Pineapple Tepache

For the last year, I’ve been listening through Sandor Katz’s book, “The Art of Fermentation”. The audiobook is encyclopedic and is 20 hours long.

Sometimes, I’ll turn it on when I’m headed to work and I’ll listen to all the interesting fermentations people have come up with.

It’s been an endless inspiration that showcases the ingenuity of humans. It normalized fermentation to me and made me feel comfortable with my bubbling concoctions.

Very early on, I heard about tepache. Tepache is a traditional Mexican ferment that is made by submerging pineapple rind in sugar water. There are certain spice combinations that are used traditionally but the basic fermentation is pineapple rind and sugar water. (Though corn was traditionally used instead of pineapple)

At work, one of my co-worker’s decided to host a potluck for Hispanic heritage month. I routinely bring in baked goods and foods for people to try and she asked me to make something for the potluck.

I’m not Hispanic but out of an interest in the culture and a love for food, I decided to try and make tepache.

Locally, I can find tepache at my common grocery store. There’s a manufacturer in NOLA that makes mango and prickly pear tepache.

Other than that, I didn’t have a reference for flavor. I allowed the pineapples to ripen, then placed them in a food safe bucket with dissolved piloncillo (sugar). I put in a few whole cloves and cinnamon sticks.

The next day, there were a couple bubbles and a bit of thick foam. The mixture smelled musky and tasted watery.

The following day, I decided to double the original sugar amount and grind in a knob of ginger. This really sped the fermentation along.

After a couple days, I bottled the tepache in 1L and 350mL bottles. I checked them several times for pressure.

The following morning, I opened the bottles in my bathtub under a towel (in case of a glass bomb explosion). There was enough gas I had to burp it a couple times, but nothing explosive.

I brought the bottles in for the potluck and the tepache was delicious. We went through three 1L bottles and two of the 350mL bottles. It was well liked.

Overall, I’d like to ferment the tepache longer next time. The extra sugar was needed but was a little over what I’d prefer to drink at home. The ginger was a wonderful addition.

Definitely one of the more unique ferments I’ve tried. It’s very simple, requires minimal equipment, and does not require experience.

I’m just finishing off the last bottle in my fridge and I know that I’ll definitely make this again.