coleslaw is a popular side dish that might have seen its humble beginnings in ancient Rome in some form or fashion. While many people see coleslaw as an American dish these days, it does have a following all around the world in a number of forms. The basis of a traditional coleslaw recipe is typically shredded cabbage, but beyond that, you can expect the ingredients to change quite a bit from dish to dish. It’s all a matter of ingredients you might have on hand as well as what your taste buds are craving.

What many people in the American South call coleslaw is a concoction of shredded cabbage, usually the white variety, with shredded carrots thrown in for some color. The dressing is often sweet and tangy with the sweet coming from salad dressing mayonnaise and the tangy coming from vinegar. In grocery stores, you can buy the cabbage already pre-shredded in bags to make your coleslaw recipe easier to prepare. Some bagged varieties even include red cabbage for some additional color along with the shredded carrots.

Where you live in America will often dictate how your coleslaw recipe is prepared and how it will taste. In the South, you might encounter the traditional coleslaw with mayonnaise dressing along with the addition of mustard. In others, onions are sometimes added or even apples, pineapple, celery, green pepper and raisins.

In addition to the cold coleslaw recipe variations, there are also a number of warm versions as well that have quite a following. Most of the time, when a coleslaw recipe calls itself ‘warm’ that really refers to the way the dressing is prepared, which usually a vinegar based dressing brought to a boil before being poured over the cabbage and tossed together. A freezer version of coleslaw even exists for those “just in case” times that you want to prepare in advance.

Due to many Asian influences in the country, there is a popular Asian coleslaw recipe that is floating around that incorporates shredded Chinese cabbage or red cabbage, bok choy, bean sprouts, sesame oil, rice vinegar, toasted sesame seeds, cilantro and a few other ingredients. Other variations of Asian coleslaw include uncooked oriental flavor Ramen noodles with the spice packet used in the dressing and the noodles used for some crunch.

The bottom line is that there is probably a coleslaw recipe for every taste, ethnic menu and season. Your job is to determine what you are in the mood for and then go about finding the right recipe. When it comes to a coleslaw, your best bet is to look to the internet for inspiration as you will get a global idea of what recipes are out there - much more than if you cracked open your Betty Crocker or Good Housekeeping cookbooks.