This month’s delicious and nutritious recipe is brought to you by trained Natural Chef Nena Foster (@nena.foster.food).

Did you know that you can ferment pineapple, rind and all or just the rind, with water and sugar and get a delicious probiotic drink? Well now you know! Here’s a recipe for one of my favourite, simple fermented drinks, tepache.

Tepache is a traditional Mexican ferment. It’s pretty easy to make and is so refreshing. Get yourself an organic pineapple and a few extra bits and get making some for your next outdoor BBQ!

INGREDIENTS & METHOD

Yields just over 1L

• ½ large (1 medium) organic pineapple, chopped into chunks, skin on
• 100g coconut sugar/raw cane sugar
• 5-6 cloves
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• Juice 1 lime
• 1 red chilli (optional)
• Filtered water to cover

1. Wash and chop the pineapple, into chunks, leaving the skin on. Next, add the sugar and water to the jar and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add the pineapple chunks, spices and lime juice to the jar. Cover with a muslin or tea towel and secure with string or rubber band.
3. Allow the tepache to ferment for 36-48 hours somewhere warm. As it ferments it will create a white foam – this is normal. You want to keep an eye out for tiny bubbles forming.
4. When time is up and you see bubbles, scoop off the white foam, and strain off the liquid and bottle. You can add a tsp of sugar when bottling and leave this bottled for a day to collect extra fizz or serve after straining.
5. Serve cold or over ice. Pop this in the fridge to store and this will keep in the fridge for about a month and remember to open it every few days to release the built up CO2.