Make it don't buy it: coleslaw

Coleslaw is synonymous with barbecues, all-you-can-eat salad bars and ham sarnies. But did you know the roots of this humble side salad can be traced back as far as Roman times?

Ancient origins

Cabbage, coleslaw’s principal ingredient, was grown by both the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Romans ate a dish which is fairly similar to modern coleslaw - serving cabbage with vinegar, spices and eggs.  The Roman writer Cato was fond of eating cabbage doused in vinegar, believing that this diet would prevent disease. “There is general agreement that as the Roman Empire expanded northward, so, too, did cabbage fever,” says Molly O’Neill in the New York Times. The basic dish of raw cabbage and vinegar was eventually adopted and adapted by other nations: “The British, for example, experimented with a roux-thickened dressing, and the Germans added sour cream,” says O’Neill.

The dish was popular in Holland too, where it gained the name ‘koolsalade’, meaning cabbage salad. It’s thought that coleslaw reached America via Dutch settlers, who grew cabbage along the Hudson River in New York State. The Dutch abbreviation ‘koolsla’ eventually morphed into ‘coleslaw’.

United States of Slaw

The first known mention of ‘coleslaw’ was in the 18th Century, in a cookbook called ‘The Sensible Cook: Dutch Foodways in the Old and New World.’ The recipe for coleslaw involves raw cabbage dressed with melted butter and vinegar. Mayonnaise, which is widely believed to be an 18th Century creation, was not yet used in the dish. The addition of mayo became popular after New York deli-owner Richard Hellmann began selling bottled mayonnaise in 1912.

Coleslaw soon became popular across the States, where it is commonly referred to as slaw, particularly in the South. There are many variations – the dressing is often made with buttermilk or sour cream, and healthier versions without a heavy dressing, and involving ingredients such as seeds, kale or fennel are currently fashionable on both sides of the pond.

Make it Don’t Buy it

In Britain, the classic form of coleslaw is made with white cabbage, carrots and mayonnaise. But when bought versions are so often sloppy and insipid, why not have a go at making your own? It takes just five minutes and the vegetables have a freshness and crunch you just don’t get with the supermarket stuff. It tastes best eaten straight away but can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days.

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