Saturday Thoughts...Freezer Cole Slaw

 

Heather, who owns the very popular sandwich shop in our small indoor mall, was wondering if she could freeze some St. Patrick's Day Sale cabbage.  Here's the recipe that is our favorite to do just that!
I suppose it was the 1970’s when a coworker shared her recipe for freezer cole slaw with me.  What a revelation; nice crisp cole slaw from your freezer any time!  Much healthier with a sandwich than chips.  We like this recipe from "The Practical Produce Cook Book".   This is one reliable way to preserve cabbage besides sauerkraut.
I put mine up in ½ pints so my husband and I can share a jar with a meal with no leftovers.  It also freezes well in freezer bags flat, but I put them in a pan until they are frozen to prevent any liquid seeping out into my freezer.  
The 8 cups of cabbage is about 1 nice-sized head.  After you cut out the core, about 2 pounds will shred into 8 cups.  I use my food processor to speed this up and save my knuckles.  
I also rinse off the salt and let the cabbage drain again before adding the dressing, otherwise it is too salty for us.  You can drain it well after thawing and add mayonnaise or cooked dressing if desired.
                           Cole Slaw to Freeze
  8        cups  cabbage – shredded
  1        each  carrot – grated (I use 2)
  2        teaspoons  salt
  2        cups  sugar
  1        cup  white vinegar
     ¼     cup  water
  1         teaspoon  celery seed
  1         teaspoon  mustard seed -- optional
Mix cabbage, carrot and salt.  Let set 1 hour, and then drain well.  (I rinse and drain mine.)  Combine remaining ingredients and bring to boil.   Boil 1 minute.  Cool.  Stir into cabbage.
Let set 1/2 hour.  Mix well then put into freezer containers.  I leave about ½” headspace for expansion.
   "8 half pints or 4 pints or 2 quarts"

7 comments:

  1. This sounds so good! I am going to have to make this one. Thank you for the recipe.

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  2. Great looking recipe. We do eat A lot of cole slaw; especially with fish and also goes great with hamburgers and / or hot dogs. Thank You.

    My 4oz. canning jars will be perfect for this being it's just hubby and myself.

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  3. Thank you for this. I always have cabbage and carrots and this will help it from not going bad before I get around to using it!

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  4. I didn't know you could freeze cole slaw.

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  5. This freezes ok just because of the salting and brine...it doesn't work with mayonnaise or cooked type dressings like miracle whip. You can drain off the brine and add that kind of dressing before serving, although we don't bother.

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  6. In my copy of Practical Produce, the recipe is much lower in salt. It lists 2 teaspoons of salt.

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    Replies
    1. You are right...I probably didn't notice the larger amount because I rinse it before moving on with the recipe. Thanks for pointing out our error!

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