How to close the leaves of grapes for the winter. Harvesting grape leaves for the winter

An unusual culinary dish reminiscent of traditional cabbage rolls, only grape leaves act as a wrapper. Harvesting grape leaves for dolma is not laborious and has several manufacturing options. These include salting, pickling, freezing and storage in dried form. Any method of storing the future wrapper contributes to the conservation of useful substances, only taste qualities are distinguished. The main thing is to follow all the stages of canning. Below will be presented various descriptions of harvesting grape leaves for the winter for dolma, and which recipe to use is up to you.

Quite well known as an ingredient in kitchen dishes in the East. We are just starting to gain popularity. And not in vain, because the leaf is completely permeated with useful trace elements, and it also has a pleasant aftertaste. Edible culinary masterpieces from such plants relieve the pain of varicose veins, relieve swelling, and improve blood circulation. As an antiseptic, the leaves are able to heal wounds and stop minor bleeding. This gift of nature contains a large amount of vitamins A, B, C and minerals - iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium. The listed positive components must be preserved by closing them in jars for further consumption. Preservation of grape leaves for dolma is the most rational preservation for a long time. It is in the dish with the beautiful name "Dolma" that these green leaves are often used.

Freezing grape leaves

Almost all vegetables and fruits lend themselves perfectly to the freezing procedure. This method requires a good freezer. For those who wish to learn how to freeze grape leaves for dolma, simple steps are provided below.

Freezing steps:

Before freezing, the leaves should not be washed, as the remaining drops will turn into ice and disrupt the storage process.

Preparation and storage of dried grape leaves

Harvesting grape leaves for dolma by drying them is no more laborious than freezing. Such preservation allows you to save all the useful elements in the plant and its unsurpassed aroma.

Option 1:

Option 2:

Pickling grape leaves

Not everyone still knows how to pickle grape leaves for dolma. This method involves storing raw materials for dolma in glass containers filled with marinade. A longer process than salting, but the result is tastier. The leaves, saturated with brine, become more fragrant and piquant.

Pickling steps:

If the tube of leaves blooms, it is better to fix it with a toothpick or thread.

Salting grape leaves

Those who do not like the sweet and sour taste of preservation will look for a recipe on how to pickle grape leaves for dolma. Leaves in this way are stored in glass jars in brine. Therefore, before starting work, glass jars should be sterilized. Your attention is given to two options for salting, one under the nylon cover, the second involves long-term storage under a metal twist.

Option 1:

With this method of storage, the leaves are partially deprived of their beneficial properties, but the aroma remains unchanged.

Option 2:

1 liter jar contains 70 rolled sheets.

Canning grape leaves in tomato juice

Those who are bored with the recipes for canning leaves that have become boring from year to year are invited to store them in a tomato. Harvesting grape leaves for dolma in tomato juice is not at all difficult. For her, you need a freshly squeezed tomato, the amount of which comes from the number of prepared cans. 1 jar is 1/3 of the liquid if the leaves are tightly packed into the jar to the top.

Canning steps:

Tomato juice, in which grape leaves were stored, will perfectly act as a sauce.

Dolma is further prepared from canned grape leaves. Traditionally, it is customary to wrap minced meat with rice in them, but you can deviate from the generally accepted charters and fill it with vegetable filling. For example, dolma with a carrot core will really appeal to vegetarians. Bon appetit!

Dolma is a dish loved by many nations. 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, a leaf is harvested during the flowering of the vine - that's when it is the most tender, juicy and fragrant. It is best to use grape leaves for dolma, collected from white varieties. Reds are often also used in cooking, but there are a lot of troubles with them. 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. Each housewife can prepare grape leaves for the winter for dolma. And the matter is quite simple. And there are many ways, and everyone can choose the most acceptable for themselves.

What leaves to choose?

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

On the leaves there should be no mechanical damage, traces of garden pests, cobwebs, plaque. It is these grape leaves for dolma that are chosen for canning.

salting recipe

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

The recipe is extremely simple:

• young leaves are thoroughly washed under running water;
• scald with boiling water and immediately cool;
• roll into rolls of 10-15 pieces and put 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;
• again pour into jars and roll up.

You can store such blanks not only in cellars, but also in pantries of city apartments. Before cooking dolma, the leaves must be soaked in order to draw out excess salt from them. The same rules apply to pickled leaves. In any case, most likely, you will not have to salt the dish.

Grape leaves for dolma in marinade

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

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

Alternative way - dry salting

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

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

Freezing of semi-finished products

But what 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 already twisted dolma.

This method is very convenient because in winter you can cook a dish in a fairly short period of time. Grape rolls with minced meat are enough to be immersed in a saucepan without defrosting, pour broth and simmer until tender.

The most famous and popular grape leaf dish 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 filo 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 tender young leaves.

Before salting can begin, the grape leaves must be harvested and prepared, a process that remains the same in every recipe. To make the final dish tasty, use only young leaves of approximately the same size and it is desirable that the grapes are 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.

During 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 salting. The tails can be cut off or left intact - it is very convenient for them to get the leaves out of the jar. The recipe for canning grape leaves is not such a rare occurrence, we offer you a few.

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 salt grape leaves:

1. Pour the prepared leaves with boiling water for 3 minutes. Be sure to time the time with a timer and do not overdo it, otherwise they will boil and fall apart. Drain the boiling water quickly.
2. Cool the sheets, collect in stacks of 10-15 pieces and roll into tight rolls.
3. Pack the rolls tightly into the jar, generously sprinkling each layer with salt.
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 chilled brine into jars, place them on a tray and leave at room temperature for 14 days.
6. The vine leaves will ferment for two weeks, then you need to prepare a new batch of brine and top up 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 opened jar is 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 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 jar of 300 ml, which is very convenient if you have few leaves and want to pickle just a little bit. If necessary, simply increase the amount of products, but be sure to follow 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 prepared leaves with boiling water and leave for 1 minute. Drain, cool and rinse thoroughly.
2. Fold the leaves in stacks of 10 pieces and roll into a tube or envelope, as you like. The shape doesn't matter, try it both ways to find the best one. The grapes are different, more rigid or more flexible, so sometimes it is easier to wrap tubes, and sometimes envelopes. Pack them tightly in a jar.
3. Top with one teaspoon of dry mustard and salt, put 2 black peppercorns.
4. Boil water and pour boiling water into the jar to the very brim, and then quickly screw on a tight lid and turn it upside down until it cools completely.
5. Place chilled jars in a dark place.

Pickled grape leaves with mint

Ingredients:

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

How to salt grape leaves for the winter:

1. Sterilize glass jars and lids.
2. Fold the prepared leaves in stacks of 10 pieces, put one sprig of mint in the center of each stack and roll them tightly into rolls. Lay the rolls in the jars in a vertical position.
3. Boil the brine: bring 1 liter of water to a boil, add salt, and strain.
4. Pour the brine into jars, tighten the lids and leave to cool. Store in a dark place at room temperature.

Recipe for pickled cucumbers in grape embrace

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

Ingredients for 1 three-liter jar:

• cucumbers - 2 1/2 kg;
• grape leaves - as much as cucumbers by the piece;
• water - 1 l.;
• apple juice - 300 ml;
• salt - 50 g;
• sugar - 50 g.

Grape leaf - preparation for the winter with cucumbers:

1. In this recipe, it is important to choose the right cucumbers: they must be strong, the same small size and always even. If they were plucked from the garden a couple of days ago, before cooking, they must be poured with cold water and soaked for two hours. Then rinse and you can start salting.
2. Usually after they turn yellow and acquire a greenish-brown hue. To avoid this and keep 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, but only the color, so if there is no time for additional manipulations, you can skip this step, the cucumbers will still be delicious.
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 cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
5. Pour the hot brine into the jar of cucumbers, let sit for 3-5 minutes, then drain. The exposure time depends on the size of the cucumbers: for small ones, 3 minutes will be enough, and for those that are larger, at least 5 will be needed. Boil the marinade again, pour it into the jar again, hold for the required time and drain. Pour the marinade a third time, roll up the jar with a lid, turn it upside down, wrap it in a blanket and leave it to cool slowly.

• You can use grape juice instead of apple juice. This option is also good, the taste of preservation will change a little and become thinner, 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 salting in a plastic bottle

To pickle grape leaves according to this recipe, you don’t have to mess 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 cooking 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. Only young, whole and dry leaves that grow at the very end of the vine no further than the fourth leaf are suitable for this recipe. Collect them in a bag and DO NOT wash. The surface of each leaf is covered with a fermenting compound, which protects it from spoilage and allows you to make salting without the presence of brine.
2. Collect the leaves in stacks of 10 pieces, roll into tight rolls and place in a plastic bottle. With the back end of a wooden spoon or other stick with a wide, rounded tip, flatten the rolls so that there is as little air as possible between them. Do this carefully, try to push hard, but carefully and do not damage the raw material.
3. It may take a little more or fewer leaves to completely fill the bottle, depending on their size, density, grape variety and how tightly you roll the straws.
4. In a bottle filled to the very top, pour 1 tbsp. a spoonful of salt to form a kind of salt cork. Salt should not seep to the very bottom, a layer of 1-2 cm will be enough.
5. Screw the bottle on with a cork and put it in a cold 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, as it should be.
7. When you decide it's time to cook the dolma, take the bottle out of the fridge, 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: open the bottle, rinse and cook immediately. Now you know how to salt grape leaves.

The most common use of grape leaves to create a delicious oriental dish that resembles Russian cabbage rolls. This is dolma. Fresh leaves are used for it, in which minced meat with rice is wrapped. But if you prepare pickled grape leaves or salted grape leaves for the winter, you can enjoy a fragrant dish throughout the year.

Features and tricks of harvesting grape leaves

A good hostess will always be able to surprise her loved ones with a delicious dish, even if the products seem to be unavailable to create it. Among the peoples of the Middle East, even in winter, on the tables you can see fragrant dolma - national "stuffed cabbage" from grape leaves. The trick is that they lend themselves well to processing and can be stored under certain conditions for a long time. At home, grape leaves are harvested in such ways as:

• salting;
• pickling;
• freezing;
• conservation.

Grape leaves are cut during the flowering of the vine, giving preference to young shoots of white varieties. Red grapes can also be used to make dolma, but they are tougher and have jagged edges. Leaves should be cut away from roads and industrial enterprises so that they are not dusty and do not accumulate harmful substances in themselves.

Some housewives prefer to harvest grape leaves fresh. To do this, several leaves are rolled up into a tight roll, placed in a clean glass jar, covered with a lid and sterilized in the oven for about an hour. In winter, such leaves have a special aroma and almost do not differ from freshly cut ones.

canned grape leaves

Grape leaves have been proven to be a useful dietary product. They contain a large amount of fibers, vitamins, iron, zinc, phosphorus, ascorbic acid. If you properly prepare this low-calorie product for the winter, then all year round you can cook dishes that contain useful substances that reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and other diseases.

Canned grape leaves can be prepared in two ways.

dry canning

Ingredients:

• grape leaves;
• salt.

Cooking:

You will need dry sterilized jars.

1. Washed and dried grape leaves are placed one by one on the bottom.
2. Every 10 sheets pour half a teaspoon of salt.
3. When the jar is completely filled, it is covered with a metal lid and placed in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
4. The container is tightly sealed with a lid.

When this blank is opened in winter, the fragrant aroma of grape leaves spreads throughout the kitchen. This method of conservation allows you to maximize the preservation of all the useful properties donated by the vine.

Pickling

Ingredients:

• water;
• salt;
• vinegar.

Cooking:

Pickled grape leaves are also used to make dolma and various other dishes.

1. Cut young leaves are thoroughly washed under running water, stacked on top of each other.
2. The resulting "pack" must be rolled into a tube and wrapped with thread.
3. To make the leaves softer, each roll is dipped in turn for a few seconds in boiling water, and then in cold water.
4. The brine is prepared from 1 liter of water and 40 g of salt. It is not necessary to boil it, but it is important that the salt is completely dissolved.
5. Rolls of leaves are tightly packed in jars. It is better to use glass containers with a volume of 0.5 liters or 0.7 liters.
6. Each jar is filled with brine, covered with a metal lid and left for 3 days of fermentation.
7. The final stage of pickling is sterilization. Banks are placed in a pot of boiling water and sterilized on fire for 20 minutes. But before that, a teaspoon of 9 percent vinegar is added to each jar.
8. Corked pickled grape leaves for dolma can be stored even without a refrigerator.

Salting grape leaves

Ingredients:

• grape leaves;
• salt;
• water.

Cooking:

This method is much easier than marinating grape leaves for dolma. It consists in pouring raw materials with a 10% cold salt solution.

1. Before putting the leaves in a jar, they are washed and stacked tightly on top of each other.
2. In a strong saline solution, grape leaves will be well preserved throughout the cold season and it will be possible to cook delicious dolma. The useful substances that the vine gives them will also be preserved.
3. Before cooking, the leaves must be soaked in warm water to release excess salt. Otherwise, the dolma will be oversalted.

Dry Ambassador

Ingredients:

• salt.

Cooking:

Another quick recipe for harvesting grape leaves for the future. Raw materials must be clean and dry.

1. From 3-5 leaves, roll up a tight tube and place it in a plastic bottle.
2. The same is done with the rest of the leaves, periodically sprinkling the tubes with a small amount of salt.
3. When the bottle is completely filled, it is closed and stored in a refrigerator or cellar.

Freeze

Ingredients:

Cooking:

The easiest option is to freeze grape leaves, but dolma from such raw materials turns out to be very tasty and fragrant.

1. Dry young leaves cleaned of dust are stacked in a pile of 10 pieces and a tight tube is folded from each, which is tied with a thread.
2. The blanks are stored in plastic bags in the freezer.
3. As soon as you want to cook dolma, the tubes are taken out, scalded with boiling water or defrosted in a natural way.

In the Caucasus and the countries of the Middle East, dolma is one of the favorite and healthy dishes, so it is prepared not only in summer, when the vine gives young leaves, but also at other times of the year. This can be done in a variety of ways to harvest grape leaves.

Dolma is a delicious oriental dish. There are still disputes about where this dish came from, but it is likely that no one will be able to solve this riddle. 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 summer, it is not difficult to go out into the garden and pick leaves from grapes, but what to do in winter? Refuse to cook dolma? Oh no! There is nothing difficult in preparing grape leaves for the winter, if you know how to do it right.

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

What you need to know:

• only the softest and most tender leaves of white grapes are harvested;
• collect recently opened young leaves, in which the veins have not yet coarsened;
• pluck them from the top of the shoot. First, the upper ones will not fit - they are too small. But from the fifth to the seventh - that's it!
• those that have changed their color, become covered with spots or swellings are not suitable. Only the healthiest are suitable;
• if the vineyard has recently been treated with insecticides, harvesting 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 off 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 lay it thinly on cling film. The film is rolled up with a tight roll, the ends are twisted so that air does not get in. Store in the freezer for up to 8-9 months. Defrost should be gradual. It is better to get them in advance and put them in a cold place. It can only be opened when the defrosting is complete.

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

To store grape leaves for dolma in salty 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. So repeat 3-4 times. At this time, prepare salted brine. Salt is added to the water so much that it seems that it is a little oversalted. After the last heating, the leaves are poured with brine and rolled up with lids.

Storing the workpiece in a steeper saline solution allows you not to sterilize or roll up the jar. Clean leaves are taken in several pieces, rolled into rolls and tightly packed in a small jar. A strong solution is prepared at the rate of 1 part salt to 10 parts water. Pour into a 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 blank must be soaked in cold water for several hours. If you forget, the dolma will be very salty.

When marinated, the leaves will not look like fresh ones at all. It seems to some that this gives dolma a special taste, so this recipe has the right to be. The marinade is prepared in the following proportion:

• 1 liter of water;
• vinegar 9% - 2 or 3 tablespoons;
• salt - 2 tablespoons;
• sugar - also 2 tablespoons.

To taste, these proportions can be changed and different spices can be added.

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