How to properly cover grape leaves for the winter. Grape leaves for traditional dolma

Dolma like full meal 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 its small size and instead of boiled cabbage leaves, fresh grape leaves are used 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 mountainous regions where a large number of vineyards grow, but there is no Russian cabbage, they found an unusual solution in preparing a meat dish - 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 unusual taste, which has conquered 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. Traditional filling in tolma is considered to be chopped into small pieces lamb meat 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 lamb instead minced fish, 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 best time to collect 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 rigidity and unevenness of leaf blades. 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:

Storage in fresh;
Pickling grape greens;
Conservation;
Pickling;
Dry freezing and so on.

Fresh storage - this preparation of grape leaves for the winter for dolma involves rolling young leaves into rolls, which must be tightly filled 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, the leaves, well washed under running water, are placed tightly in a large metal pan, filled to the top with cold water and placed 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;
- 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 economical recipes The preparation of grape leaves for the winter is salting. To do this, you first need to prepare a 10% saline solution. Prepared cold brine is poured into well-washed grape leaves, tightly packed in a glass container. 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 useful properties grapes, all its vitamins and minerals, necessary in winter. This recipe requires skill from the hostess:

- 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 one by one in boiling water, keeping them in boiling water for a few seconds, then immediately lowering them into cold water.
- Place cooled leaf rolls tightly into half-liter glass jars and fill with 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 the dried leaves on top of each other, 15 to 20 pieces at a time, roll them into rolls, place them in a tight plastic bag and place them in 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 the grape greens in a short time, you can carefully place each roll in cold water, and when they thaw, in warm water.

Thus, when correct preparation grape leaves, you can enjoy the wonderful oriental meat dish all year round.

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 to store leaves for a long time. To do this, take grape leaves, rinse thoroughly and dry. Place clean plants in a stack of 7–10 pieces, carefully roll them into a tube and wrap them in cling film, and put them in the freezer in this form. 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: rinse and dry the plants. Roll up the clean sheets into a tube and put them 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, for this in 1.5 liters warm water dilute 2 tbsp. 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 chopped 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 strings 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.

In the culinary traditions of almost all countries of the world, there are dishes for the preparation of which minced meat is wrapped in leaves. Such envelopes are then boiled. The leaves of cabbage, rhubarb or grapes are most often used as casings for such dishes. In Russia, a dish of minced meat wrapped in cabbage leaves is called cabbage rolls.

In the southern regions, where grapes grow near every house, the young leaves of this plant are used to prepare dolma. It is so tasty that you want to serve this dish at any time of the year. What leaves are best to use, how to prepare them to try it in winter, how to prepare this exotic dish for us, we will consider in this article.

The preparation of any dish begins with the selection of products. The main ingredient in dolma is grape leaves. I won’t talk about the fact that the leaves should be young, healthy and bright green, this is already clear. It is better to collect them from bushes of white varieties. In the future, these leaves will give the food a unique taste and unforgettable aroma.

The leaves of dark grape varieties are less suitable for cooking - they are tougher and more rugged.

The first leaves begin to be collected from a flowering bush, but before treatment against pests and diseases begins. Next time, the leaves can be collected at the end of the waiting period after spraying throughout the summer.

The optimal sheet size is approximately the size of your palm. Smaller ones are difficult to wrap the filling in, and larger ones can be tough.

The leaves are collected. We will use some of them to prepare dolma, and we will prepare most of them for future use.

The collected leaves need to be washed and dried. You can wipe each sheet on both sides with a clean, dry cloth. It is useful to dry the raw materials a little, then the leaves will be less fragile and easier to process. It is better to leave the petioles for preservation; they will be used to remove the leaves from the jars.

To keep the leaves fresh you need:

Wash the container thoroughly. Pour one teaspoon each of baking soda and table salt into the bottle, add water and shake the bottle for several minutes. The solution is poured out and the container is rinsed with clean water and dried.
The leaves, collected in a pack of 3-6 pieces, are rolled into a tube so that it fits into the bottle neck and secured with thread. A thin stick will help to pack the tubes more tightly. The container should contain only leaves and nothing more.
Squeeze out the air from the plastic bottle and close it tightly with a lid.
Store in room conditions or in a cellar at positive temperatures for up to two years.
Opening, cutting the bottle, taking out the leaves and pouring cold water. A yellowish coating is not a sign of spoilage. The leaves need to be straightened, rinsed with water, stuffed with minced meat and boiled.

Procedure for preparing pickled grape leaves:

Selected jars must be washed and disinfected.
Dried leaves, in packs of 10-18 pieces in the form of tubes, are tightly placed in jars.
The prepared jars are filled with boiling water and left for about 10 minutes. The water is drained and boiling water is added again.
Prepare the marinade: dissolve 1 tbsp in 1 liter of water. l salt and sugar, bring to a boil, after 3 minutes add 2 tablespoons of 9% vinegar, stop boiling.
This marinade is poured over the leaves and sealed hermetically.
Can be stored at room temperature.

The easiest way to freeze grape leaves. A stack of leaves of 10-15 pieces is rolled up. In this case, it is better to cut off the petioles - they are not needed. Rolls are wrapped in cling film or placed in bags. You can use plastic containers. The product is frozen. When preparing to cook dolma, the leaves are defrosted in a warm place. Thawed ones are scalded with boiling water - this will help preserve the taste, aroma and beneficial properties.

Dry salting of leaves

Clean and dried leaves are placed in a prepared jar. Every 10 leaves are sprinkled with a small amount of salt and compacted tightly. Filled jars are sterilized for 10 - 15 minutes and rolled up. This preparation preserves the taste and aroma fresh leaves.

The scalded leaves are rolled into rolls, the jars are prepared, we collect a bouquet of spices. To the bottom of the scalded floor liter jar pour 1 tsp. salt, same amount mustard powder and a few peas of allspice. We tightly place rolls of leaves on all these aromas. Fill the jars with boiling water and roll up the metal lid. The resulting canned food is stored warm.

When you need to prepare leaves in large quantities, use large containers - barrels. Washed leaves, placed in barrels, are poured with a saturated salt solution. Place a lid on top and place a weight. During storage, you need to constantly monitor the brine level and add liquid if necessary. To prepare dolma, the leaves are removed from the brine, washed, scalded with boiling water and the petioles are cut off.

Now let's move on to the main thing, why grape leaves are salted, pickled or frozen. We'll tell you how to prepare dolma.

Without going into details, the preparation is very simple - about a teaspoon of minced meat is wrapped in a grape leaf, the resulting envelopes are placed tightly in a cauldron and cooked over low heat until cooked.

This is a very general technology. In each national cuisine has its own special ingredients and culinary tricks. The question raised by the characters in the film “Mimino”, where dolma is better prepared in Georgia or in Armenia, did not receive an answer - everyone remained unconvinced.

Besides grape leaves, another important ingredient is patience. The eastern analogue of Russian cabbage rolls is microscopic in size, which means you will need to make several dozen of them.

Minced meat in the east is prepared from aromatic lamb or juicy beef. A lot of greens and onions are added to the minced meat.

They love to cook dolma in Romania and Moldova. In these countries, this dish is placed both on the everyday table and on the festive table. In summer grape cabbage rolls prepared from fresh leaves, dolma for the New Year or Christmas table is wrapped in canned leaves.

There are many recipes for minced meat - rice with vegetables, rice with meat. Every home has its own family recipe.

For preparation you will need:

meat with a small amount of fat (lamb or beef) – 500 g;
grape leaves – 100-120 pcs;
Short grain rice – 1 cup;
water – 1 glass;
onion - 3 large heads;
carrots – 2 pcs;
sunflower or butter – 5-6 tbsp. l;
greens (dill, parsley, cilantro, basil) - a large bunch;
salt - to taste;
freshly ground black pepper – 1 tsp.

Cooking sequence

First we select the leaves. They should be about the size of your palm, the edge should be as smooth as possible, with a minimum number of teeth. Each leaf must be inspected on both sides to ensure there are no traces of diseases or pest cocoons. Selected leaves are soaked in cold water for 30-40 minutes.

The rice is washed several times until the water is clear. Cook the prepared cereal until half cooked at a low boil. When all the liquid is absorbed into the rice, the heat is removed and the cereal is left to simmer under the lid.

Finely chop the onion and fry until golden brown.

Regarding carrots, everyone decides for themselves. Some add carrots to minced meat, others are categorically against such an ingredient. In our recipe we will add - the taste will be more intense. It is better to grate the carrots on a fine grater and fry them together with the onions. When carrots are not used, you can use more onions.

Fry the onions and carrots together for ten minutes. During this time, the vegetables become soft and absorb almost all the oil. Ready mixture remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

For minced meat, the meat is passed through a meat grinder. You can use one type of meat - lamb or beef. Or you can use a mixture of them. The disadvantages of minced lamb include the high freezing point of fat and a specific smell that not everyone likes.

Mix rice, minced meat, and fried vegetables. Salt, spices, finely chopped herbs - dill, parsley, cilantro, basil are added to the mixture. The minced meat is ready.

By adding crushed ice to the minced meat, you can increase the amount of juice in the finished dish.

The filling should be left for a while, all the flavors should come together, the salt should dissolve.

While the minced meat is mentally preparing to become the filling, we prepare the shell. Wash the soaked leaves and remove the petioles from them. In packs of 15-20 pieces, place them in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. As soon as the color changes from bright green to olive, remove the leaves from hot water and cool in cold. We use the water in which the leaves were steamed to prepare the filling.

The leaves are laid out on the table surface with the smooth side down. Place about a teaspoon of filling on the ribbed underside. There are a lot of options for wrapping a sheet.

Some people place the stuffing in the middle of the leaf and alternately fold the edges of the leaves around the filling.
Another method is to place the minced meat in the middle of the sheet, fold the edges towards the middle, and roll the resulting strip into a tube.

Choosing the most good way creating envelopes, you can prepare almost a hundred small cabbage rolls in 15-20 minutes.

It is better to cook dolma in a thick-walled saucepan or cauldron. Pour a tablespoon of melted water into the bottom butter– it will give the dish a unique aroma. Lay a layer grape cabbage rolls. Each layer is poured with oil - this way they will stick together less. We lay out all the prepared envelopes. The top is filled with water in which the leaves have been steamed with the addition of salt.

Pour in just enough liquid so that the dolma is lightly covered. During cooking, the envelopes will decrease in volume and will be completely covered with liquid.

It is useful to place a flat plate on top, which will help the dolma to remain in the gravy, and the liquid will evaporate less.

At a low boil this product culinary arts simmers for about an hour. During this time, almost all the liquid will evaporate or be absorbed into the filling. Shifting ready dish onto a serving plate, leaving some concentrated sauce at the bottom.

Hot dolma envelopes, piled on a large platter, are served on the table without gravy.

The divine taste of dolma is emphasized by sour cream, feta cheese and tomatoes.

Dolma from grape leaves: video

Cook with pleasure and eat with appetite!

Dolma is a popular dish in the East. It is similar to cabbage rolls, but the filling is wrapped in grape leaves, which add sourness to the dish. In each country, this dish has its own name, but translated it has the same meaning: “stuffed vegetables or leaves.”

In our country, this food is also gaining popularity, because something new and tasty is always interesting. I first tried it among the local Greeks, and now I cook it myself for my family. Moreover, this dish is not only tasty, but also healthy. Any housewife, even the least experienced one, can handle this recipe. You just need to stick to the basic principles and everything will work out well. Today we will talk about how to store grape leaves for dolma.

Freezing preparations for dolma

Kitchen appliances and utensils: hob and saucepan.

Ingredients

Choosing the right ingredients

Now I will share with you which grape leaves are suitable for dolma:

For preparing preparations It is better to use freshly picked leaves. It is advisable to harvest in mid-summer, when they are young, soft and tender.
For preservation choose larger leaves.
They must be free of damage, rot and dark spots.

Step by step recipe

Wash, remove the stems and divide 60 grape leaves into three piles of 20, placing them from largest to smallest. So the bottom largest one will hold the entire pack.
Pour three liters of water into a deep saucepan. Bring it to a boil, but do not let it boil.
Place one pack into the water so that the large ones are at the bottom.
“Bathe” them in water until the color of each changes.
Do not let the water boil. Our task is to pour boiling water over the dolma preparations, but not to cook them.
Remove from water and place in a rimmed dish. Let the water drain.
Repeat these manipulations with each stack of blanks.
Straighten the leaves and place them in a plastic bag.
Release all the air from the bag and close it so that they do not bend.
Stack the packages on top of each other in this order:

The first package is tails up.

The second package is tails down.

The third package is tails up.

Place in the freezer when cool. You can store it for one or two seasons.

Video recipe: preparing grape leaves for dolma in the freezer for the winter

I invite you to watch a short video that describes in detail how to prepare grape leaves for dolma. You will be able to see what they will become after being in the water, and how to put them in a bag correctly.

There are a lot of ways to preserve grape leaves, and every housewife uses the one that is most suitable for her. This way they are well preserved in canned form. When you open a jar of such preparations in winter, the room is filled with the fresh, summer aroma of grapes.

Canned grape leaves for dolma

Cooking time: 40 minutes.
Number of servings: 90 leaves.
Calories: 93 kcal per 100 g of product.
Kitchen appliances and utensils: jar, seaming lid and machine, saucepan and hob.

Ingredients

Step by step recipe

Video recipe for preparing canned grape leaves for dolma for the winter

Let's watch a short video that shows in detail how to preserve grape leaves for dolma.

Cooking options

To prepare dolma, leaves of figs, quinces and other various trees are used. But with grapes it turns out tastier, because they give the food a pleasant sourness.
For the filling, you can also use ingredients to suit your taste. Its classic version is minced meat with rice. This dish is also prepared in vegetarian cuisine without using meat. In fact, you can wrap anything, the main thing is that you like it.
Initially, the filling was chopped lamb, but over time they began to make it from any type of meat and fish.

Dear readers, I hope you have used the recipes I proposed on how to store and pickle grape leaves for dolma. Now in winter you will delight your household delicious food. If you have any suggestions or recommendations, write, I will always be glad to read from you! And now I wish you a good mood and bon appetit!

Dolma is tasty dish oriental cuisine. There is still debate about where this dish came to us from, but it is likely that no one will be able to solve this mystery. Each nationality has its own secrets in its preparation, but each recipe has one thing in common: the filling is wrapped in grape leaves. In the summer it’s easy to go out into the garden and pick leaves from the grapes, but what to do in the winter? Stop making dolma? Oh no! There is nothing difficult about preparing grape leaves for the winter if you know how to do it correctly.

If harvested according to all the rules, then harvesting should begin in late spring or early summer. Each region has its own deadline for this. You can be guided by flowering - if buds appear on the brushes, it’s time to harvest.

What you need to know:

only the softest and most tender leaves for white grape varieties;
collect recently opened young leaves whose veins have not yet become coarsened;
they are plucked from the top of the shoot. The first ones, the top ones, will not fit - they are too small. But from the fifth to the seventh – that’s it!
those that have changed color, are covered with spots or swelling are not suitable. Only the healthiest are suitable;
if the vineyard has recently been treated with insecticides, preparation for dolma cannot be carried out.

If your vineyard is not pruned in the summer and young shoots are constantly appearing, tender and soft leaves can be harvested at any time of the season. The most important thing is to have time to collect before they become coarse.

How to prepare and store leaves for dolma

Cuttings are cut from the collected leaves, washed in a large basin or under running water, and dried.

There are several ways to harvest and store grape leaves:

in the freezer;
in a jar, sprinkling them with salt;
pickled;
salty.

If you have a large freezer, it is best to freeze the leaves. To do this, take as much as you need for one dish and spread it thinly on cling film. The film is rolled into a tight roll, the ends are twisted to prevent air from entering. Store in the freezer for up to 8-9 months. Thawing should be done gradually. It is better to get them in advance and put them in a cool place. You can unroll only when the thawing is complete.

For storage in a jar, clean dry leaves are laid in small layers, between which a layer of coarse table salt is poured. The top layer should be salt, sprinkled 1-1.5 cm thick. You can close it with a lid and put it in the refrigerator. If there is no room there, then you need to sterilize it in the oven for about 20 minutes and roll it up. Such a jar can be stored in a room, but where it is not hot.

To store grape leaves for dolma in salted brine, they are first poured with boiling water and kept for several minutes. The water is drained and again filled with fresh boiling water for the same time. This is repeated 3-4 times. At this time they are preparing salty pickle. So much salt is added to the water that it seems a little salty. After the last heating, pour the leaves with brine and roll up the lids.

Storing the workpiece in a stronger salt solution allows you to avoid sterilizing and sealing the jar. Take several clean leaves, roll them up and place them tightly in a small jar. A strong solution is prepared at the rate of 1 part salt to 10 parts water. Pour into the jar to the very top and close with a plastic lid. Store in a cool place. We must not forget that before cooking, the leaves from such a preparation must be soaked in cold water for several hours. If you forget, the dolma will be very salty.

When pickled, the leaves will not look at all like fresh ones. Some people think that this gives dolma special taste, so this recipe has the right to exist. The marinade is prepared in the following proportions: