Making Tepache is fun and easy! This traditional Latin American fermented beverage is good for you, too: it contains prebiotics and probiotics to help you stay healthy, have great skin, and keep your belly feeling great.
Gather Your Ingredients
For Tepache, you’ll need just a few ingredients. Fresh pineapple is essential. Using canned fruit won’t work well, because the yeast needed to make the beverage bubbly is largely from the pineapple skin. This is essential, also, for making the healthy probiotics that make it a healthy drink.
- Pineapple peels and core, or a
whole pineapple - A knob of fresh ginger
- 2 cones of piloncillo, or Mexican
raw sugar (or 2 cups of compacted, dark brown sugar) - 3 cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks (preferably
Mexican cinnamon, or Canela, which has a complex, floral flavor that is
celebrated in cooking) - 1-2 habanero peppers split and
seeds removed - (optional items: tamarind,
turmeric, citrus zest, or lime juice)
Method
Get a large pitcher or another large container that will hold at least 2 gallons of liquid. The traditional method is usually made in a terra cotta jug for the first part of fermentation, with plastic wrap to keep it air-tight from gnats or other tricky insects.
If you’re starting off with a whole pineapple, cut off the skin and the top. Slice up the pineapple into 1-2 inch pieces. Some people say to cut out the middle, woody portion “because it makes it bitter”, but others put the middle core in, with no mention of any change to flavor. Using the whole pineapple might make for a more fruity Tepache that is lighter yellow in color than the traditional, brown-colored Tepache. Put all of the pineapples into your container.
If you’re starting off with pineapple peels and core, put it into your container.
Add the sugar cones or brown sugar into the pitcher. Add very hot water to the mix, and stir it up to help the sugar to begin dissolving. Also throw in the cinnamon, ginger, and spice. You might want to layer the solid pieces with the sugar cones, if you are using a smaller or more narrow container, to make sure the ingredients are well distributed.
Fill the container to about 3 inches from the top with warm water. Put a piece of plastic wrap tightly over the top to allow air out, but not allow insects in. You can use a tighter-fitting lid but check it occasionally, especially if it is hot in your home. Let the mixture sit for three days to ferment. Occasionally, the top might pop off of tight-fitting lids due to the build-up of gasses.
After 3 days, you can drink your Tepache, or you can move it to glass mason jars or another bottle to ferment longer. You need to be careful with this because if too much pressure builds up over time, a too-tightly lidded container can blow up from the pressure of gasses put off during fermentation. It is better to have a lid that can allow some air to escape while keeping gnats or other insects inside.
Drink cold, over ice. Top off with a little beer for a stronger beverage. Enjoy!
Try Out De La Calle! Tepache
De La Calle! makes delicious tepache, using time-honored methods and Mexican ingredients, to bring you wonderfully fruity, fermented tepache in a can! Easy, fruity, and yummy… all that and probiotics, too!
You’ll find Pineapple Spice, Orange Turmeric, Mango Chile, and Tamarind Citrus – all flavors that represent different regional types of tepache that are made throughout Mexico. Give us a try today!
