Curtido () is a type of lightly fermented
cabbage
Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...
relish
A relish is a cooked and pickled product made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs and is a food item typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a pickled cucumber jam eaten with ho ...
. It is typical in
Salvadoran cuisine
Salvadoran cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of El Salvador. The indigenous foods consist of a mix of Native American cuisine from groups such as the Lenca, Pipil, Maya Poqomam, Maya Chʼortiʼ, Alaguilac, Mixe, and Cacaope ...
and that of other
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
n countries, and is usually made with cabbage,
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
s,
carrot
The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...
s, oregano, and sometimes
lime juice
A lime (from French ''lime'', from Arabic ''līma'', from Persian ''līmū'', "lemon") is a citrus fruit, which is typically round, green in color, in diameter, and contains acidic juice vesicles.
There are several species of citrus trees ...
; it resembles
sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferme ...
, ''
kimchi
''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including ''gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), sprin ...
'', or tart
coleslaw
Coleslaw (from the Dutch term ''koolsla'' meaning 'cabbage salad'), also known as cole slaw, or simply as slaw, is a side dish consisting primarily of finely shredded raw cabbage with a salad dressing or condiment, commonly either vinaigrette ...
. It is commonly served alongside ''
pupusas
A pupusa is a thick griddle cake or flatbread from El Salvador and Honduras, made with cornmeal or rice flour, similar to the Colombian and Venezuelan arepa. In El Salvador, it has been declared the national dish and has a specific day to ce ...
'',
[Bain, Jennifer and Filson, Jon (September 18, 2002). "Pupusa festival leads to Venezuelan arepas". ''Torontohello Star''.] the national delicacy.
Fellow Central American country
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
has a similar recipe called "curtido" by its
Spanish speakers; however, it is a spicy, fermented relish made with onions,
habaneros, and
vinegar
Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...
. It is used to top
salbutes,
garnaches, and other common dishes in
Belizean cuisine
Belizean cuisine is an amalgamation of all ethnicities in the nation of Belize and their respectively wide variety of foods. Breakfast often consists of sides of bread, flour tortillas, or fry jacks that are often homemade and eaten with various ...
.
Curtido, in this example, is made with onions, chillies and carrots. This is in a pupusería in Olocuilta, El Salvador
See also
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Encurtido
Encurtido is a pickled appetizer, side dish and condiment in the Mesoamerican region. It consists of various vegetables, such as onion, peppers such as jalapeño, carrot and beets, among others, pickled in vinegar brine and typically prepared so ...
– a pickled vegetable appetizer, side dish and condiment in the Mesoamerican region
*
*
*
*
References
Belizean cuisine
Brassica oleracea dishes
Cabbage dishes
Condiments
Fermented foods
Guatemalan cuisine
Mexican cuisine
Pickles
Salads
Salvadoran cuisine
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