The Absolute Best Mustard Coleslaw Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why does my homemade coleslaw go watery? ›

Cabbage contains lots of water. Alton Brown suggests salting the cabbage and letting the water drain for two hours, then rinsing the cabbage and spinning it dry before dressing it. That purges the excess water out of the cabbage before it is dressed, so it doesn't get watery.

However, there is a best vinegar to use, and it's apple cider vinegar. The reason is threefold: taste, chemical makeup, and health benefits. Though there's no shortage of other types of vinegar, none has this ideal trifecta to best complement your cabbage and its other coleslaw vegetable ingredients.

We tested it out by salting shredded cabbage with 4% salt by weight and letting it sit in a bowl before draining in a colander and pressing out excess free moisture. Well would you look at that? Turns out that after 15 minutes of salting, you've pretty much drawn out all of the moisture you're ever going to.

In addition to improving immunity, detoxifying the body, and aiding in digestion, coleslaw also provides vitamin K. Vitamin K is abundantly present in cabbage and it can store minerals in the bones. Through its bone mineralization properties, vitamin K can help improve bone health.

Place salted cabbage in a colander over a bowl for 1 to 2 hours. The salt pulls moisture out of the cabbage, seasons it, and leaves you with a super-crunchy texture that isn't raw or tough-tasting. Rinse! Rinse well to purge the salt.

Keep it bright: Red cabbage retains that vivid purplish color when you slice it with a stainless steel knife (rather than carbon steel), use a nonreactive pan (rather than cast iron or aluminum), and add an acid, like vinegar or lemon juice. Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water.

Distilled white vinegar is a great substitute for apple cider vinegar. Lemon Juice. I don't recommend making a substitution for the lemon juice.

Mixing a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with a cup of water, a squeeze of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey creates a tasty, sweet drink. You could even add a pinch of cinnamon for extra flavour or add more honey to make it sweeter!

Use balsamic vinegar as a 1:1 substitute for red wine vinegar in most recipes. You can also dilute it with white vinegar or red wine. Because of its thicker, sweeter properties, you may need to reduce the sweetness in the recipe you're following.

Solution: Ensure that you remove the core of the cabbage before shredding it. Cut the cabbage in half, then cut out the triangular core from each half. Old Cabbage:Issue: Older cabbage may develop a bitter taste. Solution: Use fresh cabbage for your coleslaw.

Should cabbage be washed before making coleslaw? ›

Cabbage. The outer layer isn't going to be eaten—the leaves are tougher and undesirable to many—so why wash cabbage? There's a good reason: Worms or other insects could be inside the cabbage, so to be safe, follow these steps for cleaning and washing it.

What is traditional coleslaw made of? Traditional coleslaw is little more than shredded cabbage and a creamy dressing. This recipe adds a bit more flavor with shredded carrots and onion. The creamy dressing is made with mayonnaise, sugar, cider vinegar, salt, and pepper, for a just right tangy-sweet flavor.

Finely diced ingredients

Fresh ingredients are key to a good slaw, and KFC does alright for a fast food restaurant. You won't find any wilted cabbage pieces, and the carrots are nice and hard as well.

The antioxidants in coleslaw can help protect cells from damage and to avoid cancer development. May aid in lowering cholesterol levels. Cabbage has two compounds that have been demonstrated to lower harmful LDL cholesterol levels. Can support lowering blood pressure levels.

The high fiber content in cabbage and other vegetables can aid in regulating bowel movements and preventing constipation. Additionally, the probiotics found in fermented versions of cole slaw, such as sauerkraut, can promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria and improve overall gut health.

Assuming that you're storing your coleslaw in the refrigerator — and haven't taken it out for a stretch of time and put it back in — coleslaw can safely last up to five days. However, it's important to remember that this is the maximum amount of time it should be kept.

To offset the creaminess (and potentially wetness) of too much mayo, try adding in more of whatever crunchy element you were using. Celery and red onion are some of the most common ones, but you can also try chopped red peppers, bacon bits, carrots, cabbage, apples, chopped nuts, and more.

Within an hour the cabbage will begin weeping liquid which begins to dilute the dressing and the cabbage ends up sitting in a puddle of watery dressing that won't cling to the leaves. To prevent this tear-jerking weeping effect, a little salt goes a long way.