No 'blah' in coleslaw

BATON ROUGE, La. — Food historians agree that the word "coleslaw" is taken from the Dutch words for cool cabbage or cabbage salad, but other than that bit of lexicography, they know little about it's history.

Besides being a salad of long standing, it is also a salad with no regional bias. Cooks in the North, South, East and West include coleslaw recipes in their regional community cookbooks.

There are dozens of coleslaw recipes, and until now about the only ingredient they had in common was finely chopped or shredded cabbage. The coleslaw dressing was and is the distinguishing factor in determining the type of coleslaw preferred.

For cooks who don't want to take time chopping or shredding cabbage to make coleslaw, there are packages of shredded-cabbage mixtures sold in the produce sections at most supermarkets.

The food staff sampled three packaged coleslaw products to see if the precut cabbage mixtures would produce acceptable coleslaw. We found that they worked fine, particularly if the cook dumped the bag of coleslaw into a salad bowl, stirred in additional seasoning and let the coleslaw chill for 30 minutes to an hour in the refrigerator before serving. The extra seasoning and chilling time helped blend the flavors and softened the harsh cabbage taste that sometimes accompanies precut cabbage served immediately from the bag.

Here are some favorite coleslaw recipes to try:

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MIKE ANDERSON'S COLESLAW

15 cups shredded green cabbage

2 cups shredded purple cabbage

1 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onions

3/4 cup finely chopped green bell peppers

2 tablespoons chopped green onions

2 cups Coleslaw Dressing (recipe follows)

In large mixing bowl, combine green cabbage, purple cabbage, yellow onions, bell peppers and green onions. Using hands, toss well.

Add Coleslaw Dressing. Toss and serve. Serves 12 to 15.

Dressing:

1 tablespoon fresh, finely minced garlic

1 1/4 cups mayonnaise

1/3 cup yellow mustard

3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon black pepper

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Stir well and refrigerate. Makes 2 cups.

— Recipes from "Mike Anderson's Seafood" cookbook

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MANGO COLESLAW

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and chopped

1 cup julienned tart green apple (see note)

1/2 cup julienned carrot

1/3 cup dried, sweetened cranberries

1/4 cup halved green or red grapes, optional

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Mix together all ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl.

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GEORGIA COLESLAW

1 cup corn oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons celery seed

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper