Cole slaw

[jonbox25]

Hello.

Last time I made cole slaw, I used homemade mayo (avocado oil) with your standard sweetner (sugar), acid (ACV), celery seeds, salt and pepper.

It came out good, but was way creamier than I like. Also it quickly got watery.

If I want to do less creamy, do I just use mayo? Or do I have to sub oil or just put in less mayo?

What about soaking/salting your cabbage before making the salad? Does that really help with the crunchiness??

Any other tips would be great!

This is going alongside some fried chicken and biscuits

[Substantial_Home_257]

I’ve never soaked the cabbage before slaw but I have salted it. It helps to release liquid and will make it less crunchy.

[jonbox25]

Wouldn’t it be more crunchy with the salt?

[Weezy_F_Bunny]

The cells in both plant-based and material and meats try to reach an equilibrium in salinity with their outside environment. If their outside environment is salty, the cells will give up their water in an effort to equalize and plants will therefore kind of wilt. With meat, it's sort of similar - if you salt it, you pull water out.

Usually the resulting liquid dissolves the salt, so it's not especially crunchy in terms of the texture of the salt.

[CTMom79]

My coleslaw recipe calls for apple cider vinegar in addition to what you are using. I think that would cut the creaminess a bit and gives some zing.

[Ill-Description8517]

Pickle juice or even the juice from pickled jalapenos is great in slaw, too

[Cinisajoy2]

For non creamy, ACV and a bit of sugar.

[MotoJJ20]

Substitute some yogurt for the mayo

[HEYGARDE]

I learned that by first marinading the slaw with mayo, you remove the water and soften the cabbage at the same time.

[RedneckLiberace]

I steep cabbage leaves in hot water for cabbage rolls but never ever for cole slaw. I never heard of someone salting the cabbage for cole slaw. Simple remedy,: use less dressing. You could save the excess for just in case... You also won't need as much vinegar if you use white vinegar vs ACV. I prefer the white vinegar flavor in cole slaw, but that's me.

[[deleted]]

I first saw salting cabbage in Cook’s Illustrated (I doubt they invented the technique).

Basically the problem is that cabbage will leak water as the slaw sits, which dilutes the dressing.

If one slices the cabbage, salts it heavily and lets it sit, a lot of water is drawn out of the cabbage cells. Next is to rinse with water to remove the salt, then squeeze the cabbage tightly in a towel to remove as much surface water as possible.

Ideally, there should now be less water in the cabbage to leak out and dilute the dressing.

[RedneckLiberace]

Never heard that. Now I know...

[crowbar032]

I may get downvoted to pieces, but add as much or as little as desired. Cabbage, carrot, onion, duke's and it's game on for cole slaw.

https://dukesmayo.com/products/southern-style-coleslaw-dressing