How to ferment grape leaves for the winter. Proper preparation of grape leaves for dolma for the winter

Preserving grape leaves for dolma for the winter is not a difficult task, but not every skilled housewife knows about this possibility. But many people would like to please their family with a delicious oriental dish on one of the long winter evenings. Dolma - a mixture of rice, minced meat and spicy herbs, wrapped in a delicate grape leaf, will delight even a sophisticated gourmet. And if there are no problems with the filling in winter, then the leaves should be prepared in advance.

Dolma is a mixture of meat, rice and herbs, wrapped in a grape leaf.

Proper preparation is the key to success

Collecting, sorting and properly preparing grape leaves is half the success.

Chefs of successful restaurants of Azerbaijani, Georgian and Armenian cuisines recommend using young leaves of white table grapes, which are picked during the flowering period of the vine (in May-June). When collecting, preference should be given to thin, smooth and soft leaves with small, delicate veins. The surface of the sheet should be smooth on both sides (without edge on the underside).

The following cannot be used as food:

Leaves damaged by pests or disease should not be eaten.

leaves of wild grapes (maiden or decorative);
old leaves;
leaves with signs of damage by pests, fungus, mold;
leaves with sunburn.

You should also avoid collecting leaves that have changed their traditional green color to lemon, yellow, whitish or cream.

It’s easy to avoid making a mistake with the age of a leaf by following the advice of experienced gardeners and winemakers: pluck the fifth, sixth and seventh leaves from the crown of the vine. It is advisable to harvest grape leaves before spraying against pests and diseases.

The plucked leaves must be sorted out, washed under running water, and a stalk cut from each. Now the leaves can be harvested for the winter using one of the following methods:

freezing;
pickling;
dry canning;
pickling;
dry salting

Some housewives additionally pour boiling water over the raw materials. If you plan to prepare it using salting or pickling, then this action is not necessary.

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Freezing and fresh storage

Leaves should be washed thoroughly before freezing.

Freezing. Freezing in the refrigerator is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to store grape leaves, allowing you to preserve all the beneficial substances and vitamins in the raw material without compromising the natural taste. All that is required is the product and cling film.

Freezing rules:

Place the washed and dried leaves in stacks of 15-30 pieces. One frozen batch should be enough for one dolma preparation.
Cut the cling film into small pieces.
Place a stack of leaves in the middle of the film cut.
Roll the leaves together with the film into a tight roll.
Tuck in the remaining film to form a sealed bag.
Place portions in the freezer.

Leaves frozen in this way can be stored at a temperature of -18 0 C for 6 to 9 months. The main disadvantage of freezing is the fragility of the frozen product, so you need to ensure that there is enough space in the freezer so that other products do not crush the leaves. It is best to defrost the main part of the dolma in the main compartment of the refrigerator, without unrolling the rolls until completely defrosted. Another simple way to preserve grape leaves for the winter is dry canning.

Method No. 1:

prepare glass jars and lids for canning;
Place the washed and dried leaves tightly in jars, sprinkling a small amount of salt every 15 pieces;
put open jars in the oven and sterilize for 5-10 minutes;
roll up the jars with lids;
store in a dark place.

To freeze grape leaves, you will need plastic cling film.

Method number 2:

prepare clean, dry plastic bottles with caps;
fold the leaves into a small pile (4-6 pieces), roll them into tight rolls;
push each roll into the neck of a plastic bottle;
fill the bottles as tightly as possible;
release excess air from the container by pressing on the bottle, screw the cap tightly;
store in a dark place at room temperature.

Helpful Tips:

Before preserving the leaves, you need to let them sit for a while (dry), after which they will roll up more easily and compact more tightly;
If necessary, use the plastic bottle carefully cut with kitchen scissors.

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Marinating in glass containers

The main ingredient of dolma can be pickled like regular vegetables. At the same time, recipes can be very diverse.

Recipe with vinegar. Required Products:

grape leaves;
1 head of garlic;
1 liter of water;
0.5 cups sugar;
2 tbsp. salt;
0.5 cups 9% vinegar;
black peppercorns.

To prepare pickled leaves, you will need vinegar.

Cooking method:

scald the leaves with boiling water and dry;
fold in piles, roll up the envelopes and place tightly in sterilized glass jars;
prepare the marinade by bringing water to a boil and adding vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper;
pour boiling marinade into the jars;
roll up the lids.

Leaves marinated in this way have a spicy, salty taste. For those who are against preserving food using vinegar, another method is suitable.

Recipe with dry mustard. Required ingredients:

50-60 grape leaves;
1 tsp dry mustard;
1 tsp salt;
a pinch of ground black pepper;
water.

Cooking method:

pour boiling water over the leaves and drain;
fold in piles of 10 pieces, form into tight rolls;
place in sterilized jars;
sprinkle the rolls with mustard, salt and black pepper;
Fill with boiling water completely and cover with a lid;
turn the jars over onto lids and wrap tightly until completely cool;
store in a cool, dark place.

Canned grape leaves are best used during the next cold season and should not be stored for longer than 1 year.

Dolma made from grape leaves is a classic dish of the Middle East and far abroad, similar to cabbage rolls. There is an assumption that the first time meat twisted into the tops of a plant was cooked in the Ottoman Empire. The leaf-wrapped filling (grape leaf dolma) is found in cuisines all over the world, including Africa, Greece, etc.

Depending on your preferences, determine the appropriate size. The size of the roll will be about 50% of the width;
The sheets should not show signs of disease, kinks or holes;
The lighter the color, the softer and tastier its leaves. White, red and last but not least blue;
Grape leaves for dolma for the winter are collected from healthy bushes during or before flowering. At this time, sap circulation is optimal and the foliage is full of vigor.

Procurement of raw materials

To please guests, your family and friends with dolma all year round, you need to properly prepare dolma for the winter and keep it in its original form.

Let's consider the types of processing and ways to ensure the safety of raw materials.

Dry storage

The method makes it possible to quickly prepare and compactly store grape foliage. We put dry products in a jar, sprinkle each unit with salt. After filling the container, put everything in the oven at 90-100 degrees for 10 minutes. Then you can roll up the jars and send them for storage.

Dry canning

Prepared ingredients must be clean and dry. Place in a jar in layers. Sprinkle every 10th leaf with salt. After the jar is filled, it is sterilized for 10-15 minutes. After this, the container can be rolled up with a lid. This way you can preserve the taste and smell of a fresh product.

Freezing

Reliable, simple and popular storage method. In this option, all nutritional and taste qualities are preserved. Several sheets are stacked and rolled. If the product was washed in water, then it needs to be dried. Grape leaves should be frozen dry and slightly wilted. You need to store it in a hard container, because the frozen product is very fragile.

Bottled storage

Plastic containers are very convenient for packaging grape tops. First, the bottle is washed with a solution of baking soda and salt, rinsed and dried. The product is rolled up several pieces into a tube and secured with thread. By inserting the package into the neck of the bottle, you can place it more conveniently with a thin stick or something similar. Having filled the bottle, let the air out of the bottle and screw it with a cork. This method allows you to preserve the foliage in its original form. The rarefied atmosphere in the container facilitates storage. If necessary, the plastic bottle just needs to be cut.

Pickling

How to pickle grape leaves for dolma? Jars need to be washed and disinfected. Pour boiling water over, drain and rinse with it. Let the leaves dry (this allows you to pickle the green grapes and roll them without the risk of breaking the veins) and place them in a container. The marinade is prepared as follows: add 1 tbsp to one liter of water. a spoonful of sugar and the same amount of salt. Boil for three minutes and then pour in 2 tablespoons of 9% vinegar. Remove from heat. This solution is poured into the contents and the jars are screwed on. Pickling grape leaves for dolma is one of the most popular types of stock. You can store this product at room temperature.

Pickling, how to pickle grape leaves

When salting, you can use brine. The liquid for pouring is prepared simply: add 1.5 tablespoons of salt per liter of boiling water. Boil and then cool. Pour boiling water over the greens for 2-3 minutes. Drain quickly through a colander. Place the softened greens in piles and roll them. We put everything in sterilized jars, sprinkle with rock salt and fill with brine. To allow the preserved food to ferment, we keep it in the room for 2 weeks. Add brine if necessary.

We looked at the most popular options for harvesting grape leaves for storage and use for a year or even two. Pickled, salted, etc. Grape leaves for dolma contain a lot of useful elements and vitamins that help our body maintain health.

Recipes for making real dolma

The size of the dolma depends on the dimensions of the sheet and is usually no more than 5-7 cm. The filling for each roll takes about 1 tbsp. spoons.

Classic dolma

For the filling use lean meat and round rice. Onions are fried in vegetable oil. All ingredients are mixed, greens are added to taste. We wrap a small amount of filling in leaves that have been pre-soaked and kept in boiling water. Place the rolls in a pan. You can pour vegetable oil on the bottom and each layer. Fill with water in which the leaves were processed. Simmer the dolma for about an hour over low heat. When serving, you can put sour cream and tomatoes next to it.

Dolma in Armenian

Armenia has its own recipe for making the filling. In addition to minced meat and rice, a small amount of sweet pepper, onions and tomatoes is added here. Fresh or pickled grape leaves are kept in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. The further process follows the same rules. The filling is wrapped in leaves and placed in a thick-walled container. Cooking also takes place in water, but the dolma is under pressure (a load holding and pressing from above). Slow boiling for half an hour is the final step. Serve on a large platter with sauce (kefir, garlic, salt, pepper).

Every family has its own special ones.

Green grapes contain a lot of useful substances. Proper preparation of products allows you to freeze or pickle foliage for dolma, while maintaining taste and aesthetic qualities. If the whole procedure is carried out correctly, then you can pamper your loved ones with this dish all year round. Dolma made from fresh grape leaves will decorate any table.

Dolma is a traditional Caucasian dish. Minced lamb mixed with rice and wrapped in grape leaves is simmered over low heat. An analogy can be drawn with the usual cabbage rolls. Dolma is cabbage rolls wrapped in grape leaves. In this article we will look at how to make pickled grape leaves for dolma.

Dolma in grape leaves - recipe

Ingredients:

minced lamb – 750 g;
grape leaves – 25 pcs;
rice – 100 g;
butter – 100 g;
greenery;
salt, pepper, spices.

Preparation

Grape leaves for dolma must be washed. Then prepare the rice. To make dolma tasty, the rice needs to be scalded with boiling water or steamed. This will allow it to cook faster. Mix scalded rice with minced lamb. Add herbs and butter there. If you like to use onions, you can fry them until golden brown and also add them to the minced meat. The resulting mixture must be thoroughly mixed, salt and add spices to taste. All types of pepper and turmeric go well with lamb meat. When the mixture is ready, you need to prepare the cabbage rolls themselves.

To do this, place about 1 heaped teaspoon of the resulting mixture on a straightened grape leaf. You need to make an envelope from a grape leaf to cover the minced meat with rice on all sides. If the grape leaves are too hard, and the resulting envelopes turn back, no matter how you fold them, then we recommend the following. The resulting envelopes (or rolls, depending on who you choose) need to be tied with thread to fix the shape. Place the resulting rolls in a pan, quite tightly to each other. Pour in a little water, about 2 fingers deep. Cover with a lid, put on low heat, and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. After cooking, before serving, remove the thread. By that time, the leaves will become much softer and will already “remember” their shape.

There is also a simple recipe for cooking.

Preparing grape leaves for dolma

It is better to choose grape leaves for dolma from white grape varieties. The leaves must be young. It must be cut from a vine that grows far from the roadway. Exhaust fumes and heavy metals settle in grape leaves and make them hazardous to health.

Before preparing dolma, be sure to remove all cuttings. There are two ways to properly prepare leaves for dolma: freeze and pickle.

Dolma is a dish loved by many peoples. It is prepared in many different ways, but the most popular and widespread recipe around the world is with grape leaves. To prepare this dish, the leaf is collected when the vine is flowering - that is when it is the most tender, juicy and fragrant. It is best to use grape leaves for dolma, collected from white varieties. Red ones are also often used in cooking, but they can be a lot of trouble. Firstly, their edges are too curly, and secondly, they are quite hard and require more time for heat treatment.

But you can cook your favorite dish not only in May-June. Every housewife can prepare grape leaves for dolma for the winter. And this is not a difficult matter at all. But there are many ways, and everyone can choose the most suitable one for themselves.

Which leaves to choose?

To make the dolma tender, it is best to take light, medium-sized leaves collected from the very tendrils of the vine. The fourth or fifth from the end are ideal for this purpose.

The leaves should be free of mechanical damage, traces of garden pests, cobwebs, and plaque. It is these grape leaves for dolma that are chosen for canning.

Pickling recipe

The most common method of preparation is pickling in jars. Any housewife who knows at least the basics of home canning can cope with this task.

The recipe is extremely simple:

Wash the young leaves thoroughly under running water;
scald with boiling water and cool immediately;
roll 10-15 pieces into rolls and place tightly in a sterilized jar;
pour boiling water;
drain the water, add salt to it at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. per liter, put on fire and let it boil;
Pour into jars again and roll up.

Such preparations can be stored not only in cellars, but also in storerooms in city apartments. Before preparing dolma, the leaves must be soaked to remove excess salt from them. The same rules apply to pickled leaves. In any case, you most likely won’t have to salt the dish.

Grape leaves for dolma in marinade

Of course, grape leaves already contain organic acids. But adding vinegar and spices to the recipe gives dolma a unique expressive aroma. And such preparations are stored just fine, because vinegar prevents the emergence of pathogenic flora.

Before marinating grape leaves for dolma, wash them thoroughly and roll them into tubes, 10 pieces each. Place the rolls in jars and scald them twice with boiling water. Prepare the marinade at the rate of: 1 tbsp per 1 liter of water. l. salt and sugar and 2 tbsp. l. vinegar (9%). Immediately roll it up and wrap it in a blanket.

An alternative method is dry salting.

Many people use another wonderful method. Harvesting grape leaves for dolma for the winter can occur without using any liquid at all.

It is enough to roll dry fresh leaves into rolls and tightly fill half-liter plastic bottles with them. Squeeze out the excess air, and pour salt under the lid, as much as will fit. You can store bottles with leaves in a cellar, basement or refrigerator, and the shelf life of this preparation is not limited to one season.

Freezing semi-finished products

What to do if for some reason neither canning nor dry salting is possible? There is still the option of freezing. Only you need to freeze not the leaves themselves, but the already rolled dolma.

This method is very convenient because in winter you can prepare the dish in a fairly short period of time. Simply place the grape rolls with minced meat in a saucepan without defrosting, pour in the broth and simmer until done.

While the grape leaves are tender and young, hurry to prepare grape leaves for the winter for dolma, so that you can enjoy your favorite dish all year round. If anyone doesn’t know, dolma are small cabbage rolls, but instead of cabbage, the filling is wrapped in grape leaves. I won’t describe how delicious it is, a detailed recipe for this dish will appear on the website soon, you’ll see for yourself. In the meantime, I’ll tell you how to prepare grape leaves for the winter in two ways: canned with salt and frozen. Both of them are very simple and won't take much time.

Harvesting grape leaves for the winter

We will need:

Young grape leaves;
table salt;
boiled chilled water;
cans with a capacity of 0.7 or 1 liter;
plastic bags;
plastic container for freezing.

Canned grape leaves

Not every leaf is suitable for preparing dolma. You need to collect only young, soft ones, and it is also important that they are not carved. Round or slightly elongated ones with small teeth are ideal. Each leaf must be washed under running water on both sides. If you find it with pimples or spots, throw it away. Let the water drain.

Cut with scissors or tear off the petioles.

Place in stacks of 10-20 pieces. We roll it up, tucking the edges inside the “roll”. We wrap it with light threads to prevent them from unraveling.

We select a jar suitable in height, install the rolls vertically, tightly one to the other.

Fill the jars with grape leaves with boiled water, cooled to room temperature or warm. Let it sit for about ten minutes so that the water fills all the voids, then drain. This way we will know how much saline solution is needed.

Now we make “brine” - a strong salty solution. We use only coarse table salt, not iodized. Add in portions, stirring. We bring the strength of the solution to the concentration “so that the egg floats” - a chicken egg should be on the surface, not sink. Before doing this, be sure to wash the egg with a brush and soda.

Pour the grape leaves with a salty solution, leave on the table for two to three hours, adding water if necessary. Then we screw the lids on and put them in the refrigerator or in a cool basement. Before use, the leaves must be soaked in water for at least an hour to remove excess salt.

You can prepare canned grape leaves for the winter in a slightly different way. Roll into rolls, place in liter jars, throw a few black peppercorns into each, add a teaspoon of mustard powder and a tablespoon of table salt. Pour boiling water over and roll up. This method is suitable if there is little space in the refrigerator or if you need to prepare a large batch. This preparation is stored at room temperature.

How to preserve grape leaves for dolma - freezing

This method is considered the easiest, simplest and fastest. But there is a minor drawback - the leaves need to be stored only in a container; after freezing they become very fragile and break. Place the prepared leaves on a towel and dry on both sides.

Place in stacks of ten, outer side down, ribbed on top.

Twist it into a tube and tuck the ends inside so that they don’t break off when frozen. Wrap in cling film, plastic, or place in small bags and seal.

Place in a food container, cover with a lid, and freeze. Before use, remove from the bag and, without unwrapping, place in cold water or leave at room temperature so that the process proceeds gradually. It is not necessary to scald such leaves with boiling water; after defrosting, they become soft and it is easy to twist the filling into them.

And this is a photo of dolma to show why everything is started. It’s simply impossible to resist making cauldrons of small cabbage rolls in grape leaves! While we are bragging about the result, the recipe will come later.

Try to choose leaves of the same size for the workpiece, about the size of your palm. They are just the right height to fit into liter or 700 gram jars, and they are also convenient to freeze.

Well, we have made another useful preparation, now dolma can be prepared in winter. Maybe you know another way to prepare grape leaves for the winter? Take a moment, write in the comments to the recipe - we will be very grateful.