Slaw ride: State lawmakers push to make ‘hot slaw’ an official Tennessee food

From NewsChannel 9: A longtime regional dish wildly popular in Cleveland, Tennessee may soon get its due, if a 2 Bradley County lawmakers have the

From NewsChannel 9: A longtime regional dish wildly popular in Cleveland, Tennessee may soon get its due, if a 2 Bradley County lawmakers have their way.

It’s known as “hot slaw,” and homemade versions of the spicy delicacy have filled the pantries and refrigerators of Cleveland natives for years now.

It’s so popular, Cleveland holds an annual Hot Slaw Festival each April.

On Tuesday, the state Senate unanimously passed an amended version of HB 1597/SB 1573, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Raper (R-Bradley County) and State Sen. Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun), that would add hot slaw to the list of official state foods.

Rep. Raper’s original bill would have made hot slaw the official state food. But he later amended the bill, acknowledging there’s room at the table for other comestibles the Volunteer State is known for — like Nashville hot chicken, Memphis barbecue, and even made-in-Chattanooga Moon Pies.

So what is hot slaw? For one thing, it’s not hot in temperature — it’s hot in taste.

‘Official’ recipes are kept close to the vest by most hot slaw makers, but the food combines cabbage, mayonnaise and mustard — along with a key ingredient that makes it spicy. Enthusiasts use it as a condiment for practically everything — but especially hamburgers and hot dogs.

We asked followers on our Twitter page who made the best in town. At least one viewer emphatically responded “Fuzz’s,” which is available at some nearby grocery stores.

But hot slaw is not universally known. Axios reported that during the debate on the bill earlier this week, Rep. Lowe, the bill’s sponsor “acknowledged he had never tried it until he took his first bite Tuesday during a Senate State and Local Government Committee hearing.”