Fermented Pineapple Scrap Soda Recipe (Tepache)
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Winter always has me fermenting everything! The fruit flies are gone from my kitchen in the cold months, so it’s time to slap all my fermentation pets on the counter and make tons of probiotic goodness to keep us nourished and healthy through the cold months. Health starts in your gut! I recently got a fabulous deal on a case of pineapple and it always pains me to see the “waste” of cutting up pineapple and removing all the skin outside of the pineapple. Fear not, there’s many things you can do with those peels and cores and this one is my FAVORITE way to utilize the whole pineapple. Other ways to use it are to boil and make a pineapple syrup or juice of sorts, but this soda made fizzy entirely with the fermentation process is one you HAVE to try because your kids are gonna go wild over it.
This soda is also known as pineapple tepache/tepache de piña, which is a traditionally Mexican fermented drink made by steeping pineapple peels and cores in a sugar water, sometimes with spices like cinnamon and cloves. Since this drink is fermented, it does end up with slight alcohol content but not enough to turn you sideways. It’s actually amazing to mix with a light beer if you’re feeling festive. This method is a very quick fermentation, taking max of 2-3 days, so the flavor remains pretty sweet and mild leaving this soda to be nice and refreshing instead of tangy flavor/vinegar leaning taste as many ferments do, which I also like, but sometimes you need something to satisfy the sweet tooth. Fermenting fruit of any kind is an easy way to enter and learn the world of fermentation as it ferments readily and quickly and is hard to screw up. And if you accidentally over ferment fruit, just let it keep going and then you’ll have a really neat pineapple vinegar. So get on with it!
A Word On Sugar
Piloncilo is a raw cane sugar that is frequently used for traditional tepache. I just use the best quality raw form of pure cane sugar I can get and make my own brown sugar with it. If you don’t want to use brown sugar, you can just use raw cane sugar or even coconut sugar for this, but the flavor is a bit different. Don’t get all tied up in getting the rawest and most unrefined-est sugar ever…. you can ferment with the cheap stuff. Do what works with your budget as fermented food is better than none. Do your best and forget the rest!
Can I Freeze the Pineapple Scraps for Later?
This is alwayssss a questions I get so I figured I’d give it its own space to address it. YES. Just like my fermented apple scrap vinegar (which you can pour off of after a couple days to make soda), you can save peels and cores in a freezer bag and use them to make fermented sodas when you’re ready. Especially if you’re doing a giant canning sesh like I am this week, I don’t want 11 gallons of a fermented probiotic drink at once… while we’ll definitely drink it, I’d rather pace ourselves and have the goodness around for months and I also don’t have enough swing top bottles for the second ferment to hold all that! Just simply roughly chop up the cores and peels and add them to a freezer bag or vacuum sealing bag and freeze until you’re ready to use them. When you’re ready to ferment some, thaw them and make as normal!
Equipment You Might Want:
- 3 quart wide mouth mason jars
- Glass fermentation weights
- Fermentation lids and air locks
- Swing top cap bottles
Ingredients:
- 2 pineapples
- 8 cups of water
- 1 1/3 cup of sugar or brown sugar
Step 1: Prep
The first step is to start by washing the outside of two ripe pineapple thoroughly. Since we’re using the skins, you want them to be clean.
Remove skins and cores and roughly chop into big pieces.
Sanitize your jars or vessel you’re going to use for the fermentation process along with the glass fermentation weights if you’re using them. I like to wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well, and then give them a rinse with vinegar. This just ensures my jars are clean and there will be no cross contamination, but it’s really not that serious. Don’t get crazy and start boiling and sterilizing and all that… you don’t need to. Just be clean.
Step 2: Fill Jars
Add the pineapple skin and core scraps to your wide mouth mason jars and fill to below the shoulder of the jar. I like using a half gallon jar for this! Don’t worry about packing anything tightly. You may need more or less jars, depending on the size of your pineapples.
Measure out 8 cups of filtered water and add to a sauce pan along with the brown sugar. Heat gently on low heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool a bit and then dump over top of each jar of scraps, being sure all scraps are submerged in the jars.
Top with a glass fermentation weight if you are using one. You don’t need to, especially if you arrange the scraps to be “stuck” in the jar, but I have them so I use them.
Top with caps and air locks if using (they’re a great investment for us forgetful girlies that can’t be bothered to remember to burp anything) or with a clean canning lid and screw band. If you’re not using an air lock, be sure and burp your ferment at least once a day, but probably twice to prevent any explosions. That’s a sticky dang mess.
Step 3: Fermentation
Place jars in a warm, dark corner away from direct sunlight. I do the corner of my kitchen where’s it’s room temperature (68 degrees F -ish) and not touched directly by sunlight because if I hid it I WILL forget about it. My eyeballs have to see it every day all day so I don’t forget.
Allow to ferment 2-3 days. Once you start seeing active bubbling (small bubbles moving upward) in your jars (usually at about 24-36 hours), start tasting the ferment and let it go to your liking. I have found that about 3 days is where I want it before I start the second fermentation time to carbonate.
Step 4: Straining
When the soda is to your liking flavor-wise, pour out jars through a strainer lined with cheese cloth.
Distribute the fermented soda into swing cap style bottles or even mason jars and seal tightly. This helps hold in the carbon dioxide created by the fermenting cooties to give you fizzy effervescent drinks.
Leave this on the counter for no more than 24 hours (I do 6 hours, maybe 12 before I put it in the fridge) and burp 1-2 times or it WILL EXPLODE.
Keep your soda in the fridge and use within a few weeks, keeping an eye on the bottles as they can explode in the fridge too. Pro-tip: if you’re unsure about when you last burped something, GO OUTSIDE, before you coat your kitchen walls and your soul in sticky fermented pineapple juice. That’ll literally put ants in your pants.
Notes:
You can use a couple tablespoons from an active ferment to jumpstart your new ferment for a faster fermentation, but with this it isn’t necessary to be successful. It just speeds up the process and I find that rushing this leads to less pineapple flavor, so I don’t recommend it here.
I have not tried substituting raw honey or maple syrup but I bet either would be absolutely bomb.
If you prefer added spices, you can add a cinnamon stick, 1-2 whole cloves, or a star anise to each jar if preferred. You can experiment with adding things to your liking, especially herbs. Slices of fresh ginger are great, too. I don’t enjoy the spices in mine, which is why I omitted them in the recipe. A little bit of a vanilla bean or beaver butthole (I’m kidding) in your bottles for the carbonation period is really yummy!
And there you have it. An easy, refreshing drink made with scraps of fruit you’d otherwise be tossing. Make the most of your money!
Equipment
- 3 quart wide mouth mason jars
Ingredients
- 2 pineapples
- 8 cups of water
- 1 1/3 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- The first step is to start by washing the outside of two ripe pineapple thoroughly. Â Since we're using the skins, you want them to be clean.
- Remove skins and cores and roughly chop into big pieces.
- Sanitize your jars or vessel you're going to use for the fermentation process along with the glass fermentation weights if you're using them. Â I like to wash them in hot soapy water, rinse well, and then give them a rinse with vinegar. Â This just ensures my jars are clean and there will be no cross contamination, but it's really not that serious. Â Don't get crazy and start boiling and sterilizing and all that… you don't need to. Â Just be clean.
- Add the pineapple skin and core scraps to your wide mouth mason jars and fill to below the shoulder of the jar. Â I like using a half gallon jar for this! Â Don't worry about packing anything tightly. Â You may need more or less jars, depending on the size of your pineapples.
- Measure out 8 cups of filtered water and add to a sauce pan along with the brown sugar. Â Heat gently on low heat, stirring, just until the sugar dissolves. Â Allow to cool a bit and then dump over top of each jar of scraps, being sure all scraps are submerged in the jars.
- Top with a glass fermentation weight if you are using one. Â You don't need to, especially if you arrange the scraps to be "stuck" in the jar, but I have them so I use them.Top with caps and air locks if using (they're a great investment for us forgetful girlies that can't be bothered to remember to burp anything) or with a clean canning lid and screw band. Â If you're not using an air lock, be sure and burp your ferment at least once a day, but probably twice to prevent any explosions. Â That's a sticky dang mess.
- Place jars in a warm, dark corner away from direct sunlight.
- Allow to ferment 2-3 days. Â Once you start seeing active bubbling (small bubbles moving upward) in your jars (usually at about 24-36 hours), start tasting the ferment and let it go to your liking. Â I have found that about 3 days is where I want it before I start the second fermentation time to carbonate. Since house temperatures and conditions vary, your times might be different than mine.
- When the soda is to your liking flavor-wise, pour out jars through a strainer lined with cheese cloth.
- Distribute the fermented soda into swing cap style bottles or even mason jars and seal tightly. Â This helps hold in the carbon dioxide created by the fermenting cooties to give you fizzy effervescent drinks.
- Leave this on the counter for no more than 24 hours (I do 6 hours, maybe 12 before I put it in the fridge)Â and burp 1-2 times or it WILL EXPLODE.
- Keep your soda in the fridge and use within a few weeks, keeping an eye on the bottles as they can explode in the fridge too. Â Pro-tip: Â if you're unsure about when you last burped something, GO OUTSIDE, before you coat your kitchen walls and your soul in sticky fermented pineapple juice. Â That'll literally put ants in your pants.
