In Goa, an Almond Drink Once Reserved for the Elite Endures in Family Kitchens

Orchata survives as Goans work to preserve a fading Catholic culinary tradition

A traditional almond drink once reserved for elite Catholic households in Goa, India, is surviving today largely because families have worked to keep the recipe alive at home, according to Al Jazeera.

Orchata, once a marker of social status served in a narrower circle of Goan Catholic society, has persisted as home cooks pass down the drink from generation to generation rather than through commercial production, the outlet reported.

The drink's survival reflects a wider pattern seen across former colonial territories, where culinary traditions tied to a particular class or community are kept alive informally, through family kitchens, long after the social structures that once defined them have faded.

— Compiled from reporting by Al Jazeera.