Tepache (Mexican Fermented Pineapple Drink) Recipe

My love of tepache virtually ended earlier than it began after I almost threw its key ingredient into the rubbish. It was 2016 and I used to be at my pal Rebecca’s vegan Mexican restaurant, La Botanica in San Antonio, Texas, prepping for a collaborative pop-up dinner. As I went to place the pineapple peels and scraps within the compost bin, she stopped me. “Please save them,” she mentioned. “I exploit them to make tepache.” She opened her fridge to disclose a big clear vessel containing an amber-colored liquid bobbing with pineapple scraps. Taking a plastic quart container, she gave me a beneficiant pour and advised me to strive. 

Tepache jogged my memory of a much less harsh model of tuba, a coconut vinegar made out of coconut sap that we made in Iloilo, a metropolis within the Philippines the place I grew up. It smelled candy but funky, like a gentle vinegar. I took a sip, noting the flavors swirling in my mouth. It tasted a bit like bitter beer or cider, with some caramel tones and an earthy, musky, and tart pineapple taste. It had funk and a little bit of fizz. 

Traditionally made with corn, tepache is a fermented indigenous Mexican drink. Its title comes from the Nahuatl phrases tepachoa, which means “pressed or floor with a stone,” and tepiātl, which suggests “drink of corn.” Tepache, because the title describes, was primarily a crushed corn drink. Pineapples should not endemic to Central Mexico; they originated from the Parana-Paraguay rivers between Brazil and Paraguay. With the introduction of pineapple cultivation by way of commerce routes between the tribes in Central and South America, small chunks of pineapple have been doubtless added to the unique tepache recipe to sweeten it. Over time, pineapple changed the mashed corn as the bottom.  

Making tepache is fairly simple. You mix pineapple skins and cores with piloncillo (uncooked cane sugar shaped right into a cone), cinnamon sticks, and water in a big nonreactive vessel. Utilizing ripe or on-the-verge-of-overripe pineapples yields a greater brew with a stronger pineapple taste and extra sugar for the yeast and micro organism to eat. Though it isn’t conventional, I combine in slices of contemporary ginger and entire cloves as a result of their spicy, citrusy notes pair effectively with the pineapple and cinnamon. Protecting the opening with cheesecloth or a clear kitchen towel retains away pests when you watch for the bubbles to start out.

Within the case of tepache, the fermentation happens spontaneously, all because of the presence of untamed micro organism and yeast that naturally dwell on the fruit’s pores and skin. The yeast and micro organism create totally different byproducts throughout fermentation, which helps give tepache its complexity. The yeast eat the sugars within the brew and produce carbon dioxide and alcohol as byproducts, serving to to create its signature fizz whereas making the tepache frivolously alcoholic, about 0.5-2% ABV (precisely how alcoholic is dependent upon how lengthy you let the fermentation run: the longer it goes, the extra sugars the yeast can convert to alcohol). The micro organism, in the meantime, additionally eat the sugars, however of their case they produce carbon dioxide and lactic acid as byproducts, giving tepache a bitter tang in addition to further fizz. 

Tepache is a fast ferment, taking about 3 days in case your ambient room temperature is hovering round 77° to 86°F. (Be suggested that the fermentation time will improve if the temperature is cooler, and certain take  between 5 to 10 days.) The brew is prepared when a skinny layer of frothy white bubbles types on prime and you’ll hear a faint fizzing sound. It ought to have a light-weight vinegar aroma and style candy, earthy, and pleasantly acidic with notes of caramel. At this level, it’s able to drink; merely pressure out the solids and serve. When you’re looking for a funkier taste, proceed to ferment your tepache a day or two longer.

To go a step additional, I present the choice of carbonating the tepache to make a sort of fermented pineapple soda. That course of entails transferring the fermented tepache into flip-top glass bottles and storing them till you see small bubbles rising pretty quickly to the highest. As soon as there’s sufficient fizz, transfer your tepache to the fridge to place the microorganisms into near-dormancy and cease the fermentation from persevering with. (It should technically proceed to ferment, however at a a lot slower price). 

Throughout the fermentation course of, you may even see a white to cream-colored movie with fuzzy bubbles of trapped carbon dioxide kind on the floor of the liquid and on the perimeters of the fruit. That is kahm yeast, an cardio yeast that may develop on the floor of a ferment that’s uncovered to oxygen. Whereas it’s innocent, a thick sufficient layer can add an off-flavor to your tepache. If the expansion is minor, you possibly can stir it in and preserve fermenting, however rigorously spoon it off if it’s thick. If the sight of it’s inflicting you any unease, you possibly can discard the brew and begin over―the selection is as much as you. (Be aware that whereas kahm yeast is undesirable however innocent, fuzzy blue, grey, or black mould is undesirable and probably dangerous; in case your tepache is taken over by extra mould than you possibly can simply and totally take away, it is best to discard the batch.) 

You possibly can benefit from the tepache by itself with a squeeze of lime or over ice with a splash of tequila or mezcal. Rebecca and I did simply that. She poured herself a glass, grabbed a bottle of mezcal from the bar’s prime shelf, spiked our glasses with a wholesome splash and mentioned, “You learn my thoughts, I knew we have been primas!” After that, prep for the pop-up was a ton extra joyful.