Preparing grape leaves for dolma. Is it possible and how to preserve grape leaves?

These beautiful, aromatic, and also healthy leaves improve the taste and serve as the basis for delicious dishes and drinks such as dolma (stuffed cabbage rolls in grape leaves), sarmale, and grape tea. I'll tell you how to prepare grape leaves for the winter, spending minimal amount time and effort.

The most suitable time of year for assembling and harvesting grape leaves For winter, dolma is considered spring, when the vine has not yet had time to bloom. Then new shoots grow and tender young leaves are formed. Take grape leaves for dolma that are undamaged and of the same size. It doesn't matter whether they are big or small - it depends on personal preference.

Tender young grape leaves that have not yet had time to harden are suitable for harvesting for future use. You can distinguish them as follows: young leaves are light green in color, their veins are not hard, the leaf blade is elastic and elastic. Experts assure that white grape varieties have the best leaves - they are more tender.

It is from these leaves that dolma or tolma is prepared - a dish popular in the cuisines of the peoples of Transcaucasia, the Balkan Peninsula, Western and Central Asia, and North Africa. Essentially these are the same cabbage rolls, however, twisted into the shoots of a vine. In Moldova, grape leaves with minced meat wrapped in them are called cabbage rolls or sarmale. If dolma is prepared with lamb and rice, then sarmale with pork and rice.

From Wikipedia: word dolma originates from Turkic. dolmak "to be filled" (i.e. a grape leaf filled with meat, rice and spices).

Preparing grape leaves for cabbage rolls

Before you start storing the collected grape leaves for the winter, you need to prepare them for further processing. Trim the petioles or “tails” at the base of the leaf. Rinse the young leaves thoroughly under running water.

Then dry them by laying them out on a clean towel. If the leaves are of different sizes, sort them into two or three piles.

Grape leaves for dolma or cabbage rolls can be prepared for future use in one of the following ways:

• pickling
• pickling
• freezing
• preparation in plastic bottles
• dry canning.

Pickling grape leaves

Grape leaves pickled for future use are very popular. You will learn how to pickle grape leaves for winter storage in the following recipe.

• Take the prepared leaves, roll them into 10-15 pieces and place them tightly in the jar.
• The jar and lid must be thoroughly washed and sterilized.
• Next, pour boiling water over the leaves for 10 minutes, and after this manipulation, drain the water.
• Do this procedure twice.
• Now fill the workpiece with boiling marinade solution and seal with a lid.

• Turn the jar upside down and cover it warm blanket. Wait until it cools down completely.

Recipe for making marinade No. 1:

Water – 1 liter

9 percent vinegar - 2 tablespoons

Salt – 1 tablespoon

Sugar – 1 tablespoon

But in Azerbaijani cuisine, leaves are pickled without vinegar, only salt and citric acid.

Marinade recipe No. 2:

Water 1 liter

Salt – 1 tbsp. spoon without slide

Citric acid – 1/2 teaspoon.

You can store canned grape leaves at room temperature.

Salting grape leaves for dolma for the winter

There is a recipe, proven by generations, on how to preserve grape leaves. You can simply pickle them!

Brine Prepare this way: boil water with salt at the rate of 20 grams per 1 liter of liquid.

• We take 10-15 prepared leaves, wrap them in rolls and place them tightly in a jar. The same as we did when we pickled the leaves. The jars must first be washed and sterilized. To prevent the rolls from falling apart, you can tie them with a thread.

• Fill with warm brine up to the neck so that the entire contents are completely covered.

• Next you need to roll up the jars and cool them.

They are stored in a dark room at a low temperature or in a cellar. If there is no cellar, then in the refrigerator.

For spicy lovers there is version with mustard .

• Place the leaves in a 1 liter jar.
• Cover them with a mixture of: 1 tbsp. l. salt, 1 tbsp. l. mustard and 1 tsp. ground pepper.
• Pour boiling water into the jar on top.
• Close the lid.
• Place the lid down.
• Wrap up.
• Keep it this way until the jar cools down.

Keep refrigerated.

Preparing grape leaves for the winter for dolma Freezing

We prepare many products using freezing. Grape leaves for cabbage rolls are also frozen. This way all useful elements are preserved.

• Take 10-15 prepared leaves and roll them tightly into a tube.

• To prevent the tube from unfolding, you can tie the leaves with thread or wrap the tube in cling film.
• Place several finished tubes in a transparent plastic bag.
• Place in the freezer for storage.

Such preparations are compact and do not take up much space in the freezer.

Attention! Before stuffing the leaves, it is recommended to rinse them with hot water.

How to prepare grape leaves for dolma in a bottle for the winter

Preparing grape leaves for dolma in bottles for the winter is a way to keep this valuable product fresh. Preserving vine shoots in a bottle is done like this: roll 2-3 sheets and put them in a plastic bottle.

Attention! The bottle must be clean and dry.

Compact until the bottle is completely filled.

It is recommended to keep a bottle with grape leaves in a cool, dark place; under these conditions, the shelf life is at least 1 year.

How to prepare grape leaves for dolma for the winter using the dry method

• Place the prepared grape leaves for dolma, one at a time, into a washed glass container, sprinkling a little salt.
• Place the leaves in this manner until the jar is filled.
• Place the workpiece in the oven and sterilize at low temperature for about ten minutes.
• Seal the jar with a sterilized lid.
• Place the container in a cool, dark place - in refrigeration unit or underground

This semi-finished product can be stored for up to 1 year.

Grape leaf tea

To brew tea, take 1 teaspoon of ready-made fermented tea leaves, pour 0.25 liters hot water. Infuse the drink for 10 minutes, then strain. You can add green or black tea to the grape brew to taste. The energetically valuable and healthy drink is ready!

Is grape tea good or bad?

Grape leaves are a storehouse of health, they contain great amount minerals and vitamins. The nutritional value 100 grams is 93 kilocalories, contains 2.1 grams of fat, 5.6 grams of protein and 17.3 grams of carbohydrates. Also, 100 grams of grape leaves contain:

vitamins: beta-carotene – 16 mg (323.9% of the daily value); gr B – 14 mg (10%); A – 1376 µg (152.9%); C – 11.1 mg (12.3%); E – 2 mg (13.3%); K – 108.6 mcg (90.5%); microelements: Ca – 363 mg (36.3%); P – 91 mg; Mg – 95 mg (23.8%); K – 272 mg (10.9%); macroelements: Fe – 2.63 mg (14.6%); Mn – 2.855 mg (142.8%); Cu – 415 µg (41.5%); Zn – 0.67 mg; polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-3: 0.856 g (95.1% DV).

Thanks to the high content of antioxidants, vision, skin and hair condition improves. The rate of formation of free radicals is reduced, which reduces the possibility of developing cancer, atherosclerosis, cataracts and other diseases. An infusion of grape leaves is used for hypertension. A large amount of calcium and manganese has a positive effect on the condition of bones and teeth.

To prepare an infusion of grape leaves, take 1 tablespoon of tea or just dry leaves, pour 1 tbsp. boiling water and infuse for 20 minutes.

Grape leaf tea has all the properties of fresh grape shoots. Drying is the best way preserve vitamins and microelements. True, if you brew tea from grape leaves, a certain amount of ascorbic acid will decompose under the influence high temperature. Other elements will be completely transferred into this drink, making it very nutritious and tonic.

There are contraindications prohibiting the use of tea made from grape leaves. Among them diabetes, obesity, ulcers and gastritis. It is necessary to carefully weigh the benefits and harms, and if you have any illnesses, we advise you to consult a doctor.

How to collect grape leaves for tea

Attention: Collect tea leaves from those vineyards that have not been treated or fed with chemically synthesized preparations.

You can dry both whole and slightly torn vine shoots. It is allowed to use substandard materials that are not suitable for other harvesting methods. Check them for signs of damage, rot and other stains. Then you need to wash and dry the sheets on a flat surface. Fold the leaves into an envelope and place them in an even layer on a baking sheet or wire rack. Place to dry in the oven or dryer. The ideal temperature is 65 degrees. After drying, grind the tea leaves with your hands.

The tea really turns out wonderful. The young shoots make even better tea than the leaves. The length of the mustache is approximately 15 cm.

Don't Skip the Tea Fermentation Process

Ready fermented tea is stored in a closed glass container (jar) or in a paper or canvas bag in a dark, dry place.

Our housewives are accustomed to preparing cabbage rolls by wrapping the meat and rice in cabbage leaves. There is a similar dish in the Caucasus, only they use minced lamb, which is wrapped in grape leaves. This dish is called dolma. In general, it turns out to be a kind of version of our cabbage rolls, only in a new wrapper.

Modern housewives have begun to prepare dolma quite often, which is why today I would like to raise the topic of how to prepare grape leaves for cabbage rolls for the winter.

How to prepare grape leaves for the winter

When choosing leaves for dolma, give preference to white grape varieties. It is advisable that the “wrapper” for the future dish be young, cut from a vine located in a remote area away from busy highways and roads. The fact is that the plants located along the roadway are saturated with exhaust gases and other nasty things, as it all settles on the leaves. Such plants can be harmful to health.

There are two ways to prepare grape leaves for the winter: freezing and pickling.

Let's look at both:

• Freezing is the most affordable way storing leaflets for a long time. To do this, take grape leaves, rinse thoroughly and dry. Fold the already clean plants into a stack of 7–10 pieces, carefully roll them into a tube and wrap them in cling film, in this form send them to freezer. Please note that after cold weather the sheets become very fragile, so it is recommended to keep them in a separate compartment and defrost them carefully. If stored correctly, they will remain usable for up to six months;
• To pickle grape leaves for later storage, you need to do the following: wash and dry the plants. Already blank sheets roll it into a tube and put it in a jar. It’s best to knock out the container
  Make sure there are enough plants in it for one preparation of dolma. Now you need to make the marinade; to do this, dilute 2 tbsp in 1.5 liters of warm water. l. table salt. The resulting composition is poured onto the leaves. Since there will be a certain amount of empty space between the plants due to air, you need to wait until the brine fills the “voids.” You will notice that there is less marinade in the jar, fill the container to the brim. Leave the jars in this state overnight at room temperature. In the morning, you need to close the jar with a rubber lid and put it in the refrigerator or basement. Such leaves can be stored for up to 90 days. Thanks to the marinade, they will turn out to be very tender; by the way, after salting, you can taste them within 3-5 days.

Recipe for making real dolma

You now know how to roll up grape leaves for cabbage rolls for the winter, but let’s also discuss the recipe for this national dish.

To prepare dolma you need:

• minced lamb – 750 g;
• rice (it is better to take steamed) – 100 g;
• grape leaves – 25 pcs.;
• butter – 100 g;
• salt, spices and herbs at your discretion.

The steps for preparing this delicious dish will be as follows:

• Wash the grape leaves thoroughly and leave to dry;

• If you took uncooked rice, then scald it with boiling water, otherwise the grain will take a long time to cook;
• Mix together minced meat, prepared rice and butter;
• If you like fried onions, you can easily add it to the minced meat;
• Now mix the future filling thoroughly. Don't forget to add salt and spices to it. After this, you can begin to form the dolma;
• To do this, place a grape leaf on the table and add the filling in the middle. Approximately 1 teaspoon;
• Construct an envelope from a grape leaf so that the filling is securely hidden;
• If you are cooking with fresh leaves, you may experience the plants unwinding. To cope with the problem, the resulting envelopes need to be secured with thread, which will help keep their shape;
• Once you have neat slices, place them in a saucepan and fill with clean liquid. The water should rise about 2 fingers above the dish;
• Cover the vessel with a lid and simmer the dolma over low heat for at least 20 minutes. Be sure to remove the threads before serving. After cooking, the sheets will no longer unwind.

That's all for today. Now you know how to preserve grape leaves for the winter, so that even in cold weather you can delight yourself and your loved ones with a delicious dish.

Cook with pleasure, bon appetit!

Dolma as a complete dish originates in Central Asian countries and mountain peoples. Its unique taste and ease of preparation have captivated many people on our planet. The basis of dolma in its constituent components is analogous to all familiar cabbage rolls. Its main difference from them is small size and instead of boiled cabbage leaves, fresh grape leaves are taken for the shell. However, in winter it can be quite difficult to find freshly picked greens, so pickled or salted leaves began to be used in the preparation of dolma. Preparing grape leaves has its own characteristics and secrets that every housewife should take into account so that the dish turns out excellent in the future.

Features in the preparation of Asian dolma.

In the countries of Central Asia, in the mountainous regions where it grows a large number of vineyards, but Russian cabbage is missing, found unusual solution in the preparation of meat dishes - tolma (dolma). In this regard, the analogue of cabbage roll is smaller in size and differs in taste, acquiring a sour and spicy taste due to the grape leaf. Combined with minced lamb and rice, Caucasian spices, dolma acquires an unusual taste that has captivated many inhabitants of our planet.

In addition to grapes, some peoples wrap minced meat in quince or fig leaves. Dolma is considered national dish in Azerbaijan, Turkey and Armenia, and in each country it is prepared according to a special recipe. The traditional filling in tolma is lamb meat chopped into small pieces along with fat tail fat. Cereals are also added to the meat, most often rice, as well as herbs and oriental spices.

Some chefs prefer to use minced fish instead of lamb, complementing it lemon juice, rice, various aromatic herbs and seasonings. Therefore, there are many options for preparing dolma at home; the main thing is to know how preparing grape leaves for the winter will keep them fresh and suitable.

Many housewives prefer to harvest grape greens different ways: pickling, canning or dry freezing. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Harvesting grape greens for the winter.

The most optimal time The best time to pick fresh grape leaves is when the vine begins to flower. To prepare dolma, greens from light grape varieties are often used, since these leaves have a sweet and sour taste, giving the dish a piquant flavor. The disadvantages of red grapes are their hardness and unevenness. sheet plates OK. Only young leaves from those vineyards that grow far from passing cars are suitable for cutting.

Currently, there are many recipes for keeping greens for meat dishes fresh and juicy for a long period of time:

1. Storage in fresh;
2. Pickling grape greens;
3. Conservation;
4. Pickling;
5. Dry freezing and so on.

Fresh storage - this preparation of grape leaves for dolma for the winter involves rolling young leaves into rolls, which must be tightly filled in a glass jar. After this, you need to cover the container loosely with a metal lid and put it in the oven to sterilize for about an hour. Subsequently, the jars are rolled up and stored in a dark, cool place. In winter, such leaves will look absolutely fresh and will not lose their beneficial and nutritional properties.

Marinating and salting grape leaves.

For almost all methods of harvesting grape greens, the main requirement is the integrity of the leaf blades and their cleanliness.

When marinating, rinse well under running water the leaves are placed tightly in a large metal pan, filled to the top cold water and put on high heat until it boils. Next, it is recommended to follow a number of rules to keep the leaves tender and juicy:

• - After cooling completely, the grape greens are placed in stacks of 5 leaves, each stack being rolled into tight rolls;
• - For the marinade, you will need boiling water with a volume of about one and a half liters; add coarse table salt to it - 2 heaped tablespoons, as well as allspice peas;
• - Place the resulting rolls in sterilized glass jars as tightly as possible and pour in still hot marinade.

If there is not enough brine, you can add water to the top of the jar and leave to cool for several hours. After complete cooling, it is recommended to close the container with plastic or rubber lids. You can store the pickled leaves in the refrigerator or in a cool, dark place.

One of the simplest and most economical recipes for preparing grape leaves for the winter is pickling. To do this, you first need to prepare saline solution 10% Prepared cold brine is poured into well-washed grape leaves, tightly packed in glass containers. They should only be stored in the refrigerator and before preparing dolma, you should soak the leaves in water for at least a couple of hours to get rid of excess salt.

Canning grape greens.

The advantage of this harvesting method is the preservation of all beneficial properties grapes, all its vitamins and minerals needed in winter. This recipe requires skill from the housewife:

• - Young, even leaves are washed under a large stream of running water, laid out in stacks of 20 pieces and rolled into rolls. They can be secured with threads or thin wooden skewers - toothpicks.
• - Place them in boiling water one at a time, keeping them in boiling water for a few seconds, then immediately lowering them into cold water.
• - Place the cooled leaf rolls tightly into half-liter glass jars and pour saline solution, prepared in a ratio of 1.5 tablespoons of coarse table salt per liter of water.
• - Close the jars with rubber lids and leave to ferment for several days.
• - After three days, add 1 teaspoon of 9% to each container apple cider vinegar and add brine to the top of the jar.
• - Next, you need to put the jars in the oven for sterilization for 20 - 30 minutes, after which they can be rolled up and put away in a cool, dark place.

This type of storing grape leaves for the winter in a bottle is the most common option among residents of Central Asia and the peoples of the Caucasus.

Freezing grape greens

Before freezing young leaves, they should be washed well and dried completely. Place 15-20 dried leaves on top of each other and roll them into rolls, place them in a tight plastic bag and place them in the freezer. The disadvantage of this method is the further fragility of the leaves, so after defrosting they should be handled very carefully so as not to damage them.

Harvesting grape leaves for the winter using the dry method involves some difficulties. Experts recommend defrosting grape leaf rolls at room temperature in a natural way. If you need to defrost grape greens in short time, you can carefully place each roll in cold water, and when they thaw, in warm water.

Thus, with proper preparation of grape leaves, you can enjoy the wonderful oriental meat dish all year round.

Grapes are a wonderful plant. He gives us amazing berries that we can enjoy fresh. You can make a lot of goodies from them - raisins, jam, juice, wine... Grape kvass is made from young green branches and leaves. And we'll talk about dolma. About this very tasty dish, which is so loved in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Central Asia, southern republics former Soviet Union. In Moldova they are called cabbage rolls (with the emphasis on the first syllable). Dolma really resembles Slavic cabbage rolls, only the filling of minced meat, onions, rice and herbs is not wrapped in cabbage leaf, and in grape. And they turn out smaller than cabbage rolls. The taste is original. Tender grape leaves give the dish a very pleasant sourness and aroma. Today we will talk about how to prepare grape leaves for the winter.

How to choose leaves for dolma

Not every grape leaf is suitable for dolma, but only young and healthy ones. You need to choose bright green, shiny, green varieties grapes In red varieties they are more rigid and the edges are embossed. You need to collect leaves during flowering before processing. But since grape leaves grow constantly, you can collect them throughout the summer, before processing. There is no need to take leaves from vines growing near the road.

It is important to properly process the foliage in order to fully reveal the aroma that dolma will give, in winter period special taste.

Harvesting grape leaves

And in order to be able to enjoy dolma at any time of the year, you need to take care of preserving the grape leaves. It can be done different ways: freeze, pickle, pickle, preserve. With any method of canning, the leaves need to be prepared. They need to be washed and dried, or lightly wiped. It is advisable to slightly wither - the leaves become less brittle and are easier to manipulate. Cut off the petioles.

Freezing

The simplest and quick way store grape leaves - freeze. Fold the prepared leaves into a stack of 10-15 pieces. Roll up, wrap in cling film or place in plastic bags. Place in the freezer. The leaves become very fragile when frozen, so it is best to use them in a container. To prepare dolma, defrost it at room temperature. Then scald with boiling water. Then they retain the beneficial qualities and vitamins as much as possible.

Bottled storage

• The container must first be washed thoroughly. To do this, pour 1 tsp inside. salt and baking soda, pour some water and shake the bottle vigorously. Then rinse clean water and let it drain.
• We put the leaves in 3-6 pieces (as it turns out), roll them into a thin tube so that it fits into the neck of the bottle. Use a thin long stick or cocktail tube to help lay the leaves as tightly as possible. Be careful not to tear the leaves! There should be nothing in the bottle except grape leaves.
• Press down, release the air, and close the lid tightly.

Now we put it for storage in a closet, on the mezzanine, in the cellar. Placing the workpiece in the cold is contraindicated. With this processing method, the product can be stored for up to two years. When you want to prepare dolma, cut the bottle. We take the leaves out of the container and fill them with cold water. There may be a yellowish coating on the leaves - these are amino acids. Do not take such points as a sign of damage. Straighten, stuff with minced meat and cook.
An option for everyone: fill the bottle with leaves in the same way, but add a little salt.

Dry canning

Another simple way to preserve grape leaves is dry canning. To do this, place the prepared leaves tightly in clean glass jars in layers of 10-15 pieces, sprinkling them with salt (not much salt is needed). Next, they need to be sterilized in a hot oven for 5-10 minutes and rolled up with lids. Store in a dark place.

Pickling

In this section we will look at how to pickle grape leaves. Winter grape leaves for dolma can be pickled like regular vegetables. Below we have discussed several methods.

1st method

To pickle the leaves we need:

• Wash and sterilize small glass jars.
• We roll the prepared grape leaves, about 8-14 pieces each, into tubes and place them tightly in jars.
• The next step is to pour boiling water over it for 5-10 minutes, then drain the liquid. Repeat the procedure. For the third time, pour boiling marinade and roll up with a metal lid.

Preparing the marinade

For 1 liter of water add 1 tablespoon of salt, the same amount of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of 9 percent vinegar.

2nd method

Another way to pickle grape leaves for dolma.

• Rinse under running water harvested, scald with boiling water.
• To the bottom of the sterilized glass jar put 1-2 pcs. bay leaf, 4-5 peppercorns, 1-2 cloves. Carefully lay the leaves on top in layers.
• Prepare the marinade from 1 liter of warm boiled water, salt and sugar 1 tbsp. spoon and 1-2 tbsp. spoons 9% vinegar.
• Pour the resulting brine into a jar, put spices on top: Bay leaf, cloves, pepper.
• Cover with a plastic lid. After a day, pickled grape leaves for dolma are ready for use, but can be stored for quite a long time in a cool place.

You can buy pickled grape leaves for dolma in the store, but as is often the case, homemade preparations are always tastier. And pickled with my own hands the product matches your taste preferences.

Pickling

Let's look at how to pickle leaves. Below we have prepared three ways to prepare salted product

1st method

The leaves can be preserved in a 10% sodium chloride solution. The washed and tightly rolled leaves are placed tightly in a prepared container and filled with non-hot brine. Cover with plastic lids. Salted material can be stored well at room temperature. The leaves prepared in this way should be kept for a little while before use. warm water about two hours, so we will remove excess salt.

2nd method

Grape leaves can be pickled in a less saturated solution. We carry out manipulations as when marinating. Just use it instead of marinade hot pickle with a salt content of approximately 2-3%.

3rd method

This method of pickling includes spices. We take scalded and rolled leaves and put them in clean 0.5 liter jars. We make a mixture of:

• salt – 1 teaspoon,
• dry mustard - 1 teaspoon, sprinkle the leaves with it,
• add allspice (several peas).

Fill everything with boiling water and roll up the lids. Store at room temperature.

For a long time, in the East they made it even simpler. The washed leaves were placed in a barrel, filled with strong brine, covered with a clean cloth and pressed down on top with a sinker.

Dry storage

And now what all our efforts are for – Dolma!

This is very tasty dish It's quite easy to prepare. Minced meat (about 1 teaspoon) is wrapped in a grape leaf in an envelope, like cabbage rolls, only smaller in size. For minced meat we use either beef or lamb. Add finely chopped onion, greens to taste - mint, cilantro, parsley, as well as washed rice; if desired, you can boil it a little until half cooked. Mix everything well, season with salt, pepper, spices. Place in the refrigerator for half an hour. Boil the bone broth in advance and strain through a sieve. Place the minced meat wrapped in leaves, like cabbage rolls, tightly in a pan and cook the dish over low heat until cooked.

Video about preparing leaves for dolma