, cabidel do Patto, feizoada,
>   sarapatel, great fish and prawns from Chorao (my
>   village).  Also picking up my own beans from the
>   field.  Freshly picked, boiled and eaten...  all
>   ingredients for great memories.
>
> Bebinca, bolo sans rival, fios de ovos, dedos de dama, bolo
> de mil folhas are sweet memories too.  Some still exist and
> are popular even today.
>
> We belong to a generation that has seen and eaten tasty.  We
> had enough but never too much, so we used the resources at
> hand, be it fruit, vegetables, the sun, etc.  Food and
> preservation have evolved around our seasonal resources.
>
> Living on the scenic banks of the River Mandovi, in Ribandar,
> just across Chorao and 10 minutes from Panjim, I think of the
> good simple times.
>
> When I retired and heard parents complaining about children

Re: [Goanet] [Goa Research Net] On the track to re-discover Orchata, a health drink from Goa (Eunice Lima Fernandes De Sa)

[Jules Fausto Mendonca de Sa]

Sent from Outlook


From: goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com  on 
behalf of Goanet Reader fredericknoro...@gmail.com [goa-research-net] 

Sent: 29 June 2020 16:53
To: Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994! ; 
goa-research-...@yahoogroups.com 
Subject: [Goa Research Net] On the track to re-discover Orchata, a health drink 
from Goa (Eunice Lima Fernandes De Sa)



A discussion on Orchata started off on the Goa-Research-Net
(Yahoogroups) recently, after Dr Leopoldo da Rocha commented:
"This reminds me of another soft drink that was served only in
solemn occasions, such as weddings etc., normally in landed
gentry houses. Its name is orchata.  After decolonization, it
ceased to exist in Goa, at least during my time. Here in
Portugal I asked many people. Nobody knew a drink by the
name of orchata. Curiously, many years ago while on holidays
in Benidorm (Spain), I saw the drink called 'horchata'.  It
tasted exactly as the one of my childhood.  The monumental
Dictionary of the Portuguese Language by the Bazilian author
Houaiss, of Lebanese stock, does register the term 'orchata'.
It is a soft drink made of ground almonds. Etymologically it
is a Spanish word introduced in 1734. I presume only in Goa
and Spain." Below is the story of the recent revival of the
drink in Goa itself

By Eunice Lima Fernandes De Sa

For me, it was not the great nutritional value of almonds
(omega 3 fatty acids, proteins, fibres, Vit E) or its health
benefits, like being antioxidant, lowering blood sugars,
cholesterol, pressure or helping in skin tone, that attracted
me to this almond drink called Orchata.  It has always been
the taste.

I have loved it as my summer cooler, winter warmer, as a
teenager, nursing mother, and now as a senior.

  Being in the field of education, I always felt the
  need to encourage in my students the love for
  home-made foods and beverages.  Having discouraged
  in them the consumption of fizzy and aerated
  drinks, I had no other choice but to experiment
  with yummy and healthy beverage solutions...what
  a better way than to introduce them to that which we
  enjoyed as kids?  At home, I was always ensured
  that milk went smoothly down the throat when
  accompanied by Orchata.

It was easily available in some of the outlets of the
yesteryears -- Capuccina and Loja Agni in Panjim.  A
production of the Family of Coelhos, along with Xarope de
Brindao, it used to be very popular.

Unfortunately, it went out of market in the late 1990s.

Longing for it, I had no option but venture to make it.  My
first guinea-pig was my mother, and she couldn't tell what it
was.  But later it passed a sibling test and I began gifting
it to family and friends.

Having no recipes as such to lean on, and depending only on
my taste buds, after 13 odd years of working on it, I can say
that I have achieved the perfect taste which *my* preparation
of Orchata has to have.

It's been years, and we all love Orchata in the family.  This
year, my daughter-in-law Efigenia decided to share it with a
wider circle.

During the 1960s, our food and drink had a strong influence
of the Portuguese cuisine.  In fact, I lived in Fontainhas
and had Portuguese families as neighbours at the side and
front of my house.

  I remember growing up eating manteiga Dinamarquesa
  -- butter from Denmark, bacalhao and chourico de
  reino from Portugal, cabidel do Patto, feizoada,
  sarapatel, great fish and prawns from Chorao (my
  village).  Also picking up my own beans from the
  field.  Freshly picked, boiled and eaten...  all
  ingredients for great memories.

Bebinca, bolo sans rival, fios de ovos, dedos de dama, bolo
de mil folhas are sweet memories too.  Some still exist and
are popular even today.

We belong to a generation that has seen and eaten tasty.  We
had enough but never too much, so we used the resources at
hand, be it fruit, vegetables, the sun, etc.  Food and
preservation have evolved around our seasonal resources.

Living on the scenic banks of the River Mandovi, in Ribandar,
just across Chorao and 10 minutes from Panjim, I think of the
good simple times.

When I retired and heard parents complaining about children
having fizzy drinks and not wanting to drink milk, I thought
it time to introduce them to Orchata, xarope de brindao, aam
panna, lime juice, etc., all made from seasonal fruits and
with great health benefits.

It worked!  The fall-out benefit was that I was able to
salvage the neglected kokum (also called the bin'na), the
green mangies from a fallen branch etc.  Also the pulp
inspired me to make jams and pickles, since they have great
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

  As we reached out to more people with our summer
  coolers, we realise that they were waiting for the
  taste of Orchata.  I'm