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3. Pour the hot dressing over the slaw and toss well. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

SWEET SLAW

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

To most of the country, coleslaw is crisp and sharp, but down south it’s sometimes so soft and sweet it might be dessert. The best sweet slaw I ever ate is that served at Mama Dip’s Kitchen in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It’s not overly sweet; in fact the balance of sweet and tart is exactly right. Mama Dip (Mildred Council), a six-foot-two African American well into her seventies, has written two best-selling cookbooks, Mama’s Dip’s Kitchen (1999) and Mama Dip’s Family Cookbook (2005). This coleslaw, which I double-order every time I eat at Dip’s, appears in her second cookbook—a last-minute addition after I raved on and on about it.

8 cups (2 quarts) moderately finely grated cabbage (you’ll need a 2½-to 2¾-pound cabbage)

¾ cup firmly packed mayonnaise

¼ cup cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

1. Place the cabbage in a large nonreactive bowl. Quickly whisk together all remaining ingredients, pour over the cabbage, and mix well. At first you may think that there isn’t enough dressing. There is because the cabbage will release a fair amount of liquid.

2. Let the slaw stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, mix well, then cover and refrigerate for several hours.

3. Stir the slaw well, taste for salt, and adjust as needed, then serve as an accompaniment to fried chicken, fish or shellfish, or any kind of barbecue.

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EUGENIA DUKE AND THE SOUTH’S FAVORITE MAYONNAISE

When France’s Duc de Richelieu routed entrenched English troops from the port of Mahón on the Mediterranean island of Minorca in 1756, the duke, something of a gourmet, ordered his chef to come up with a special sauce to commemorate the victory. The chef combined egg yolks, olive oil, and vinegar, et voilà! Mahonaisse. Eventually, mayonnaise.

But in 1917, Eugenia Duke of Greenville, South Carolina, created a version that many mayonnaise lovers—especially Southerners—contend beats all rival brands nine ways to Sunday.

As World War One raged in Europe, Mrs. Duke decided to do her part for the war effort by making sandwiches for dough-boys training at Fort Sevier near Greenville. Spread with her homemade mayonnaise, Mrs. Duke’s sandwiches soon had the soldiers lining up for more.

Before long, a Greenville drugstore began selling Mrs. Duke’s sandwiches and then a grocery offered to stock her bottled mayonnaise. In no time, the demand was such that Mrs. Duke gave up sandwich making to concentrate on her creamy spread. C. F. Sauer, a condiment and spice company based in Richmond, Virginia, bought Mrs. Duke out in 1929, but her mayonnaise remains one of the Sauer mainstays.

A southern lady whose name, coincidentally, is also Eugenia, reminisced recently: “This may sound weird, but I used to love peanut butter and banana sandwiches made with Duke’s. Then weight gain and cholesterol caught up with me.”

When she moved from North Carolina to Florida, she couldn’t find Duke’s. “But Food Lion came to town,” she said, “and along came Duke’s.”

Not one to mince words, she added: “Of course, I now have to buy the low-fat crap. But there’s nothing like the real thing. And that’s Duke’s!”

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BARBECUE SLAW

MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

I see this reddish slaw more and more often at barbecue joints across the South and occasionally order it instead of the classic—and more caloric—mayonnaise-based Sweet Slaw, which precedes. Like Sweet-Sour Coleslaw, Barbecue Slaw is a good choice for picnics and tailgate parties.

Coleslaw

8 cups (2 quarts) finely shredded cabbage (you’ll need a 2½-to 2¾-pound cabbage)

1 medium-size sweet onion (Vidalia, Spanish, or Bermuda), finely chopped

Dressing

1 cup cider vinegar

2/3 cup corn or vegetable oil

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons ketchup or barbecue sauce

1 teaspoon salt

½ dry teaspoon mustard

½ teaspoon sweet paprika

¼ to ½ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce,