Making Curtido with pictures

Curtido has to be the all time favorite around here. Below the recipe, I have pictures for every step of the way. I hope it helps. Happy fermenting! 

Curtido

Or Spanish Kimchee from El Salvador

from https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/spanish-kimchi/

(I have great respect for Donna Schwenk at culturedfoodlife.com and I post this with her kind permission. I looked at lots of Curtido recipes, but I like hers the best! I highly recommend you check out her website. I have no intention of going as deep as she does, and since she has such a great site, why should I duplicate it?)

¼ tsp Cutting Edge Cultures or ½ cup of kefir whey *** 

1 small head green cabbage

2 whole carrots

1 whole jalapeno, seeded cored and thinly slice

1 small onion

1 TBSP red pepper flakes

1 TBSP Mexican oregano

½ TBSP chili lime seasoning (Trader Joe's)

½ TBSP celtic sea salt

1. If using cutting Edge Starter Culture, place ½ cup water in a glass measuring cup. Then add the culture and stir until dissolved. Let the mixture sit while you chop your vegetables—anywhere between 5 and 15 min. If using kefir whey, add it when the recipe calls for culture in step 4.

***(I use 6 TBSP of juice left from using Bubbies live sauerkraut as my inoculator)

1. remove the outer leaves and the core from the cabbage, and shred or chop the rest. Place the cabbage in a large bowl.
2. shred or chop the carrots and onion, and add them to the bowl along with the jalapeno.
3. add vegetables to the bowl along with the red pepper flakes, oregano, chili lime salt, and celtic sea salt. Combine all ingredients.
4. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a half gallon glass or ceramic container that can be securely sealed and add the culture or kefir whey. (I use 2 quart jars so they will fit in my RV fridge.)
5. Press down firmly on the vegetables, then cover the vegetable with filtered water, leaving at least 2 inches of headroom at the top of the container. (I don't add any water, but I do add weights which help hold it all down under the liquid)
6. Seal the container and let it sit on your counter, out of direct sunlight, for 6 days.
7. Check the vegetables every day to make sure they stay fully submerged in water. If they have risen above the water, simply push them down so they are fully covered by the water. If any white yeast formed because the veggies rose above the water, do not worry. Remember, this isn't harmful. Just scoop out the vegetables that have molded and push the rest under the water. (I think this is Kahm yeast, but since I put weights in the jar, I can skip this step and just leave them alone for 6 days) 
8. After 6 days, place the vegetables in your refrigerator where they will last many months perfectly preserved. (except that you will likely eat them all up way before that!)

First the grated carrots. 

Then the onion and jalepeno, chopped fine in the food processor.

Finely chopped, which I prefer. 

Stirring together everything but the cabbage.

I'm holding in my hand a medium size head of cabbage which is the size you want. Not too big or small or it will mess up the salt to cabbage ratio. This balance is important. Shred it and add to the bowl. For this next part you really, really need gloves! Jalapeño does not feel good on the hands and will burn for hours. 

Turning, and mixing and squeezing the cabbage. Make sure all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. I squeeze the cabbage gently as I mix it all up. The salt releases the juices and you want this. Squeezing helps that process along. This takes maybe 10 or 15 minutes to do. I don't really time it, I just keep going until I can feel the juices release and the cabbage is softer. You can see why gloves are very useful for this part! I don't want my hands covered in jalapeno juice for any length of time.  

See how much smaller it all looks? When the cabbage is mixed with the salt it begins to release its juice. This juiciness is what you want, it's what helps it ferment.

Everything has been divided between the two jars. Now to press it down.

This part is really helpful. You can buy tampers, but I'm using a tart pressing tool (which I think I've never actually used to make tarts!) Whatever you find that can help you push the cabbage mix down, even a small jar or something that fits into the opening of the jar. The idea is the bring the juices to the top. You want it on the surface to keep the cabbage submerged and make for a better ferment. 

See how much juice I'm getting by pushing down the cabbage?

Jar weights can help keep it submerged, but you can do without them. These are glass fermenting weights. If you don't have weights, you can open your jar and push everything back down. The idea is to keep the fermenting going on under the liquid to cause an anaerobic lacto-fermentation. That means without air. Air can cause mold to develop. 

These are fermenting lids. They are great, but if all you have is a regular mason jar lid, use it! It doesn't have to be fancy. I've made this before without fancy lids or weights. Since this only ferments for 6 days, the risk of mold is really low. By the way, these are Easy Fermenter lids. They were a gift and I really like them! You can even slide the thing on the top around to show the date you did your ferment! Although you can also make note on a calendar or  write it on the lid.

And there you have it! Six days of waiting, and then you can enjoy you very own Curtido! We eat it on salads, eggs, sandwiches, etc. Pretty much every dinner. Enjoy all these happy probiotics that this will add to you gut to make it happier!