Recipes & Reflections on Latino Food & Culture
In the hot summertime, Mexicans reach for a fragrant, ripe fruit juice, freshly dissolved in a blender with ice water to quench the thirst and hydrate the body. Why consume outrageously sugary soft drinks by the gallons, when you can just as easily get hooked on the real thing? Natural fruit with nutrients such as Vitamin C and E and antioxidants you can find in fruits such as mangos, canteloupe, and papayas, to mention a few? … [Read more...]
There are few things that can quench your thirst the way tepache does. I know. I grew up in a semi-arid place where temperatures could reach 100 degrees in early March. So, trust me, I know hot. A frosty glass of amber colored, tepache was one of my mother's favorite thirst quenchers. Soft drinks were not an option for us; she never bought them, and probably not because she found them unhealthy, but, rather, because we couldn't afford them. So, I grew up addicted to a variety of aguas naturales and to this very particular summer cooler: tepache. The word tepache apparently comes from the nahuatl, tepiatl, which means fermented corn. Fermented pineapple rind is definitely the child-friendly version, over the corn one. And, naturally, no beer was added to ours, unlike the Mexican version, although I'm certain everyone makes it slightly different. Until she passed away in February … [Read more...]
Connect with us!