Cabbage revelation

I've discovered something about cabbage. I'm sure the curiousity is killing you, so I'll get right to it.

During the winter, I buy the bagged cabbage that is already shredded. I mix it with slaw dressing in the morning if we want to have it for supper in the evening. But if I'm cutting up my own cabbage from what we grew in our garden, it's better not to add the dressing till just before we eat. If I add it in the morning, it gets a bit runny by evening.

We were wondering why the difference, then it occurred to us:

The bagged cabbage is older, and somewhat dried out. It needs all day to "soak up" the dressing.

Our fresh cabbage still retains it's moisture, so if it sits in the dressing all day, it gathers too much moisture and gets runny.

Another reason to grow your own, or support your local farmer's market if you have one!

We're going to experiment this fall by growing late cabbage. In the past, we've only grown it in the spring. We had lots this year, and are still eating some of it. We left it in the garden as long as possible, then picked it and put it in the fridge. It will keep quite awhile if you cut off the outer leaves, then just put the head in a plastic grocery bag. When you're ready to eat it, just remove a couple layers and the inside is still fine.

We all like coleslaw, but George LOVES coleslaw. He could eat it every day. Most of the summer, we've been having it a couple times a week, but we're getting close to running out. I think we only have a couple heads left. He may go into withdrawal! We better figure out quick when to get the fall crop planted!