Tepache Recipe | How to Make Tepache Drink - Cultures For Health (2024)

FAQs

How many days should you ferment tepache? ›

Fermentation should activate into two to three days, and the tepache is usually optimal by day five. By then, small bubbles should cover the surface of the ferment. Store tepache in the refrigerator in a covered glass jar for up to a week. You may need to burp the jar, occasionally, to release gas.

As a fermented beverage, tepache contains some probiotics, which help keep the good bacteria in your gut healthy, help with digestion and support your immune system. The fermentation process also boosts the vitamin content of tepache, so it offers more nutritional benefits than just eating a ripe pineapple.

As with most fermentations, tepache does contain a very small amount of alcohol (similar to kombucha). If you want more alcohol (of course you do), add in yeast (baker's yeast will do in a pinch but preferably brewer's or champagne yeast).

This will kill the yeast. Ripe pineapples are also best for making tepache. Don't use metal or plastic containers to brew. Best to use a ferment-grade glass container or ceramic pitcher when you're fermenting or making tepache.

Why Does My Tepache Taste Like Vinegar? It has fermented too long. At room temperature, tepache develops quickly and can turn to vinegar.

You can go longer but the longer your beer sits the more chance you have to get an infection and get off-flavors in your beer. The 24-day mark has always worked well for us. We have gone over in some cases but mostly by a few days.

If you see mold growing, discard the tepache and start again. Make sure it is mold though. Mold is dry, fuzzy, and always sits on the surface. It is normal for a layer of white film or bubbles to appear.

When made with clean supplies and when ingredients are submerged in the liquid while fermenting, tepache is safe to drink.

Tepache relies on aerobic fermentation, which means it needs oxygen to ferment.

Yeast - Adding just a teaspoon of instant bakers yeast to your Pineapple Beer will make it much more alcoholic, than using the natural yeasts in the rind alone.

Can I make tepache in a plastic container? ›

Any drinkable water will do just fine for Tepache so long as it's clean and tastes good! 1 gallon glass jars with an airlock are our preferred fermentation vessel as we find them easiest to clean and sanitize, however you may use PET/BPA-free plastic containers for a more affordable fermenter.

Recipe Variations

Add chopped fruit (pineapple, apples, etc.) to the pitcher of tepache before drinking—similar to what is done with sangria—for added fun and flavor.

We highly recommend serving Tepache Sazón ice cold, as you would a cider or beer. However, Tepache Sazón can safely be stored at room temperature and chilled before opening.

The word Tepache itself comes from the Nahuatl word tepiātl which translates to “drink made from corn”. The word tepiātl is a conjunction of the word tepitl which means “tender corn” and atl which means “water”.

If the ambient temperature in your kitchen is warmer, the tepache will ferment faster than it will at a cooler room temperature. To determine when the tepache is ready, just taste it! It should have a pleasant, sweet, lightly fermented flavor but you can ferment it longer if you like a more pronounced, boozy flavor.

A higher temperature will speed up fermentation, but it is not unusual for a healthy pitch to ferment out a batch of low to moderate gravity in 3-4 days. I use 007 a lot.... very reliable yeast.

Let your ferment longer if you like a more sour taste and a softer texture. For maximum digestive and nutritive benefits, allow your veggies to ferment for 21 days and eat them raw. 4) Finished ferments should have a pH reading of 4.5 or lower.

After 1-2 days it should taste a little sour a little sweet and fermented (you might also see some bubbling in the jar or even some foam to the top, all of those things are ok and means that it's fermenting!), at this point you can bottle it and put into the fridge OR go under a second fermentation.