Tepache: An Easy, Fizzy Probiotic Drink to Make at Home

When my husband developed a daily tepache habit, it was only a matter of time before I became intrigued. And then alarmed. Tepache is a fermented drink with a pineapple base, and has deep roots in Mexico. The canned version is popular, and compelling. For someone like me, drawn to fermenting like a moth to a porch light, the appeal was visceral: How do I make this? And the fact that tepache is based on the use of pineapple skins and cores was irresistible—what low-waste magic. The alarm grew as I began pondering the cost of a two-can-a-day habit, in terms of money, and also recycling. That’s a lot of cans.

The solution? Homemade tepache, which turns out to be very simple to make. It is easier on the environment and very light on the pocket book.

Photography by Marie Viljoen.

Tepache is a naturally fizzy drink, and because it is fermented it is probiotic—good for that gut microbiome on everyone’s lips (…so to speak). While it’s often made with pineapple rinds, the etymology points to corn as its base. The Nahuatl word tepatli means corn, and tepachoa may mean pounded; the ancient, pre-Columbian version of the beverage would have been very different, and that version is still made in several Mexican states.

The De la Calle brand that my husband was downing smells irresistible—it is penetratingly aromatic. While the homemade tepaches have been delicious, I can’t claim to have captured that evocative scent, whose persistence after a can is cracked open may require an industrial chemist to explain. Interestingly, the company has trademarked ™ the name tepache. That seems a little like trademarking the word “wine.” The symbol on the cans has not (yet) invited the Cancel police in the way that David Chang’s chili crunch trademark attempt did, but it’s thought-provoking. (The ™ symbol represents an unregistered trademark, so it’s not enforceable.)

Tepache is not particularly different from the wild sodas and cordials that I have been making from whole fruit and flowers (and immature pine cones!) for years. It’s also not that different from kombucha (although that must contain tea, and is usually started from a wobbly SCOBY). Plants, sugar (in some form), and water are the basis of most happy beverages. These beverages have extremely low alcohol contents: Kombucha and tepache would generally be around 0.5 percent alcohol content. Critically, the shorter the fermentation process, the lower the alcohol content. In South Africa, where I grew up, a pineapple “beer” is brewed in rural pineapple-growing regions but it is left to ferment longer, until it has a potent kick.

My own variations have used sweet pineapples from the corner store, different sources of sugar (granulated, piloncillo, and palm jaggery— each affects the color and influences the flavor), and tap water. I have also included other seasonal fruit, like mango, blood orange, and quince, as well as chile to add the heat that makes one De la Calle flavor (Mango/Chili) the most popular.

If you read more about fermentation you may find various authors suggesting that if you wash fruit you wash away the sacred yeasts that are necessary to start a ferment. I disagree. We are surrounded by wild yeasts: They are on everything. And for many of us, those pineapples have traveled a long way and been stored and handled in ways we can’t control. I definitely wash them. There has never been a problem with a spontaneous ferment beginning.

Tepache

Different sugars create different-hued tepaches. The lighter the sugar the blonder the beverage. While you could ferment the tepache for longer than four days, more time means more alcohol. Taste to see what you prefer. To serve, I pour a glass about half-full with tepache and top with sparkling water. If you don’t have a large jar you can use a bowl (keep it covered with a cloth and stir once day). In a cold room fermentation will be slower. And vice versa.

Equipment: 1 large, clean 6-cup mason jar.

• 1 cup chopped or grated piloncillo, palm sugar, or organic granulated sugar
• Rinds and core (and some fruit, for extra flavor) of 1 medium pineapple

Optional Extras

• 1 jalapeño or cayenne pepper
• 1 mango, flesh only
• Zest of 1 clementine, orange, or lemon
• Peels and flesh of 1 quince (apple also works)

If using the hard sugars like piloncillo or jaggery, chop them into small pieces (I use a screwdriver on a damp-dish-cloth-wrapped cutting board to soften them thumps and prevent slippage. You could also grate these sugars, or soften them in the microwave.

Place the pineapple core and rinds (and citrus zest, mangos, or quinces, if using) in the jar. Add the sugar. Pour in enough water to reach just below the neck of the jar. Screw on the lid tightly and shake the jar gentle to dissolve the sugar. Loosen the lid.

Allow the mixture sit at room temperature in a spot out of direct sunlight, for 2 to 4 days. Once a day, tighten the lid and shake the jar gently (or you could stir it with a long-handled spoon). After a couple of days you should notice small bubbles rising spontaneously in the liquid. And when you shake the jar, then loosen the lid, there will be an audible ffffft! of released pressure. That’s fermentation, happening. Use a clean spoon to taste daily (this will teach your tongue how the flavor evolves).

If you are adding chile, do this on Day 3.

On around Day 4 or 5, strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve, and again though a cloth-lined sieve. Siphon into a clean bottle, add a lid, and transfer to the fridge*. It is good to drink at once but develops more complexity with time.

* If you keep any active ferment sealed and at room temperature, you are encouraging an explosive event: The carbon dioxide naturally released will cause pressure to build in the bottle, and it could detonate. The cold of the fridge keeps things safe, and also slows down fermentation.

To serve, fill a glass with half tepache and half sparking water (or tonic water). Add a strip of citrus zest, if you like.

See also:

• Summer on Ice: Easy Garden-Inspired Drinks for Your Next Get-Together
• Wineberries: Invasive—But Delicious to Eat and Drink
• Honeysuckle Cordial: A Delicious Way to Control an Invasive Vine