I’m experimenting with tepache so I figured I’d make a quick little blog post about it. What is it? A ferment. More specifically, a fermented beverage made with the rinds/skins/cores of pineapples. There are various ways to sweeten tepache, and it is served cold, often with cinnamon.
Since my agave ferment wasn’t doing very well, I decided to up the stakes and added some pineapple that had been wasting away in the fridge for a few weeks. I cut the actual fruit into small-ish chunks and stuffed it into the agave mixture, added a weight to keep everything submerged, and air locked that sucker. This was last night.
This morning, I woke up to sweet juice EVERYWHERE. I had definitely overfilled the glass jar and my tepache had gone crazy. When I squeezed the airlock, a mini pineapple volcano exploded even further, so I had to do a bit of cleaning this morning. I haven’t tasted it yet, but I am hopeful.
Tepache is a relatively fast ferment. It’s a good, quick, sweet way to add some beneficial probiotics (and sugar) to your diet. I’m going to take mine along on my beach trip with me and share it with my mom and grandmother, along with some sauerkraut that’s been going for a few days now. I’m most excited, I think, about using the tepache as a mixture with some gin or vodka for a fizzy, bubbly drink.
You can let tepache ferment for as short or as long as you want. My go-to rule of thumb is to let things ferment at least 48 hours, then go to town! Experiment and have fun with it!
