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Cultural Ferment

Curtido Recipe: Salvadoran Cabbage Slaw, Fermented or Quick-Pickled

By Updated 1 min read

Discover how to make curtido, the vibrant fermented cabbage slaw that accompanies every Salvadoran meal. This tangy, crunchy, probiotic-rich condiment takes just 3 days to ferment and uses simple ingredients you likely already have. Perfect for pupusas, tacos, or as a gut-healthy side dish!

At a glance

Curtido is El Salvador's tangy cabbage slaw, served with pupusas: shredded cabbage with carrot, onion, oregano and chili. It's made two ways – as a quick vinegar pickle (refrigerated, not fermented, no live cultures) or as a lacto-ferment like sauerkraut, with about 2–2.5% salt by weight and 3–7 days at room temperature, which does contain live cultures when eaten raw.

  • Cabbage, carrot, onion, dried oregano and chili, served with pupusas.
  • Quick vinegar curtido is a pickle, not a fermented food, and must be refrigerated.
  • Fermented curtido uses about 2–2.5% salt by weight, like sauerkraut.
  • Fermented at room temperature for about 3–7 days until sour, then refrigerated.
  • Raw fermented curtido contains live lactic acid bacteria; vinegar curtido doesn't.

Ferment profile

Origin
El Salvador (and neighboring Central America)
Fermentation
Lactic acid
Main microbes
Lactic acid bacteria from the vegetables (as in sauerkraut)
Live cultures
Depends on preparation
Alcohol
None / trace

Curtido is the tangy cabbage slaw of El Salvador – shredded cabbage with carrot, onion, dried oregano and often chili – served heaped alongside pupusas, together with a thin tomato salsa. Its sharp, crunchy acidity cuts through the rich, cheese- or bean-filled corn cakes. Similar relishes are made in neighboring Central American countries.

Fermented or Not?

There are two ways to make curtido, and they’re different foods:

  • Quick vinegar curtido: the vegetables are briefly blanched or salted and soaked in diluted vinegar, ready in hours. This is a pickle, not a ferment: an international expert panel’s definition of fermented foods excludes vegetables pickled in vinegar (Marco et al., 2021). It has no live cultures, and – like other unprocessed vinegar pickles – it belongs in the fridge (NCHFP).
  • Fermented curtido: the vegetables are salted and packed so their own juice covers them, and lactic acid bacteria sour them over several days, exactly as in sauerkraut. Eaten raw, this version contains live cultures.

The old method on this page – salted vegetables covered with half-strength vinegar and left out for a week – sits awkwardly in between: the vinegar slows the fermentation it’s supposed to start. Choose one approach; the recipe card below is the fermented one.

Salt for the Fermented Version

Use the sauerkraut ratio: about 2–2.5% salt by weight of the vegetables (NCHFP) – 20–25 g salt per kilogram of cabbage, carrot and onion. Less salt risks soft, spoiled vegetables; more slows the fermentation. Weigh the vegetables and the salt rather than using spoons, because salt crystal size varies so much. For more on mixed-vegetable slaws, see Korean kimchi, and for films, mold and soft vegetables, our troubleshooting guide.

Serving

Pile curtido onto pupusas with a spoonful of thin tomato salsa, or serve it with tacos, grilled meat, beans or rice. A splash of vinegar or lime at the table brightens the fermented version without changing what’s in the jar.

Recipe: Fermented Curtido (2% Salt)

Makes
About 1.5-litre jar
Hands-on
30 min
Fermentation
3–7 days at 18–24°C
Salt
2% of the vegetables' weight (20 g per kg)
Temperature
18–24°C (64–75°F)
Difficulty
Easy

Equipment

  • Scale
  • Large bowl
  • 1.5–2 litre jar
  • Weight (small jar or bag of brine)
  • Lid or airlock

Ingredients

  • 700 g green cabbage (finely shredded)
  • 150 g carrot (grated)
  • 150 g onion (thinly sliced)
  • 20 g salt (2% of the 1 kg of vegetables)
  • 1–2 tsp dried oregano (Mexican if available)
  • 1–2 jalapeños or a pinch of chili flakes (optional)

Method

  1. Weigh the prepared vegetables and use 2% of that weight in salt (20 g per kg).
  2. Toss the cabbage with the salt and squeeze it firmly for 5–10 minutes until it softens and releases juice. Mix in the carrot, onion, oregano and chili.
  3. Pack tightly into the clean jar, pressing down until the vegetables are covered by their own juice. Weigh them down.
  4. Cover with a lid set loosely or an airlock and keep at 18–24°C, pressing the vegetables back under the brine daily.
  5. Taste from day 3; when pleasantly sour (usually 3–7 days), close the jar and refrigerate.
  6. Skim a flat white film if one forms; discard the batch if fuzzy colored mold appears or it turns slimy or smells rotten.

Frequently asked questions

What is curtido?

A tangy Salvadoran slaw of cabbage, carrot, onion and oregano, served with pupusas.

Is curtido fermented?

It can be either. Many versions are quick vinegar pickles, which aren't fermented foods; others are lacto-fermented with salt like sauerkraut.

Is curtido probiotic?

Only the fermented version eaten raw contains live lactic acid bacteria. Vinegar curtido has none.

How much salt does fermented curtido need?

About 2–2.5% of the vegetables' weight – 20–25 g per kilogram – the same as sauerkraut.

How long does curtido take to ferment?

Usually 3–7 days at room temperature, until it tastes pleasantly sour; then refrigerate it.

How long does curtido keep?

Fermented curtido keeps for weeks in the fridge, slowly getting more sour. Quick vinegar curtido should be refrigerated and eaten within a week or two.

What is curtido served with?

Pupusas above all, with a thin tomato salsa; also tacos, grilled meat, beans and rice.

Sources

  1. Marco ML et al. (2021). The International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) consensus statement on fermented foods. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 18(3):196–208. Link
  2. National Center for Home Food Preservation. Sauerkraut. Link
  3. National Center for Home Food Preservation. General information on pickling. Link
#Latin America and the Caribbean
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