TOP 7 ways to save grape leaves for dolma for the winter

Dolma is one of the most popular oriental dishes, reminiscent of cabbage rolls. Minced meat is not wrapped in cabbage, but in grape leaves. Dolma is a summer dish, but many housewives want to cook it in the winter, so the question arises about how to store greens. There are different possibilities for storing vine leaves for making dolma: drying, pickling, salting.

Why should vine leaves be preserved?

Ready-made pickled leaves for an Asian dish are sold in stores, but do-it-yourself preparation tastes better. It gives minced meat, consisting of meat, rice, onions and herbs, a pleasant sour taste and an interesting wine aroma.Dolma is not only tasty, but also healthy. Grape leaves contain high concentrations of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.

Grape greens are not only used in oriental cuisine. It is added as a natural spice to meat and fish when frying and stewing. It has an important culinary feature - it absorbs the aroma of the prepared product, while giving it a piquancy to the wine.

For culinary purposes, you need to take young leaves: 4-5th in a row from the top of the vine.

It is advisable to pick them from white grapes. These greens have a more delicate taste.

Basic Storage Methods

The cut leaves are washed, the stems are cut. For white, choose any convenient method from the following.

Freeze for winter

Sheets are stacked on top of each other, folded. The resulting rolls are wrapped with kitchen film or polyethylene. Placed in the freezer, pressing firmly together to save space. The shelf life of frozen greens reaches one year. For use, the piece is taken out of the freezer, left to defrost completely. A frozen product cannot be used - the plates will collapse.

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Salting methods

There are 3 methods for salting grape greens.

First of all

A 10% saline solution is prepared for salting. Washed and carefully folded leaves are placed in a deep container, filled with warm solution. Close with a plastic lid. The salted product can be stored at ambient conditions. Before use, the leaves should be immersed in a container of hot water for a few hours so that excess salt comes out.

Second

For pickling, you can prepare a less concentrated salt solution - 2-3%, but in this case the procedure is carried out according to the standard pickling method. The brine is used hot.

Third

You can salt grape leaves using herbs. Before the main procedure, you need to mix the pickling ingredients:

• a teaspoon of salt;
• a teaspoon of mustard powder;
• 2-3 allspice peas.

The leaves are scalded, rolled up, put in a clean half-liter jar and covered with a salty mixture.Pour boiling water over it, roll up. Store under room conditions.

Stripping

Grape leaves, like vegetables, are suitable for pickling. The product is prepared for the winter in two simple ways.

The first way

First you need to make a marinade.

For 1 liter of water take:

• a tablespoon of salt;
• a tablespoon of sugar;
• 2 tablespoons of 9% vinegar.

The product is marinated as follows:

1. Glass jars are washed and sterilized.
2. Stacks of 10-12 pieces are formed from washed grape leaves. Turn. They are placed in a jar, carefully pressed against each other.
3. Pour grape rolls with boiling water, leave for 10 minutes. The water present is drained, the procedure is repeated.
4. For the third time, the harvest is poured with a boiled marinade.
5. The jar is closed with a metal crimp lid.

Second way

There is also a second option for pickling raw materials from grapes.

To cook take:

• 2 bay leaves;
• 5 Jamaican peas;
• 2 clove buds;
• a tablespoon of salt;
• a tablespoon of sugar;
• 2 tablespoons of 9% vinegar.

The piece is made as follows:

1. The leaves are washed, scalded.
2. The jar is sterilized. Bay leaves, sweet peas, clove buds are placed inside.
3. Grape leaves are carefully layered over the spices.
4. Make a marinade. For 1 liter of water take salt, sugar, vinegar in the above amount.
5. Boiling marinade is poured into a jar. Cloves and other spices are placed on top of the pile of poured grapes.
6. The jar is closed with a plastic lid. Sent to storage in a cool room.

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Greens prepared by the described method can be eaten after a day.

With tomato juice

If you want to make a tastier and more original flan, you can use the recipe below.

To cook take:

• tomato juice to fill the third part of the can;
• the head of onions.

Harvesting is done as follows:

1. Prepared leaves are immersed in a container of cold water for 40 minutes.
2. Form rolls of 10 pieces each.
3. Grape rolls are folded in a sterilized jar, pressing tightly against each other, leaving 5 cm to the edge.
4. Pour boiling water over it. Let stand 15 minutes.
5. Tomato juice is combined with chopped onions, lightly salted, brought to a boil.
6. Water is poured, boiled tomato juice is poured into the pot instead.
7. The jar is closed with a metal lid. Wrap with a hot towel. Go 2 days.

With cucumbers

Pickled cucumbers and green tomatoes in combination with grape leaves acquire a wonderful taste.

To cook take:

• 500 g of cucumbers;
• 50 vine leaves and 5 blackcurrant leaves;
• dill inflorescence;
• 4 cloves of garlic;
• a few peas of black pepper.

The marinade is made up of:

• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons of sugar
• 5 tablespoons of vinegar;
• 500ml of water.

Washed cucumbers are wrapped in raisins. Placed in a sterilized jar. Prepare the marinade, pour into the jar. Close with a metal crimp lid. Wrap with a hot towel. Go away for a day.

Drying

To preserve the leaves for a long time, they are dried using the herbarium method. They are washed, laid out on book pages. Or they layer it in a stack of paper, put a filler on top so that the sheet plates are even.Dried leaves are removed, placed in polyethylene or a container and stored in the refrigerator.

Before preparing the dish, the softening ingredient is dipped in cold water.

Dry canning

For a half-liter plastic bottle, prepare:

• 50 vine leaves;
• 2 tablespoons of salt.

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The product is stored as follows:

1. Form the grape rolls. Gently push through the bottleneck inside.
2. Divide the rolls using a long skewer or the end of a fork, pressing them together so that there is as little space as possible between them.
3. Salt is poured on top. When the grape rolls are firmly packed, they should not reach the bottom. It will sink a little, but the bulk will remain a layer on the surface.
4. Screw on the lid. Put the bottle in a refrigerator or a cool room.

After a few days, the grape rolls acquire a yellowish-green color. This is the normal result of contact with salt.To make the dolma, the upper part of the bottle is cut off, the rolls are taken out and unfolded. Wash off the salt.

Additional tips and tricks

To properly store grape leaves, it is important not only to prepare them correctly, but also to harvest them. For the play to be successful, the following guidelines must be followed:

1. Young leaves that show no signs of yellowing are better preserved.
2. They are cut in the morning, after the dew has dried. The procedure is carried out in clear weather.
3. For the preparation of dolma, it is advisable to take sheets of medium size, approximately equal in diameter.
4. It is unacceptable to harvest grape bushes growing near roads.Grapes actively absorb toxic compounds that enter the air with exhaust gases.
5. You should not take insect-sharpened leaves, covered with spots and dots, indicating infectious pathologies or sunburn.

Wash collected material if you plan to dry it for storage. For other masking methods, you can only wipe the plates with a clean, damp cloth. Wet raw materials quickly decay, are affected by fungal infection, and it becomes impossible to use them for pickling and salting.