A Chicago-style hot dog with Katie’s Mustard Slaw. The versatile and delicious condiment is low in calories and can be used on just about anything. Photo by Lauri Patterson |  IST.

WHAT IT IS: A variation of chow-chow, a mustard relish. WHY IT’S DIFFERENT: There’s an impeccable balance of tangy, heat and a bit of sweet. WHY WE LOVE IT: This versatile condiment can be used on just about anything. It’s 10 calories per tablespoon and fat-free. WHERE TO BUY IT: Shoals Entrepreneurial Center .com.

• THE NIBBLE’s Condiments Section:
  More reviews and recipes.
• More Top Pick Of The Week condiments.
• Recipe Of The Week: 20 Uses For Pesto.
• Follow us on Twitter and see our daily notes
  of interest on Blog.TheNibble.com.
• Become a NIBBLE Facebook Fan.
• See the Table Of Contents of the May
  issue of THE NIBBLE, plus the back issues
  archive and our most popular articles.
• All of the Top Picks Of The Week are
  permanently archived on TheNibble.com,
  in chronological order and product category.

Katie’s Mustard Slaw. Photo courtesy Hawkkrall | Flickr.

Chow-chow typically has diced bell peppers. Photo by Geoff | Wikimedia.

Piccalilli has a base of cauliflower and summer squash. Photo by Justinc | Wikimedia.

Katie’s Mustard Slaw: A Universally Great Condiment

Katie’s Mustard Slaw is a condiment that makes our heart flutter. Its formal name is Katie’s Home Style, Old-Fashioned, Pool-Room Mustard Slaw. It’s a variation of chow-chow, an American condiment with a myriad of different recipes that change by region and by cook.

Katie’s Mustard Slaw hails from Alabama. It’s addictively delicious. And it goes with just about anything (see the list below).

We taste a lot of products, and this blend of mustard with bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, onions, vinegar, spices, jalapeños and a bit of salt and sugar is a winner.

It has an impeccable balance of savory, heat and a bit of sweet. The complex layering of ingredients creates a beautiful texture and a spicy kick.

What Is Chow-Chow, Mustard Slaw Or
Pool Room Slaw

Chow-chow is believed to have originated in Nova Scotia*, traveling to Louisiana with Arcadian immigrants. From there, it spread to other states, and regional varieties of the mustard-pickle relish developed.

Also known in the U.S. as mustard slaw or pool room slaw, chow-chow has been made and sold by southern Tennessee Amish for some 100 years.†

Chow-chow is related to piccalilli; the difference is discussed below.

How To Serve Katie’s Mustard Slaw

What a wonderfully versatile condiment! Use it:

• On hot dogs and burgers
• On meat-based sandwiches: bologna, ham, roast beef, submarines, turkey
• With roasted or barbecue chicken, beef or pork
• With grilled or fried fish
• With eggs, including mixed into deviled eggs
• In potato salad or egg salad
• As a dip with crudités, chips, pretzels or tortilla chips (heavenly with soft pretzels), straight or mixed with mayonnaise, plain yogurt or sour cream
• With vegetables: greens, mashed potatoes, beans (such as pinto beans)
• On toast or crackers
• As a condiment with cheese, paté and charcuterie
• As an appetizer, with cocktail franks or Swedish meat balls
• ...and countless other foods

We admit to dipping a spoon into the jar for a mini snack.

A Weight Watchers Delight

A tablespoon of Katie’s Mustard Slaw is just 10 calories, with zero calories from fat, 40mg sodium and 1 mg sugar. It’s a caloric bargain, waiting to add great flavor to your meals. All of the vegetables are fresh from a local farmers market.

Now the challenge: How to get it. Distribution is limited.

To order, call the Shoals Commercial Culinary Center at 256.760.9014.

If you have to order a case, don’t worry: You’ll go through it quickly, and will be happy to have jars for house gifts. At at $3.95 a jar, it’s the least expensive stocking stuffer or teacher gift you’ll come across.

Equally as important, hand this review to your favorite retailers and ask that they bring in a few cases—and watch them fly off the shelves.

Katie is Katie Kilburn of Florence, Alabama. As a side venture, she began to make slaw and relish products for her family and the local high school football concession stand, using her mother-in-law’s recipe.

With the help of the Shoals Commercial Culinary Center, located in her home town, she was able to tap into resources to make more slaw and relish for commercial sale.

But this is her “second job.” She’s a one-person operation, and currently has no website or e-commerce, a Facebook page with scant information and no good product photos. So be patient while she gathers the time and energy to make that happen.

And by all means, buy a case or two, and hand a jar to your retailer, to help this worthy artisan develop her audience.

The Difference Between Chow-Chow
& Piccalilli

Both condiments comprise chopped and pickled vegetables in a mustard sauce. The vegetables vary, as do the levels of sweetness.

Chow-Chow

Chow-chow (the hyphen is essential to distinguish it from the dog breed of the same name) is a mustard-pickle relish made from a combination of vegetables. Popular choices include asparagus, beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, chayote, green tomato, onions, peas and red tomato. It is less sweet than piccalilli, and may also be spicy.

Piccalilli

• British piccalilli contains chopped vegetables—invariably cauliflower and summer squash—plus mustard and turmeric, the latter of which provides the bright yellow “ballpark mustard” color.
• In the U.S., commercial piccalilli substitutes bell peppers for the cauliflower and squash. It is tangier and less sweet than the U.K. versions.

“Yellow potato salad” mixes in chow-chow (mustard slaw) or piccalilli. Photo by B. Hofack | IST.