Pineapple Cinnamon Tepache

Tepache is a Mexican drink made by leaving pineapple peel, unrefined sugar and spices in water until wild yeast and bacteria turn it tart and lightly fizzy. This version is spiced with cinnamon and clove and served very cold.

Origin & Story

Tepache is sold cold on Mexican streets, poured from a barrel into a clay mug or into a clear plastic bag with a straw. The shops that specialize in it are called tepacherias. What goes into the barrel looks like nothing: the peel and core of a pineapple, a block of brown sugar, a stick of cinnamon, and water. Two or three days on the counter do the rest.

The pineapple is not the original. The name comes from the Nahuatl tepiatl, a corn drink, and the pre-Hispanic tepache was made from maize that was left to ferment. Fruit took the corn's place later, and the peel and core that most cooks throw away turned out to be the best part: the skin carries the wild yeast and bacteria, and the sugar you add feeds them.

The microbes are lactic acid bacteria, such as Lactobacillus pentosus, paracasei and plantarum, and a wild yeast of the Saccharomyces group. Together they make lactic acid and carbon dioxide, which give tepache its tart edge and its fizz.

Timing is everything. Foam on top after about a day is the first sign, and most guides taste from day 2 and stop at 2 to 3 days. The longer it goes, the more sour and less sweet it becomes, and the more alcohol it holds.

Scrub half a pineapple and peel it, put the peel and core in a jar with 100 g of piloncillo or brown sugar, a cinnamon stick, 2 cloves and enough water to make a liter, cover with a cloth, leave 2 to 3 days at 22 to 25°C, skim the foam, then strain, bottle and chill.

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