Grape leaves: harvesting for dolma for the winter. Preparing grape leaves for the winter for dolma How to roll up grape leaves correctly

You sit in the south, look at the growing grapes and understand that it would be nice to make good dolma later, at home, more than a thousand kilometers away. The search for ways to preserve leaves led to the understanding that there was neither a sufficient amount of boiling water, nor sterile jars and other necessary attributes for pickling leaves. I had to get out...

I collected the leaves, as expected, the best ones. By the way, polarized sunglasses are a great help in collecting the leaves you need for cooking. Fresh leaves are clearly visible through them - they shine on the “front side” with a noticeable tint. I didn’t take them because they are small in size and often so thin that they are only suitable for preparing dolma right there, “without leaving the cash register.”

But 2-3 leaves below the shiny ones are perfect for dolma in size and degree of maturity. They are tender enough not to resemble paper after cooking. They are strong enough to make it convenient to wrap minced meat.

I dried the collected leaves a little, about 2-3 hours. In the shade, at 25 degrees.

I stacked all the leaves without washing them.

The sheets in the rolls were almost undamaged, only slightly withered and the tips darkened.

After 3 days at home, I unrolled the rolls.

I blanched the leaves in small portions (oh, I found such a beautiful and tasty pre-revolutionary word “blanched” in a cookbook!).
Place the leaves in a bowl and cover with a colander.

I stuffed dozens of rolls tightly into jars and filled them with brine up to the very neck.

Cooking time: PT00H15M 15 min.

Approximate cost per serving: 5 rub.

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 of 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 of fresh leaves.

The scalded leaves are rolled into rolls, the jars are prepared, we collect a bouquet of spices. Pour 1 tsp into the bottom of a scalded half-liter jar. salt, the same amount of 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. 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 are 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. Remove the finished mixture from the 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 water. 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.

1. Some people place the stuffing in the middle of the leaf and alternately fold the edges of the leaves around the filling.
2. 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.

By choosing the most successful method of 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 butter into the bottom - it will give the dish a unique aroma. Place a layer of 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 simmer, this work of culinary art simmers for about an hour. During this time, almost all the liquid will evaporate or be absorbed into the filling. When you transfer the finished dish to a serving plate, a little concentrated sauce will remain 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.

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 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 a 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 cooks prefer to use minced fish instead of lamb, supplementing it with 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 prepare grape greens in various ways: pickling, canning or dry freezing. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Harvesting grape greens for the winter.

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

1. Fresh storage;
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, 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 most economical recipes for preparing grape leaves for the winter is pickling. 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 method of harvesting is the preservation of all the beneficial properties of the grapes, all of their 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 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% apple cider vinegar to each container 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 a 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 a wonderful oriental meat dish all year round.

The most famous and popular dish made from grape leaves is dolma, but the list of recipes does not end there. You can wrap small pieces of meat in them, wrap a thin layer of phyllo dough on top and bake in the oven. They can also be salted and used in winter, you just need to have time to collect the tender young leaves.

Before you start pickling, the grape leaves must be collected and prepared; this process remains the same in every recipe. To make the final dish tasty, use only young leaves of approximately the same size and it is advisable that the grapes be of white varieties: oddly enough, they have a more pleasant taste. Then the leaves should be sorted and sorted by diameter, washed thoroughly, and then soaked in cold water for 30 minutes.

When salting, it is very important to use only clean water, filtered or bottled; ordinary tap water is not suitable, as it noticeably changes the taste for the worse. After soaking, rinse the leaves again with running water and proceed to pickling. The tails can be cut off or left untouched - they are very convenient for removing leaves from the jar. The recipe for canning grape leaves is not such a rare occurrence, we offer you several.

How to pickle grape leaves in the easiest way

This recipe for pickling grape leaves is good not only for its simplicity, but also because the taste of the leaves is neutral and can be used for a wide variety of dishes without restrictions.

Ingredients:

• grape leaves - 1 kilogram;
• non-iodized salt - 4 tbsp.
• brine:
• water - 1 l;
• salt - 1.5 tbsp.

How to pickle grape leaves:

1. Pour boiling water over the prepared leaves for 3 minutes. Be sure to set the time with a timer and do not overcook, otherwise they will boil and fall apart. Quickly drain the boiling water.
2. Cool the sheets, collect them in stacks of 10-15 pieces and roll them into tight rolls.
3. Place the rolls tightly in the jar, generously sprinkling salt on each layer.
4. Prepare the brine: boil 1 liter of water, add one and a half tablespoons of salt, stir to dissolve, then remove from heat and cool completely.
5. Pour the cooled brine into jars, place them on a tray and leave at room temperature for 14 days.
6. The grape leaves will ferment for two weeks, then you need to prepare a new batch of brine and add as needed so that each jar is filled to the very top. Then close the jars with tight lids and store in the refrigerator or other cool, dark place. An open jar can be stored for no more than 5 days.

Salted grape leaves with mustard

This recipe for pickling grape leaves for the winter does not require fermentation, you just need to pour the brine into a jar and you can store it all winter at room temperature, for example, in a closet or pantry. The amount of ingredients is calculated for a small 300 ml jar, this is very convenient if you have few leaves and want to pickle just a little. If necessary, simply increase the amount of products, but be sure to maintain the proportion.

Components:

• grape leaves - 60 pcs;
• dry mustard - 1 tsp;
• black pepper - 2 peas;
• salt - 1 tsp. with a small top.

How to pickle grape leaves for the winter:

1. Scald the prepared leaves with boiling water and leave for 1 minute. Drain, cool and rinse thoroughly.
2. Place the leaves in stacks of 10 and roll them into a tube or envelope, as you prefer. The shape doesn't matter, try both to find the best option. Grapes can be different, stiffer or more flexible, so sometimes it is easier to wrap tubes, and sometimes it is easier to wrap envelopes. Place them tightly in the jar.
3. Sprinkle one teaspoon of dry mustard and salt on top, add 2 black peppercorns.
4. Boil water and pour boiling water into the jar to the very edges, and then quickly screw on a tight lid and turn it upside down until it cools completely.
5. Place the cooled jars in a dark place.

Pickled grape leaves with mint

Ingredients:

• grape leaves - 1 kg;
• mint - 1 medium-sized bunch;
• salt - 1/2 tbsp.

How to salt grape leaves for the winter:

1. Sterilize glass jars and their lids.
2. Place the prepared leaves in stacks of 10 pieces, place one sprig of mint in the center of each stack and roll them tightly into rolls. Place rolls in jars in an upright position.
3. Prepare the brine: bring 1 liter of water to a boil, add salt, and strain.
4. Pour the brine into the jars, screw on the lids and leave to cool. Store in a dark place at room temperature.

Recipe for pickled cucumbers in grape embrace

This is a universal 2-in-1 recipe: delicious crispy cucumbers and grape leaves, pickled in one jar. Amazing taste, bright green color and two wonderful dishes will be ready for your table at once - amazing pickles and grape leaves, from which you can prepare homemade dolma.

Ingredients for 1 three-liter jar:

• cucumbers - 2 1/2 kg;
• grape leaves - the same number as cucumbers individually;
• water - 1 l.;
• apple juice - 300 ml;
• salt - 50 g;
• sugar - 50 g.

Grape leaf - harvesting for the winter with cucumbers:

1. In this recipe, it is important to choose the right cucumbers: they must be strong, of the same small size and always even. If they were picked from the garden a couple of days ago, before cooking they must be filled with cold water and soaked for two hours. Then rinse and you can start salting.
2. Usually they turn yellow and acquire a greenish-brown tint. To avoid this and maintain a bright green color, before placing them in jars, they must be poured with boiling water and blanched for two minutes, and then quickly transferred to ice water for another two minutes. This process does not affect the taste in any way, only the color, so if you don’t have time for additional manipulations, you can skip this stage, the cucumbers will still be tasty.
3. Wrap each cucumber tightly in a grape leaf and place in a sterilized 3-liter jar.
4. Prepare the brine: combine 1 liter of water, apple juice, sugar and salt in a saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
5. Pour the hot brine into a jar with cucumbers, leave for 3-5 minutes, and then drain. The exposure time depends on the size of the cucumbers: for small ones, 3 minutes will be enough, and for larger ones, at least 5 minutes will be needed. Boil the marinade again, pour it into the jar again, wait the required time and drain. Pour the marinade in for the third time, roll up the lid of the jar, turn it upside down, wrap it in a blanket and leave to cool slowly.

• Instead of apple juice, you can use grape juice. This option is also good; the taste of the canned food will change slightly and become more subtle, but the juice must be light.
• Also, if you wish, if you want to stay closer to tradition, you can add 2 bay leaves and 2 cloves of garlic to get a more familiar hot and spicy taste. Place the completely cooled jar in a dark place.

Recipe for dry pickling in a plastic bottle

To pickle grape leaves according to this recipe, you don’t have to bother with hot brine, and this is a big plus: the taste will remain natural and neutral, you don’t have to soak the leaves in cold water before preparing dolma.

So, we will need:

• grape leaves - 50 pieces;
• plastic bottle 0.5 l.;
• salt - 1 tablespoon.

How to close grape leaves for the winter:

1. For this recipe, only young, whole and dry leaves are suitable, which grow at the very end of the vine no further than the fourth leaf. Bag them and DO NOT wash them. The surface of each leaf is covered with a fermenting composition, which protects it from spoilage and allows for pickling without the presence of brine.
2. Collect the leaves in piles of 10 pieces, roll them into tight rolls and place them in a plastic bottle. Using the back end of a wooden spoon or another stick with a wide, rounded tip, tamp down the rolls so that there is as little air between them as possible. Do this carefully, try to press hard, but carefully and do not damage the raw materials.
3. You may need a little more or less leaves to completely fill the bottle, depending on their size, density, grape variety and how tightly you roll the tubes.
4. Pour 1 tbsp into a bottle filled to the very top. a spoonful of salt to form a kind of salt plug. The salt should not seep down to the very bottom; a layer of 1-2 cm will be enough.
5. Close the bottle with a cork and place it in a cool place. Grape leaves salted in this way should only be stored in the refrigerator or in the basement.
6. After a few days, the leaves will change color and become a little yellower. Don't worry, everything is fine, that's how it should be.
7. When you decide it's time to prepare the dolma, remove the bottle from the refrigerator, carefully cut it open and carefully remove the contents. Rinse off the salt and the product will be ready for use instantly, no additional preparatory processes are required: unseal the bottle, rinse and cook immediately. Now you know how to salt grape leaves.

Dolma, or cabbage rolls in grape leaves, is one of the most popular dishes in Moldavian cuisine. The secrets of winter storage of cabbage for ordinary cabbage rolls have long been known to everyone, but few think about the fact that grape leaves can also be prepared for future use.
The greens of any grape are suitable for pickling, but the most delicious cabbage rolls are obtained from the leaves of white varieties, which have a minimal number of veins and are pleasantly soft. Grape leaves for pickling are collected in late spring. If you didn’t manage to collect the necessary components on time, you shouldn’t be upset, the only condition is the correct size, youth and absence of damage.

Ingredients:

For a 0.5 liter jar:

How to prepare grape leaves for dolma for the winter

1 . Before pickling, grape leaves are placed in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours, after which they are washed under running cold tap water, getting rid of disease-damaged and punctured leaves. The washed greens are separated from the stems and inspected again, this time removing grape leaves with hard, dense veins.

2. Salting. The finished components are stacked one on one, transferred to a deep saucepan or bowl, and filled with cold water.

3 . Pour 1.5 tablespoons of salt on top and stir until it is completely dissolved.

4 . The greens remain in the water for 30-40 minutes, after which the saline solution is poured into the sink, and boiling water is poured on top with 1.5 tablespoons of salt added to it. The greens should be kept in boiling water for at least 10 minutes, during which time their color will change.

5. The cooled brine is poured into a separate pan and brought to a boil. Steamed grape leaves are placed in piles (3 leaves in each) and rolled into tight tubes.

6 . The washed jar is sterilized (to prevent the glass vessel from bursting, it is recommended to lower an ordinary spoon into the jar during sterilization) and the resulting tubes are placed in it. The tubes are placed vertically; it is desirable that they fit tightly to each other. The filled jar is filled with hot brine and closed with a metal lid. If you don’t have one at hand, then you need to wait for the brine to cool and close the jar with a regular plastic lid.

Grape leaves for dolma prepared for the winter

Bon appetit!

How to store and when to use

The jars, covered with metal lids, are placed in a warm place and wrapped in a blanket. After the jars have cooled, they are moved to the refrigerator, where they should remain until used. A cellar can be a replacement for a refrigerator.

You can use grape leaves for their intended purpose after 2-3 weeks; this time is enough for the brine to infuse and the pickles to acquire a pleasant taste and aroma.

Oriental cabbage rolls, minced meat wrapped in grape leaves, or simply dolma can be safely classified as seasonal dishes. Not only do grapes not grow everywhere, but also the leaves on them do not “live” all year round. However, this does not mean at all that you will have to give up dolma in winter. Fortunately, grape leaves can be preserved and enjoyed in a wonderful oriental dish until next summer.

How to properly collect grape leaves for dolma

An inexperienced cook can afford to prepare dolma from any grape leaves. Of course, you can eat such “stuffed cabbage rolls,” but you won’t be able to enjoy their real taste. The taste of this dish largely depends on which leaves the meat ingredient is wrapped in. For dolma, it is best to take leaves from white grape varieties. They are softer and not so “curly”. It is the leaves of white grapes that give dolma its unique taste and aroma.

You can collect leaves from the moment the grapes bloom. The main thing is that they have already reached the desired size - approximately the size of an adult’s palm. The collection period continues throughout the summer. Just don’t pick leaves from bushes that have recently been sprayed against diseases or pests. Rinse, don’t rinse, and the poison can get into the human body. Better take care. So, the leaves are collected. Now you can start preparing delicious dolma. And preserve the remaining leaves for the winter.

Preparing fresh leaves in a bottle

This is the simplest method of preserving grape leaves for dolma. Of course, before the leaves are sent for storage, they must be thoroughly washed and dried. You also need to prepare containers for storage. The inside of the plastic bottle should be thoroughly washed with a water solution of baking soda. Then the container must be rinsed with clean water and dried.

Now you can proceed directly to preparing the main ingredient of dolma for the winter. To do this, you need to fold the leaves in packs of 5-6 pieces and roll each of them into a tube. To prevent the leaves from unfolding, each tube should be tied with a thread. It is worth making sure that the diameter of the tubes does not exceed the diameter of the neck of the bottle, otherwise they simply will not fit there.

The prepared leaf rolls should be placed tightly in the bottle. To make this easier, it is best to prepare a thin stick in advance.

When the bottle is completely filled, screw the cap on it, but not completely. After this, pressing on the sides of the container, you should squeeze out as much air as possible from it, after which the lid should be tightened thoroughly. You can store them in this form even at room temperature, but it is better to put them in a cooler place, even if the temperature is above zero. The shelf life, if everything is done correctly, is up to 2 years.

One bad thing: you have to get the leaves out of the bottle by cutting it. So it is best to use small containers.

Frozen grape leaves for dolma

It is no less easy to preserve grape leaves for “winter” dolma by freezing them. To do this, the leaves also need to be washed and dried. In this case, the petioles can be cut off. They are not needed in dolma, and in other methods of preparation their function is only to simplify the removal of leaves from the container.

Place the prepared leaf blades in piles of 12-15 pieces. and roll it into a roll. Wrap each roll in cling film and put it in a regular packaging bag and put it in the freezer. To save space, you can put the rolls in a plastic container. This is not important.

Before preparing dolma, leaves preserved in this way must be thawed at room temperature and then scalded with boiling water. This process will restore the product’s proper taste, aroma and even basic beneficial properties.

Pickled grape leaves for dolma

If desired, grape leaves for dolma can be preserved for the winter in a marinade. To do this, prepared leaf plates, as well as for freezing, need to be folded in packs of 12-15 pieces. and roll into rolls. Then place the rolls in sterilized jars and pour boiling water over them. After 10 minutes, drain the cooling water and fill the containers with fresh boiling water.

While the leaves are taking a hot bath, prepare the marinade. Dissolve sugar and salt in water, then bring the solution to a boil, pour 9% vinegar into it and remove from heat. For 1 liter of water you will need a tablespoon of sugar and salt, as well as 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

You need to drain the cooling water from the jars again and pour hot marinade in its place. Canned food should be sealed immediately and allowed to cool. You can store grape leaves for dolma in the marinade at normal room temperature.

Grape leaves for dolma for the winter in tomato juice

The methods described above for preparing grape leaves for dolma are the most accessible and widespread. If your soul requires something more exotic, then you can try preparing this product using... tomato juice. To do this, you will need the leaves themselves, tomato juice and a head of regular onion.

The preservation process begins with soaking the leaves. They should be filled with cold water and left for about an hour. Then fold the leaves into piles of 12-15 pieces and roll them into rolls. The prepared leaves are placed in a jar. The rolls should be laid as tightly as possible, but not to the very top. There should be about 5 centimeters of free space left from the top edge. As soon as the installation process is over, the leaves must be poured again, but with boiling water and left for 15 minutes.

At this time, you can start preparing the fill. To do this, pour tomato juice into a saucepan, add salt to taste, throw in a whole onion and boil. The onion can then be thrown away. It won't be useful anymore. Pour hot tomato juice into jars, after pouring the water out of them. All that remains is to roll up the lids on the jars, wrap them in a warm blanket and leave them completely alone for a couple of days.

There are other ways to preserve grape leaves for dolma for the winter. A very popular method is salting, both standard and dry. There are also very exotic options, for example: pickling leaves along with cucumbers. In this case, each cucumber is wrapped in a separate leaf. It’s long, labor-intensive and not necessarily effective. So there is no point in “making fun” of a good product. The methods described above are quite enough to enjoy aromatic and tasty dolma in the middle of winter.

Video recipe “Grape leaves for the winter”