Coleslaw-coleslaw – cole or whatever – is transcendent when done right, but so easy to mess up completely. Nobody wants a bowl of shredded cabbage floating in overly-sweetened, watered-down mayo, and – thankfully – nobody has to indulge in that fate. To keep your coleslaw from getting soaked, all you need is a little salt.
Sodium chloride (the salt we eat) is a pretty good solute, which means it has a strong tendency to pull water from fruits and vegetables through the cell walls. It is only up to you to decide whether this process (called osmosis) should take place before or after you put your coleslaw on. (The salt and sugar in your dressing can certainly pull moisture away.) This isn’t that big of a decision if you’re making your coleslaw right away and then eating it, but if you’re planning on taking it to a potluck the next day, or delaying it even stopping your consumption for a while, you want to get that excess moisture out before it even sees a spoonful of mayo (or other dressing).
Fortunately, this maneuver is easy to perform; AA Newton explained how she was doing larger instructions for coleslawBut all you need to do is toss 1/4 of a teaspoon of table salt with half a head of shredded cabbage (and other vegetables you might want to add, like carrots or onions), then let sit for about ten minutes on a baking sheet of paper towels or in a colander. Then remove the excess moisture by dabbing it with more paper towels or pour the mixture into a salad spinner and twist like the hell. Now you can put on and eat your coleslaw or keep the cabbage cutlets in a clean, covered bowl for up to 24 hours. (If any more liquid oozes from the scraps, just blot it away.)
