The Prepared Food You'll Want To Avoid Buying From The Grocery Store

If you're planning a barbecue or picnic, there are plenty of foods that you'll want to purchase in premade form — such as potato chips, soda, and hamburger buns. You might not want to make your own ketchup or mayonnaise, either, unless you're a real overachiever. That said, it's generally better to prepare your own homemade coleslaw than to settle for the store-bought kind. Speaking exclusively with The Takeout, Chip Carter, who produces and hosts the television and YouTube series "Where the Food Comes From," points out that making your own coleslaw is much more budget-friendly: "Cabbage is super-cheap, so are the rest of the ingredients; it's as close to free food as you're going to get."

Carter then goes on to say: "Like anything else, [coleslaw is] certainly better if it's made fresh." However, if you don't have the time or the kitchen facilities to make your own coleslaw, he does provide an important tip for buying the store-bought kind: Always check the sell-by date to make sure it's fresh. "If that's at least a couple of days ahead of your calendar, you'll be fine. If it's today or the next, skip it [because the slaw is] probably already soggy ... past-peak coleslaw is a disgusting mess."

"Where I grew up — the rural Deep South — coleslaw is kind of a big deal. Family recipes are treasured secrets. It's a default side dish in many restaurants, and they vie to present a different spin on a classic," Chip Carter reminisces. Unlike the grocery store kind, restaurant coleslaw may well taste better than homemade. Among the variations are using a lot of mayonnaise, a little mayonnaise, or no mayonnaise at al. The latter is true of vinegar-based Carolina coleslaw, a dish that deserves a spot at your next barbecue.

Making DIY coleslaw, Carter says, is "not really that big a deal either — shred a couple of heads [of cabbage] and sauce it up the way you like. In a pinch, you can quickly add a glob of mayo and a bottled vinaigrette. Chill well before serving." The best type of cabbage for coleslaw is the sturdy green kind, but red cabbage will also work, as will Napa or Savoy cabbage. Be sure to salt the cabbage ahead of time, though, since this will draw out excess moisture and prevent your coleslaw from becoming runny. In addition to chopped or shredded cabbage, you can also add other ingredients like carrots, onions, or even apples and other fruits. Beyond that, you can also spice things up with chopped chiles. The resulting dish will be customized to your personal preference and, as such, is sure to be better than anything you can buy at the supermarket.