My keyboard died last night just when I started posting this recipe, so here it is, a day late...
The introduction and explanation about this very basic, folkloric drink is going to be longer than the actual recipe. We learned to make Guarapo de Pina - a home-made pineapple cooler - when we lived in Venezuela. It's a way of using up every bit of a pineapple, wasting nothing, and the result is very nice. Cool, somewhat alcoholic, tasting of pineapple and ginger but lightly. It's not a wine, nor a cordial, nor a beer...just a guarapo. The name chicha would apply, if that's more familiar.
Big confession: I use no sulfite or bleach for the equipment. I just make sure my fermentation jar and spoon are well-washed in lots of detergent and hot water. And a hydrometer would be entirely too hi-tech for this recipe: can't guarantee it's as ancient as Tej, but it's been around for a long, long time (and so simple you'll smile
).
And a warning: guarapo smells funky during fermentation. Hang in there and let it work, pushing the cap down a few times a day to prevent mold. The result will be clean and tasty.
Guarapo de Pina
You'll need a glass or ceramic jar with a 3-liter capacity.
1 large pineapple. Cut the peels off, keeping a little of the fruit on them. DO NOT WASH THE PEEL before cutting it away; you need the wild yeast on it. Trust me, it'll be OK. Cut up the fruit, saving any juice from the process and putting it into your jar. Eat the fruit and put the unwashed rinds into the jar.
1/2 kg. sugar. Most authentic is papelon, the crude brown sugar people use in Latin America, but any sugar is fine. I last used plain white sugar.
2-3 thick slices of fresh ginger root.
3 liters good water.
Mix them all up together, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Cover the jar with a clean cloth or a paper towel secured with a rubber band. Remember to push the rinds down 2-3 x daily; this is important to prevent mold.
Let it ferment for 5-8 days. Again - it will not smell good when fermenting. Unless the must actually smells sick, which has never happened to me, just have faith and wait it out. When the must is a deep yellow color, clear, and pleasant-smelling (this will depend on the temperature in your kitchen), syphon it out, bottle and chill.
You can make the guarapo stronger by using less water or adding more sugar or letting it sit longer. Those wild yeasts are strong, as I found out to my cost (the ruined lunch when a hastily-opened bottle fountained guarapo all over the table). In any case, I seriously advise bottling in clean plastic bottles, because nothing stops that yeast: the guarapo that kept fermenting had been in the fridge for two weeks and was much stronger than when I had first stored it there. I hate to think what might have happened if it had been in glass bottles. But then I had simply strained it out, not using a syphon.
Next time I buy a pineapple, I might just put the guarapo under airlock - muy antifolklorico, but it might be worth the experiment.
Miriam
The introduction and explanation about this very basic, folkloric drink is going to be longer than the actual recipe. We learned to make Guarapo de Pina - a home-made pineapple cooler - when we lived in Venezuela. It's a way of using up every bit of a pineapple, wasting nothing, and the result is very nice. Cool, somewhat alcoholic, tasting of pineapple and ginger but lightly. It's not a wine, nor a cordial, nor a beer...just a guarapo. The name chicha would apply, if that's more familiar.
Big confession: I use no sulfite or bleach for the equipment. I just make sure my fermentation jar and spoon are well-washed in lots of detergent and hot water. And a hydrometer would be entirely too hi-tech for this recipe: can't guarantee it's as ancient as Tej, but it's been around for a long, long time (and so simple you'll smile
). And a warning: guarapo smells funky during fermentation. Hang in there and let it work, pushing the cap down a few times a day to prevent mold. The result will be clean and tasty.
Guarapo de Pina
You'll need a glass or ceramic jar with a 3-liter capacity.
1 large pineapple. Cut the peels off, keeping a little of the fruit on them. DO NOT WASH THE PEEL before cutting it away; you need the wild yeast on it. Trust me, it'll be OK. Cut up the fruit, saving any juice from the process and putting it into your jar. Eat the fruit and put the unwashed rinds into the jar.
1/2 kg. sugar. Most authentic is papelon, the crude brown sugar people use in Latin America, but any sugar is fine. I last used plain white sugar.
2-3 thick slices of fresh ginger root.
3 liters good water.
Mix them all up together, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Cover the jar with a clean cloth or a paper towel secured with a rubber band. Remember to push the rinds down 2-3 x daily; this is important to prevent mold.
Let it ferment for 5-8 days. Again - it will not smell good when fermenting. Unless the must actually smells sick, which has never happened to me, just have faith and wait it out. When the must is a deep yellow color, clear, and pleasant-smelling (this will depend on the temperature in your kitchen), syphon it out, bottle and chill.
You can make the guarapo stronger by using less water or adding more sugar or letting it sit longer. Those wild yeasts are strong, as I found out to my cost (the ruined lunch when a hastily-opened bottle fountained guarapo all over the table). In any case, I seriously advise bottling in clean plastic bottles, because nothing stops that yeast: the guarapo that kept fermenting had been in the fridge for two weeks and was much stronger than when I had first stored it there. I hate to think what might have happened if it had been in glass bottles. But then I had simply strained it out, not using a syphon.
Next time I buy a pineapple, I might just put the guarapo under airlock - muy antifolklorico, but it might be worth the experiment.
Miriam
