Homemade Diner Coleslaw, Pennsylvania Style

Creamy, sweet coleslaw recipe
Coleslaw is a Pennsylvania favorite, from the famous strip sandwiches of Pittsburgh to the Catholic churches' Friday fish fries of the rural northeast. This particular recipe is a riff on a four generation old version created by my Pennsylvania Dutch great-grandmother and served in our family's little diner for over 50 years. The original called for 3 heads of cabbage, an entire jar of mayonnaise, and made enough for about 150 people! This scaled down version yields 3 to 4 cups and about 8 servings. It's easy to double or triple for large events.

This recipe is sweet and creamy rather than vinegary and watery. This version contains no spices, and is easy to customize. You can make it drier with less mayonnaise or less milk. If you aren't going to use all of it right away, I suggest leaving out the milk and using a little more mayonnaise. My grandfather liked to use buttermilk instead of plain milk, which gives it a little tartness without curdling. The buttermilk gives it a slightly shorter storage life.

Store in the fridge in an air tight container for up to one week.

Images copyright Jill Wandel Scott Photography, 2017