This recipe is inspired by Brad Leone from Bon Appétit (I’m a huge fan of his series by the way). His tepache is good but I made a few extra changes to make it better. I added more spices such as cloves, coriander seeds (to enhance the sweetness of the tepache), and the black peppercorn which gives it a little kick of spiciness. I also added a mix of brown and palm sugar to give it a dark color and a more tropical taste. It may seem a ton of sugar, but over time, the yeast outside of the pineapple will eat the sugars and pineapple juices which it gives it a carbonated, beer type flavour (SCIENCE!). It’s so simple: just put all ingredients in the fermentation jar and wait. Make sure you burp it once or twice everyday (burping is a term in fermentation when we open the lid to let all the gasses out). If you don’t burp it, all the gasses will build up and it may explode.

Ingredients:

• 1 pineapple, core removed, chopped
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup palm sugar
• 1 medium size ginger, crushed
• 2 tablespoons, coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorn, crushed
• Optional: 1 chili pepper, sliced

Directions:

1. Throw all ingredients in a large, 1 gallon fermentation-grade jar. Fill up the jar halfway with warm water and mix until all the sugars are dissolved. Fill the remainder of jar with water.
2. Burp the tepache once or twice everyday by opening the lid. Do this for 2-3 days.
3. Using a large pot and strainer, strain the tepache. Pour the tepache into a fermentation-grade bottle and let it ferment for another 2 days.
4. Store in fridge until ready to use

This can be stored in the fridge for a week