Mexican street vendors have been fermenting pineapple rind into a fizzy, lightly boozy drink for centuries, and it takes almost nothing to make at home. This one dresses it up with a splash of soda water for extra sparkle. It sits alongside ginger honey kombucha spritzer and ginger kombucha mocktail in our lineup of fizzy fermented drinks.
Ingredients
- Rind and core of 1 ripe pineapple (peel thick, keep the fruit for eating)
- 1 cup piloncillo or dark brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole cloves
- 8 cups water
- Sparkling water, for serving
- Ice, for serving
Instructions
- Rinse the pineapple rind and core well and place in a large glass or ceramic jar.
- Add the piloncillo, cinnamon, cloves, and water, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Cover the jar with a cloth secured by a rubber band and leave at room temperature, out of direct sun, for 2 to 3 days, stirring once daily.
- Taste after 48 hours; once it smells pleasantly yeasty and faintly sour with visible bubbles, it's ready.
- Strain out the solids and refrigerate the liquid, which will keep fermenting slowly and should be used within a week.
- To serve, fill a glass with ice, pour tepache halfway, and top with sparkling water.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| Calories | 95 |
| Total fat | 0g |
| Total carbohydrates | 24g |
| Dietary fiber | 0g |
| Protein | 0g |
| Sodium | 5mg |
Why This Is Good for Your Gut
Wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria naturally present on pineapple skin colonize the sugar water and produce organic acids plus a small amount of gut-friendly acetic acid as fermentation progresses. Pineapple also contributes bromelain, an enzyme that helps break down proteins and has been shown to ease bloating and support smoother digestion. Read more about that enzyme in Pineapple: The Fruit With Its Own Protein-Digesting Enzyme.
Compost never tasted this good.
This recipe is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional dietary advice.
