Making Tepache at Home

photo credit food & wine / getty images

You probably clicked here wondering, what on earth is tepache? Tepache is an old fermented drink originating from Mexico. The most basic versions of tepache call for just three ingredients: pineapple peels, piloncillo (a type of brown sugar), and water, although most recipes add a cinnamon stick and spices. It's really easy to make, and is a good use for your pineapple peels before you throw them away.

how do I make it?

First, gather these ingredients. This recipe makes a gallon of tepache, so have an appropriate container ready.

• The peels from a pineapple
• 1 cup piloncillo, but brown sugar + a bit of molasses works fine
• 8 cups water
• spices (i used clove + cinammon stick but anise, chile, and ginger would work well)

1. Stir the sugar in with 2 cups water over a saucepan on high until it dissolves.
2. Place the pineapple in the gallon receptacle, and the spices on top. make sure to use whole spices, not powders.
3. pour the sugar water over the pineapple rinds, adding the rest of the water afterwards. weight it down with something (i used a metal ladle and a cookiecutter which isnt ideal) preferably something like a fermentation weight so harmful bacteria don't grow in your tepache
4. cover your tepache with a cheesecloth, or as I did, a coffee filter-it looks like a funny little hat. This is also so harmful bacteria and dust don't get into your tepache.

Now your tepache is almost done. Let it sit in a warm area to ferment for 2-3 days, or until you see foamy fizz on the of your tepache. That means the yeast has been fermenting for a while, long enough to naturally carbonate your beverage. There are a few options from here:

1. strain the peel and spices from the tepache and serve over ice
2. do 1, and let ferment for a few more days. if left for too long, it will turn into an alcoholic beverage (~3%-5%) which I DO NOT ENDORSE for legal reasons. if left for even longer, it will turn into pineapple vinegar, which you could put on a salad or something.

Make sure to stir it daily, and enjoy the fermenting!

- Jay

A little footnote: this is my first time trying to write a cooking tutorial, so lmk what you think. I thought it would be fun to do something about fermentation, because I like studying that. You can shoot me an email at jay@loves-being-a.dev