I know, “canning” and “cole slaw” don’t go together.  But anything that saves me time and money in the long run is worth a shot!  One thing about it – I’m not afraid to experiment when it comes to canning, especially if I have most of the ingredients on hand or it’s cheap to make.  It never fails my boys will grab a pack of hotdogs and out the door we go to the cabin.  I wanted to add something to our shelf stable pantry at the cabin for those occasions; that’s what sparked the interest in canning cole slaw and hot dog chili.  You’ll read about the chili in another post.  This recipe is simple.  Chop, shred, boil, mix and jar up, pretty much it’s that easy.

What’s pictured below yielded 5 quarts.

• 2 heads of Cabbage, shredded
• 2 Red Peppers, diced
• 2 large Carrots, shredded (if desired)
• 2 medium Onions, diced
• 2 teaspoons Salt

Mix the onions, peppers and cabbage together, cover with the salt and let sit for at least 1 hour.

Mix the syrup, heat until the sugar is dissolved and set it aside.

• 4 cups of Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Mustard Seed
• 2 teaspoons Celery Seed
• 2 cups of Vinegar
• 1/2 cup of Water

Once the syrup is dissolved, drain the cabbage mixture, rinse if desired and mix the syrup and cabbage together.  Put the mixture in hot, sterile jars, wipe the rims with a sterile cloth, tighten the 2 piece ring/lid.

Water bath for 10 minutes.

You can eat this straight from the jar and serve as a bbq vinegar based slaw.  Prefer a mayonnaise based slaw – no problem – drain (rinse if you prefer) and add mayonnaise! Enjoy!