Never throw your pineapple peels away again. In this recipe, you will learn how to make a delicious fermented pineapple beverage with just 3 ingredients you probably have in your kitchen. Tepache is a fermented pineapple beverage that originates from Mexico. It’s usually made from the peel of pineapples and is sweetened with either piloncillo or brown sugar and seasoned with cinnamon sticks or cloves.

This is a perfect recipe for somebody who’s never brewed or made fermented items before. You don’t need any specialized equipment and you only need 3 ingredients to get started. Tepache is a great drink on its own as it has 2-3 % ABV and a ton of probiotics that are great for your gut health. For your next fermentation project check How To Make Coffee Kombucha.

The Recipe

For this recipe, you will make a 1 gallon batch of Tepache and you can use a fermenting jar or a pitcher. The first thing you’ll need is a whole pineapple. For this recipe, you will only be using pineapple peels. This is a zero-waste recipe which is why this is such a great drink to learn how to make.

Start by cutting off the top of the pineapple. Next, slice off the peel from around the perimeter of the pineapple and save the pineapple to eat later. Piloncillo is unrefined cane sugar, usually formed into a small cone. You can find it at most grocery stores. But if you can’t, you can use 1 cup of brown sugar.

For spices, we use cinnamon sticks, but you can also use cloves. Toss in the pineapple peels, sugar, and spices in your jar or pitcher. Top it up with filtered water and shake it up. Don’t worry if the piloncillo doesn’t dissolve completely. It will dissolve in a few hours. Cover your fermenter with a kitchen towel or napkin and a rubber band to secure it. This allows CO2 to escape, and nothing gets in.

Set it somewhere that is room temperature and out of direct sunlight for about 3-5 days. No yeast is needed because there are microorganisms all over the peel that act as yeast. Check it every day to see how it tastes. Occasionally you might see some foam to build on top of the jar but that is a normal thing to happen during fermentation.

Before bottling you need to strain the rinds and spices. Once done you can carefully pour it into bottles. Let them sit for 1-2 weeks on the counter. This will give the remaining yeast and sugars time to ferment a little more and make carbonation. After that, you can cool the bottles in the fridge and your Tepache will be ready to drink. Cheers.