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, and the southern republics of the 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 wrapped not in a cabbage leaf, but in a grape leaf. 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.
Not every grape leaf is suitable for dolma, but only young and healthy ones. You need to choose bright green, shiny ones from green grape varieties. 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, which will give dolma a special taste in winter.
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. This can be done in different ways: freezing, pickling, pickling, canning. 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.
The easiest and fastest way to store grape leaves is freezing. 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.
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.
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.
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.
To pickle the leaves we need:
For 1 liter of water add 1 tablespoon of salt, the same amount of sugar, and 2 tablespoons of 9 percent vinegar.
Another way to pickle grape leaves for dolma.
You can buy pickled grape leaves for dolma in the store, but as is often the case, homemade preparations are always tastier. And the product marinated with your own hands corresponds to your taste preferences.
Let's look at how to pickle leaves. Below we have prepared three ways to prepare salted product
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. Before use, the leaves prepared in this way should be kept in lukewarm water for about two hours, this way we will remove excess salt.
Grape leaves can be pickled in a less saturated solution. We carry out manipulations as when marinating. Only instead of marinade we use hot brine with a salt content of approximately 2-3%.
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:
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.
And now what all our efforts are for – Dolma!
This very tasty dish is prepared quite simply. 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. Finely chopped onions, herbs to taste - mint, cilantro, parsley, as well as washed rice are added to it; if desired, it can be boiled 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.
Dolma, beloved by many - minced meat with rice in grape leaves - can decorate your table all year round. After all, most of the ingredients that make up this dish are available at any time of the year. The only problem that may arise is where to get grape leaves. There is only one way to solve this - by preparing grape leaves for dolma for the winter. Of course, today, if you wish, you can buy pickled grape leaves in the supermarket, but in this case, dolma will be very expensive. At the same time, preparing them for the winter is so simple that even an inexperienced cook can handle it.
The most important thing that those who decide to prepare grape leaves for the winter need to know are the rules for choosing suitable raw materials. After all, not all grape leaves are suitable for dolma; some should not be eaten at all.
There are different ways to prepare grape leaves for dolma for the winter, and the technology will vary significantly depending on the chosen harvesting method. Therefore, in each specific case, you should follow the instructions in the recipe, although you will choose and prepare the leaves in the same way, regardless of the chosen preservation method.
Cooking method:
Frozen grape leaves become brittle. Therefore, you need to store them in the freezer carefully, avoiding damage to them by other products. To protect the leaves, they can be placed in a container or plastic bottle. In this case, the “rolls” of leaves should be of such a size that they can fit through the neck of the bottle; the use of film is not necessary. “Rolls” of leaves are pushed into the neck, after which the bottle is squeezed, releasing the air, and closed.
Cooking method:
When the jar has cooled, it should be put in a cool place. It is best to put it in the refrigerator, but if your basement keeps the temperature low enough all year round, you can store pickled grape leaves in it too.
Cooking method:
Leaves salted in this way can be stored in a cold cellar for up to a year. Remember to rinse them well before using to remove excess salt.
Cooking method:
As soon as the jar has cooled, it must be put in the refrigerator and stored there.
Composition (per 1 l):
Cooking method:
Grape leaves pickled according to this recipe can be stored at room temperature.
There are different ways to prepare grape leaves for the winter, and none of them can be called too labor-intensive. So dolma can be prepared all year round.
Greenery
Pickled grape leaves- a rather unusual, but very necessary homemade product, which can later be used in different directions. The most important way to use grape leaves is to prepare delicious dolma from them, which is very similar to cabbage rolls. Only in the case of dolma, the minced meat is wrapped in prepared grape greens, due to which it turns out to have a somewhat unusual taste, but still very tasty, and in the case of cabbage rolls, the minced meat is wrapped in cabbage leaves. In addition, the pickled product added to some salads
, which adds some zest to them. In fact, the use of harvested grape leaves does not end there; they can also be used to prepare many different dishes.
To make unusual leaves for the winter, you must use a white grape variety. Only this type of berry produces young leaves that are very tender and juicy and have a pleasant sweet and sour taste. Other varieties have tougher leaves with uneven edges, which is not very convenient for cooking.
Steps
Before you start creating a pickled preparation, you need to prepare all the specified ingredients. Only the youngest leaves, which have not yet lost their beautiful color and bright shade, are suitable for pickling.
Wash the prepared leaves thoroughly. Especially if they were collected in places where there is a lot of dust. Leaves growing in gardens generally remain fairly clean.
Now you should cut off all the branches from the clean leaves or tear them off with your hands.
We form tubes from the finished leaves by folding several sheets at once. Then we carefully place them in sterilized jars so that the leaves do not get wrinkled.
Fill the jars filled with leaves with the prepared hot marinade. The liquid must be poured up to the very neck of the jars so that all the leaves are in the marinade.
We immediately screw the full jars with treated iron lids and turn them upside down, after which we cover them with a warm blanket.
Grape leaves are a popular and delicious ingredient in recipes for first and second courses, found in the culinary traditions of many peoples of the world. Grape leaves are low in calories, they contain many microelements, are rich in vitamins B, C, as well as vitamin A - an antioxidant necessary for eye health, skin beauty and immunity, which plays an important role in the prevention of aging and the prevention of cancer. The daily requirement of vitamin A can be obtained by eating just a few grape leaves (about 4-6 pieces). Grape leaves are very interestingly combined with meat, fish and vegetable dishes; they are used for pickling vegetables, added to pilaf and even cooked in soup.
Grape leaves are used in the preparation of dolma (sarma) - a well-known and widespread dish of meat and rice, reminiscent of cabbage rolls, in which grape leaves are used instead of cabbage leaves. Pickled grape leaves will give dolma a special piquancy and delicate taste. In addition, grape leaves can be stored in the marinade all winter, which means you can cook your favorite dishes both in winter and summer! In order to learn how to pickle grape leaves, you need to know several rules for collecting and preparing them.
Rules for collecting grape leaves
It is preferable to collect grape leaves before flowering or at the beginning of flowering, when they are still soft and thin. The taste and structure of the leaves may vary among different grape varieties. The leaves of red grape varieties are coarser and tougher, and are less suitable for use in cooking. The leaves of white grape varieties are the most tender; they taste sweet and sour, salty and very juicy. You need to choose small leaves, untreated with chemicals. It is better to collect leaves in the morning, rinse the collected leaves thoroughly, carefully stack them in stacks of 5-10 pieces and start pickling.
How to pickle grape leaves
Ingredients needed to make pickled grape leaves:
Dolma- an incredibly tasty and healthy dish. But alas, there are hardly grape leaves anywhere to prepare it in winter. Of course, you can go around the local markets and, if you're lucky, find grandmothers selling them. But why not follow the proverb “prepare the sleigh in summer and the cart in winter” and think in advance about preparing the basis for the divine dolma? And, in general, in what ways can you pickle grape leaves for the winter? WITH The most successful recipes will be given below.
Advice! White grape leaves are perfect for harvesting for the winter.: They are softer and more delicate. They need to be collected when the tree is flowering.
The shelf life of pickled grape leaves is not so long and is 3 months. Therefore, there is no need to prepare too many of them. For a small family, rolling up a couple of cans is enough. Moreover, the contents of a liter jar will be enough to prepare 2 batches of such a delicious dish. There are several ways to marinate the base for dolma for the winter.
You can use the pickled base to prepare dolma within a few days. To do this, you just need to take the required number of “rolls”, unroll them and rinse them under running water.
If you want to pickle grape leaves for a longer period, you can do the following: add 1 tsp to the jar while preparing them. vinegar. In this case, be sure to seal the jars with sterile lids!
Stages of pickling grape leaves for the winter:
Now we know how to pickle grape leaves. Preparing them for the winter does not take much time, but you can get a lot of pleasure from the delicacy of dolma on cold evenings. How happy my family and friends will be to have such a delicious dinner!
Advice! Some housewives are a little more cunning. They simply freeze the leaves for the winter in the freezer, after rolling them into “rolls” and wrapping them in cling film.
