Mexican Tepache
Ingredients
- 1 cup piloncillo (cut in pieces or use brown sugar)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 2 l filtered water
The peels of a large ripe pineapple
Instructions
- Peel the pineapple with a sharp knife to remove the peel, and cut the flesh from the pineapple. You won't need all the pineapple unless you have a large glass container to make a larger batch.
- In a large glass pitcher, place the pineapple peels, piloncillo, sugar, cinnamon stick, cloves and 2 quarts of water. Sometimes I even put pieces of the pineapple as shown in the photo.
- Cover the jar or glass container with a lid or cover loosely with plastic wrap to allow the mixture to breathe. Let it sit for 24 hours in your kitchen. If you live in a very hot place, check after 12 hours. With a wooden spoon, remove the white foam that forms on the liquid. Cover again loosely with a lid or plastic wrap and let it sit for another 24 to 36 hours. DO NOT let it ferment longer unless you need pineapple vinegar. When it is fermented, a white film will form on the surface of the vinegar which you should remove.
- And now for the fun part, strain the liquid from your pitcher and place it in another pitcher with lots of ice.
- Taste it for sweetness in case you need more sugar. If you prefer a lighter version, mix half pineapple Tepache with half water as shown in the images above. Yes, I drink the lighter version of the tepache as you can see.
- If you are not drinking or using all of the pineapple Tepache after straining it, place it in a glass container in your refrigerator to enjoy later.
- Your traditional Tepache is ready. ¡Buen provecho!