Posted on: Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Best coleslaw is the one that you make
By Tommy C. Simmons
Associated Press
Food historians agree that the word "coleslaw" is taken from the Dutch words for cool cabbage or cabbage salad and that's it's been with us "a very, very long time," according to cookbook author David Rosengarten.
In coleslaws, the dressing was and is the distinguishing factor:
Then there are slaws that don't contain cabbage at all, so-called just because vegetables are thin-sliced.
Southern food expert Damon Lee Fowler maintains in his cookbook, "Classical Southern Cooking: A Celebration of the Cuisine of the Old South," that it's all in the chopping.
His favorite coleslaw is dressed with a little homemade mayonnaise, salt and coarsely ground black pepper.
Simple, but then he writes: "Sit down at the kitchen table to make this slaw, or you'll wear your shoulders out. Using a sharp knife and a large cutting board, cut the cabbage first into quarters and then into small chips, no longer than 1 inch and about 1/4-inch wide. The chips should not be too small; nor should they be long and stringy. You can't use a machine, because there isn't one that will make the chips the right size." Rosengarten, however, shreds.
"Small cabbages tend to have fewer thick folds of cabbage inside than large cabbages do — so buy a small head when making coleslaw. ... Savoy cabbages have more delicate leaves — so they, too, are better for fine-shred slaw.
"I like to slice each cabbage in half through the length of the core, then in half again into quarters. Take one quarter and cut out the thick core. Look at the strata of cabbage leaves remaining; most leaves will be thin. But inside your cabbage quarter you'll see a few thick layers of cabbage leaves. Cut them out or pull them out by hand. Now you're ready to take a long, sharp knife and start shredding the cabbage quarter, shaving it into very, very fine shreds."
