Haitian · sauce/condiment

Pikliz

Name: Pikliz
Prep time: 46 min
Total time: 72 h 46 min
Cuisine: Haitian
Ingredients: white cabbage — 300 g; carrots — 150 g; onion — 100 g; shallots — 60 g; scotch bonnet chillies — 30 g; garlic — 24 g; salt — 15 g; lime juice — 30 g; whole black peppercorns — 5 g; cloves — 2 g; fresh thyme — 6 g; granulated sugar — 4 g; white vinegar — 600 g

Pikliz reads sourness 7.7, citrus 5.3 and allium 4.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Haitian sauce/condiment, about 72 hr 46 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 4.3 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.7 / 10
Sour & Bright — 9.3 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.7 / 10
Rich & Fat — 0.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.6 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sourness 7.7 · Citrus 5.3 · Allium 4.8 · Salinity 4.1 · Sweetness 4.1 · Heat 3.5 · Warm Spice 2.6 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Floral 2.0 · Fruity 1.9 · Umami 1.8 · Earthy 1.5 · Bitterness 1.0

What's in it (13)

white cabbage — 300 g
carrots — 150 g
onion — 100 g
shallots — 60 g
scotch bonnet chillies — 30 g
garlic — 24 g
salt — 15 g
lime juice — 30 g
whole black peppercorns — 5 g
cloves — 2 g
fresh thyme — 6 g
granulated sugar — 4 g
white vinegar — 600 g

Time & effort: about 72 hr 46 min (46 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 31.2 kcal, 0.9 g protein, 0.3 g fat, 4.8 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

Pikliz is the sharp, ferocious pickle that sits on every Haitian table and it is what makes fried food such as griot make sense — vinegar and fire cutting straight through pork fat. It is genuinely hot. Scotch bonnets are not interchangeable with habaneros here; scotch bonnet carries a fruity, almost apricot aroma under the heat that is a large part of the flavour, and jalapeño is not in the conversation at all.
Shred the cabbage as finely as you can manage and julienne the carrots into matchsticks, about 15 minutes with a knife. Thickness matters — coarse cabbage stays raw-tasting and never softens in the vinegar.
Slice the onion, shallots, scotch bonnets and garlic thinly. Wear gloves for the peppers, keep the seeds, and do not rub your eyes for the rest of the day.
Toss everything with the salt and lime juice and leave it 20 minutes, then squeeze out and discard the water it gives up. This is the step most recipes skip and it is why their pikliz goes watery within a week.
Pack the vegetables into a large sterilised jar in layers with the peppercorns, cloves, thyme and sugar distributed through, pressing down hard as you go, about 3 minutes.
Pour in the vinegar to cover everything completely, seal, and leave at room temperature for 3 days before you open it. It is edible on day one and correct on day three. Refrigerated after that, it keeps for months and gets better; top the jar up with fresh vegetables as you eat it down.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Trinidad Green Seasoning — Trinidadian
Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad — Moroccan
Shredded Chicken Tacos with Salsa Roja — Mexican
Liboke ya Mbisi (Fish in Banana Leaves) — Congolese
Birria de Chivo Tatemada — Mexican · Jalisco

Keep reading: what sourness, citrus, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.