Have you ever tasted Mexican pineapple tepache? Omg. Our minds were blown with this amazing fermented pineapple drink! The flavor is out of this world and it’s super easy to make.
You don’t need a starter culture, you don’t have to boil anything, and it only has a few ingredients. Go get a pineapple and try it!
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Making Mexican Tepache Pineapple Soda
Back in the days of the Aztecs, people enjoyed pineapple like they do today, but they did something with it very different than we do. Yes they enjoyed the fruit, but once you cut the fruit away from the pineapple, what do you do with the peel? Throw it away? The Aztecs knew how to get much more from pineapples. Someone had the bright idea of taking pineapple scraps and turning them into a fermented drink!
Legends say that someone sliced pineapples and left them sitting in sweet juice in a ceramic pot. After a few days they smelled the aroma and then gave it a taste. Once they took a sip of the glorious liquid, they raised the clay pot high to the heavens in celebration and declared – TEPACHE!
No that’s not actually how it actually happened. 😂 Traditionally tepache was made from fermented corn by the Central Mexican Nahua peoples (or the Aztecs). Probably similar to South American chicha found in Peru, which fermented from purple corn. Eventually the recipe for tepache evolved into the fermented pineapple drink that we know today which also can include some spices, but nonetheless it’s delicious!
Let’s get into how to make tepache.
Tepache Recipe – Fermented Pineapple Drink
Makes 1/2 gallon (to make 1 gallon, just double the recipe)
Everyone who’s tried this fermented pineapple tepache has raved over it. Spices aren’t necessary but adds a little extra flavor. If you’re serving a group, you could easily double this recipe by using a large pot.
Equipment:
- 1/2 gallon jar or pot
- Mason jar funnel
- Fermentation lid <– These silicone lids work well for us
- (3) 16 oz. glass flip-top beer bottles <– We love these
- (1) 16 oz. heavy duty plastic bottle (such as Perrier or a soda bottle)
Ingredients:
- 1 fresh pineapple (only need the peel and core)
- 1 cup piloncillo or 1 cup brown sugar (1 cup sugar with 1 T molasses)
- 1 cinnamon stick (~1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
- 4 whole cloves (~1/4 tsp ground cloves)
- 1/2 gallon non-chlorinated water
Cut the top and bottom off of a ripe pineapple and discard. The top can be used to grow a pineapple if you plant it. Pineapples can have very different flavors so be sure to try this recipe with different ripe varieties for the best flavor.
Cut the peel away from the outside of the pineapple and put the scraps in your jar or pot.
Cut the pineapple lengthwise into quarters and then remove the hard center core and put them into the jar or pot. The leftover fruit can either be enjoyed or can be included in the ferment as well.
Grate piloncillo into chunks if using and add it to the jar or pot. Since we didn’t have piloncillo, we made brown sugar as a substitute using sugar mixed with molasses, but for the best flavor you can find piloncillo in your local Latin market.
Add your spices if using.
Fill the jar or pot with non-chlorinated water. You want a liquid yield in the end of a half gallon. For a half gallon jar though, the pineapple takes up a lot of space so you won’t have a full 1/2 gallon yield. Instead you’ll have to top up the water at the bottling step. If you’re using a pot, you’ll have plenty of space and can use the full 1/2 gallon of water to start with.
Weigh fruit down under the water level to make sure no mold forms. We love using (these weights) and then top the jar with a fermentation lid to prevent oxygen from entering the jar. We’ve fermented without using either but occasionally mold can happen so we take more precautions.
Ferment on the counter for 2-5 days. Feel free to taste to see what kind of flavor you like. We like fermenting for 3 days and then bottling for 2 days so in total we have a 5 day ferment. The longer you ferment pineapple soda, the more it will taste like vinegar.
Bottle for 1-2 days to carbonate if you want a fizzy pineapple soda drink. Warning! Don’t forget to use a plastic tester bottle so you know how much pressure is building up inside the jars. Glass jars have the possibility to explode so leave headroom and “burp” the jars if needed.
Enjoy tepache over ice and mix half and half with a light beer for a very refreshing drink!
Pineapple Tepache – What to Expect During Fermentation
After the first day we didn’t see any action, but after 48 hours we began seeing little bubbles appear on top of the jar. It also started smelling a little fermented. By the morning of day 3 the jar was bubbling away pretty rapidly with some foam building on the top.
At this stage, on a previous batch we had some pineapple exposed to the air that started getting the tiniest bit of light colored mold. When this happened, we cut that piece off and made sure to submerge everything below the water level. Going forward we always submerge everything using fermentation weights due to the possibility of mold.
Once we bottle the tepache, the tester bottle became fairly solid after 24 hours with the tiniest bit of give. After 48 hours it was rock solid and ready to move to the refrigerator. We burped the bottles and noticed it was heavily carbonated so we had to take some care. What a great batch!
Another thing to note is the variety of pineapple you’re using will affect the flavor a lot. We’ve had amazingly flavorful batches and some that have a strange flavor since the pineapple had a strange flavor to start with. Try different varieties of pineapples from different sources.
Since this is more of a lacto-fermentation and is slightly sour, the alcohol % tends to be relatively low depending on how long you ferment it. Tepache alcohol is probably in the 2-4% range and maybe lower, but some people up the alcohol by adding beer when drinking it.
Tepache – Bonus Rounds!
But wait, that’s not all!
Want to get even more out of your pineapple scraps? Repeat this process up to 2 more times with the same scraps! We’ve fermented our pineapple peels for a total of 3 rounds! Each additional round the tepache has slightly less flavor and a bit more vinegary but is still very good. We simply add 1/2 cup of sugar, refill the jar with non-chlorinated water, and ferment it out and bottle it again.
On the bonus rounds, you should notice it begin to bubble rapidly after 24 hours since you already have a strong culture. We also noticed that since the bonus rounds tasted more vinegary, the bottle process wasn’t as active as the first round. Make sure to have a tester bottle anyways or burp the bottles.
One thing to note, like we said when using half gallon jars, since the pineapple takes up space on the first round we top up the result with water to get a full half gallon yield, but on the bonus rounds we don’t dilute it since it’s starts out a little less flavorful.
How to Make Tepache
Tepache is a super delicious fermented pineapple drink. Once we we started making Mexican tepache, we never looked at pineapples the same again! Throwing away the pineapple peel means 1/2 gallon (or more) of tepache will never be born so we hope we’ve inspired you to try this recipe. Grab a pineapple, peel it, ferment it, and enjoy!
If you made this or are in the process, tell us how yours is going! Leave us a comment below and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel!
