[1] Go gourmet with apple ginger coleslaw. Photo courtesy EatWisconsin Cheese.com.

[2] Use a crisp eating apple for the salad, like Gala apples, the #1-selling apple in the U.S. (photo © Good Eggs).

When we attend summer cookouts, we always offer to bring the coleslaw. That way, we know it will be a great recipe.

With respect to the simple prepared slaws of shredded cabbage and a bit of carrot doused with sweetened mayonnaise—we’ve eaten our share—coleslaw deserves as much attention and finesse as any other recipe.

For Memorial Day, we’re whipping up this Apple Coleslaw with Lemon Ginger Yogurt Dressing. The recipe, from Eat Wisconsin Cheese, uses queso blanco; but you can substitute Monterrey Jack or even mozzarella.

RECIPE: APPLE COLESLAW

Ingredients For 8 Servings (About 12 Cups)

 
JULY 4TH INGREDIENTS

Use all red cabbage, plus:

1. TOSS the apple, lemon juice and zest in medium bowl; set aside.

2. WHISK together in a large bowl the yogurt, mayonnaise, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper. Stir in the green and purple cabbages, carrots, cheese and lemon-apple mixture.

3. SEASON to taste with additional salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 
ANOTHER COLESLAW RECIPE

For July 4th, try this BLT Cole Slaw recipe. Garnished with cherry tomatoes, it’s red, white (the cabbage) and blue (blue cheese).

 
WHAT’S A SLAW? WHY IS IT COLE?

Long part of the culinary repertoire, “koolsla” or “koolsalade” in Dutch means cabbage salad. Cabbage, the “kool” is pronounced “cole.” “Sla” is short for “salade.”

Instead of being pulled into bite-size pieces like lettuce, the cabbage was sliced.

The term got anglicized in the 18th century as cole slaw (and sometimes, cold slaw). In English, “slaw” came to specify a salad of shredded vegetables.

Over time, shredded cabbage slaw was joined by carrot slaws and more recently, broccoli slaw.
 
____________________
*Approximately 4 tablespoons juice and 1 teaspoon zest.