Dolma is one of the most popular dishes of the peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus. However, thanks to its delicious original taste and at the same time rather simple preparation, it occupies a worthy place in our kitchen. The principle of this dish is similar to our pigeons, but instead of cabbage, grape leaves are taken as a basis, and there are also some differences in the selection of spices, the preparation and serving.

The ideal option for dolma, of course, is palm-sized fresh young grape leaves. But the period of their youth is limited and therefore the leaves are plucked and harvested for future use at the beginning of summer in order to use them all year round to prepare their favorite dish.

There are many ways to do this. We will talk about them in detail below in our article today.

Harvesting grape leaves for the winter for dolma

Dolma leaves can be either pickled or kept fresh. To do this, wash the freshly torn sheets thoroughly, lay them out on a clean towel and let them dry thoroughly. Not a drop of moisture should remain on them, this is very important for perfect preservation. Then we stack the leaves on top of each other in a stack of up to ten pieces and roll them up into a tight roll. Next, we wrap the roll with cling film and place it in the freezer for storage.

If the volume of your freezer does not allow making large-scale blanks, then the folded leaves can be placed very tightly in glass jars, rolled up with lids and sterilized in the oven for twenty minutes.

Some experienced housewives use another simple and very effective way to store grape leaves. Prepared dense rolls are placed in half-liter plastic bottles. Each will contain approximately five rolls of ten sheets. Then squeeze the container to remove the air as much as possible and tighten the stopper. Thus, the leaves remain fresh for a long time. This is possible, of course, provided that their surface is sufficiently well dried from moisture residues, otherwise they can become moldy.

How to pickle grape leaves for dolma?

You can also pickle grape leaves for dolma. To do this, wash the fresh young sheets well, put them in a deep bowl, fill them with hot water and immediately drain them. Arrange the leaves slightly softened by blanching in several pieces and roll them up into rolls or envelopes. Then we put the bundles tightly into a prepared clean sterile jar and fill with hot marinade. To prepare it, heat the water to a boil, add three to four peas of allspice, half a teaspoon of mustard powder and a teaspoon of salt. This is a calculation for one liter jar of grape leaves. Be sure to make sure that the brine fills all the voids between the leaves in the jar. Then we twist the containers with boiled sterile lids and set them for storage in the pantry to other blanks.

How to salt and store grape leaves for dolma?

Grape leaves are perfectly stored in a simple saline solution. For such a blank, we cut off young grape leaves along with the cuttings, wash them well, put ten pieces together and tie them with a clean thread. We put the bundles in a clean jar and fill them with a simple saline solution. To prepare it, dissolve such an amount of non-iodized salt in cold water so that the raw egg floats on the surface. The leaves should be completely covered with the salty liquid, so during storage it is necessary to add it as the leaves are absorbed and the brine level decreases. We cover the jars with such a blank with nylon lids and set them for storage in a cool place.

Probably, each nationality has its own traditions, including culinary ones. Various national dishes are prepared in many families, and now recipes for their preparation can be found on the Internet. And this is great, because new culinary experiments can greatly diversify the diet. So, any housewife can cook traditional dishes of Transcaucasia and Central Asia in her kitchen, which, undoubtedly, includes dolma. But it can be cooked correctly only in warm weather, since this requires grape leaves. And today we will talk about how to save grape leaves for the winter.

Dolma is somewhat similar to our stuffed cabbage rolls. But it is prepared exclusively in grape leaves. Traditional cabbage for cabbage rolls can be easily purchased at any time of the year, but with grape foliage, the situation is more complicated. Therefore, the housewives prefer to harvest it: pickle, can, freeze or salt.

Leaves collected from grapes for dolma are best stored at a time when the vine is blooming. Experienced chefs recommend giving preference to raw materials harvested from white grape varieties. The leaves are used much less often from the red varieties, since they are more rigid and differ in an uneven edge. Of course, for dolma it is worth harvesting exceptionally young leaves that were cut from plants that are far from roads.

Keeping Dolma Leaves Fresh

In fact, the harvesting of grape leaves is quite possible without special heat treatment. The prepared leaves must be rolled up in rolls of ten pieces and filled with them in a glass jar. After that, roll up the jar with a regular seaming lid and send it to the pantry (in a fairly dark place). In the cold season, the leaves will be the same as if they were plucked from a bush.

For the winter, grape leaves can also be pickled.

For this variant of the preparation for dolma, it is necessary to cut the required number of leaves from the bush. After that, you need to sort them out so that only whole, unharmed ones remain. They must be rinsed under running water and then put into a sufficiently deep saucepan. Pour boiling water over the prepared raw materials.

The cooled leaves must be carefully laid out in piles of several pieces, and then rolled into rolls. Fill the jars with such raw materials (tight enough) and start preparing the marinade. Boil water, dissolve salt and black peppercorns in it. For one and a half liters of liquid, you need to use a couple of tablespoons of salt and three to four peppercorns.

Pour the prepared brine into the jars so that it spreads evenly, filling the voids between the rolls of leaves. Cover the jars with lids, wrap and leave overnight. In the morning, seal the jars with plastic lids and put them in the refrigerator for storage.

Conservation

Many housewives save greens for the winter for dolma using canning. If this manipulation is performed correctly, the raw materials will remain tasty and healthy, and will also be perfectly stored.

Prepare the grape leaves: rinse them, shake them off and dry a little. Roll them up in tubes, twenty leaves in each, and fix with a thread.

Take each of the prepared rolls with a slotted spoon and immerse them in boiling water for literally ten seconds. Then immediately dip them in cold water.

Place the prepared rolls in half-liter jars. They should fit snugly enough. Pour such raw materials with cold brine. To prepare it, you need to use forty grams of salt for every liter of water.

Leave the grape leaves in the jars under the loose lids for three days.

Salting

Salting is considered another fairly popular way of harvesting grape leaves for dolma. This is a fairly simple method for which readers of Popular About Health only need to stock up on raw materials, water and salt. The leaves should be washed thoroughly beforehand. You should also prepare a saline solution - ten percent - and cool it. Pour the resulting solution into the leaves in a half-liter jar, seal and store in a cool and dark place. In this case, do not forget to be sure to soak the leaves before use, pouring them for one and a half to two hours with cold clean water.

You can also salt the leaves for the winter with a hot method, so that they definitely do not deteriorate. To do this, you need to prepare plant materials and brine. Use five to six tablespoons of salt per liter of water. Boil the brine and dip the pre-washed leaves in a stack of ten in it. After the leaves change their color to brown, they must be removed from the boiling liquid and put on a plate. Process all the leaves in this way, put them in a sterile jar and fill with brine. Then seal the jars and turn them upside down until they cool.

We prepare in the freezer

You can also store a grape leaf for dolma by freezing it. The collected raw materials must be thoroughly rinsed and spread over a paper towel to dry.

After that, you need to fold the leaves in piles and roll them up. Fold such blanks in bags and send them to the freezer. Keep in mind that frozen leaves become especially fragile. Before cooking, you need to defrost them carefully: put them out to freeze by themselves, or dip them in hot water.

So, there are many ways to harvest dolma greens. And each housewife can choose for herself the one that suits her.

The most famous and popular grape leaf dish is dolma, but the list of recipes doesn't 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 proceeding with salting, 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 preferably white grapes: oddly enough, they taste better. Then the leaves should be sorted out 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 not for the better. After soaking, rinse the leaves again with running water and start 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 several.

How to pickle grape leaves in the easiest way

This recipe for salting grape leaves is good not only for its simplicity, but also for the fact that 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 tablespoons
• 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 timer and do not overdo it, otherwise they will boil up and disintegrate. Drain off the boiling water quickly.
2. Cool the sheets, collect in stacks of 10-15 pieces and roll them into tight rolls.
3. Place the rolls tightly in the jar, sprinkling generously with 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 a fresh batch of brine should be prepared and refilled 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 bank 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 the brine into the jar and you can store it all winter at room temperature, for example, in a closet or in a closet. The amount of ingredients is designed for a small 300 ml jar, which is very convenient if you have few leaves and you want to salt just a little. If necessary, just increase the amount of food, but be sure to respect the proportion.

Components:

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

How to salt grape leaves for the winter:

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

Salted 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. Place the rolls in cans in an upright position.
3. Boil the brine: Bring 1 liter of water to a boil, add salt and strain.
4. Pour the brine into the jars, screw the lids on and leave to cool. Store in a dark place at room temperature.

The recipe for pickles 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 at once will be ready for your table - amazing pickles and grape leaves, from which you can make homemade dolma.

Ingredients for 1 three-liter can:

• cucumbers - 2 1/2 kg;
• grape leaves - as much as cucumbers per piece;
• 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, the same small size and always even. If they were plucked from the garden a couple of days ago, they must be poured with cold water and soaked for two hours before cooking. Then rinse and you can start salting.
2. Usually after they turn yellow and acquire a greenish brown tint. To avoid this and maintain a bright green color, before placing in jars, they must be poured with boiling water and blanched for two minutes, and then quickly transferred into ice water for another two minutes. This process does not affect the taste in any way, but only the color, therefore, if there is no time for additional manipulations, this stage can be skipped, 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 simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
5. Pour the hot brine into a jar of 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 those that are larger, at least 5 minutes will be needed. Boil the marinade again, pour it into the jar again, let it stand for the necessary time and drain. Pour the marinade a third time, roll the lid over the jar, turn it upside down, wrap it in a blanket and let it cool slowly.

• You can use grape juice instead of apple juice. This option is also good, the taste of preservation will change slightly and become thinner, but the juice must be light.
• Also, if desired, if you want to stay closer to tradition, you can add 2 bay leaves and 2 cloves of garlic for a more familiar pungent and spicy taste. Place the completely cooled jar in a dark place.

Dry pickling recipe 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 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. Collect them in a bag and DO NOT wash. The surface of each leaf is covered with a fermenting compound that protects it from spoilage and allows salting without the presence of brine.
2. Collect the leaves in stacks of 10, roll them into tight rolls and place in a plastic bottle. Use the opposite end of a wooden spoon or other stick with a wide, rounded tip to tamp the rolls so that there is as little air as possible between them. Do this carefully, try to push hard, but be careful not to damage the raw material.
3. It may take slightly more or fewer leaves to fill the bottle completely, depending on their size, gravity, grape variety and how tightly you roll the tubes.
4. In a bottle filled to the very top, pour 1 tbsp. a spoonful of salt to form a kind of salt plug. The salt should not seep to the very bottom, a layer of 1-2 cm will be enough.
5. Cork the bottle and place in a cool place. Store 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 their color and turn slightly yellow. Don't worry, it's okay, that's the way it should be.
7. When you decide it's time to cook the dolma, take the bottle out of the refrigerator, cut it carefully 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 it and cook immediately. Now you know how to salt grape leaves.

These beautiful, fragrant, besides healthy leaves improve the taste and serve as the basis for delicious dishes and drinks such as dolma (cabbage rolls in grape leaves), sarmale, and grape tea. I will tell you how to prepare grape leaves for the winter, spending the minimum amount of time and effort.

The most suitable time of the year for collecting and harvesting grape leaves for the winter for dolma is spring, when the vine has not yet had time to bloom. Then new shoots grow and tender young leaves are formed. Take the leaves of grapes for dolma intact and of the same size. It doesn't matter big or small - it depends on personal preference.

For harvesting for future use, tender young grape leaves that have not yet had time to coarse are suitable. They can be distinguished as follows: young leaves of a light green hue, their veins are not solid, the leaf plate is elastic and elastic. Experts assure that the best leaves in white grapes are more tender.

It is from such leaves that dolma or tolma is prepared - a dish that is popular in the cuisines of the peoples of the Transcaucasus, the Balkan Peninsula, Western and Central Asia, as well as North Africa. In fact, these are the same stuffed cabbage rolls, however, twisted into vine shoots. In Moldova, grape leaves with minced meat wrapped in them are called cabbage rolls or sarmale. If dolma is cooked with lamb and rice, then sarmale with pork and rice.

From Wikipedia: word dolma originates from Turkic. dolmak "to fill" (ie a grape leaf filled with meat, rice and spices).

We prepare grape leaves for stuffed cabbage

Before starting harvesting the harvested grape leaves for the winter, it is necessary to prepare them for further processing. Cut off the petioles or tails at the base of the leaf. Rinse the young leaves thoroughly under running water.

Then lay them out on a clean towel to dry. If the leaves are of different sizes, sort them into two or three piles.

Grape leaves for dolma or cabbage rolls can be prepared for future use in one of the following ways:

• pickling
• salting
• freezing
• blank in plastic bottles
• dry canning.

Pickling grape leaves

Pickled grape leaves are very popular. How to pickle grape leaves for winter storage, you will learn from the following recipe.

• Take the prepared leaves, roll 10-15 pieces into a roll and put them more tightly in the jar.
• The jar and lid must be thoroughly washed and sterilized.
• Next, fill the leaves with boiling water for 10 minutes, and after this manipulation, drain the water.
• Do this procedure two times.
• Now fill the blank with boiling marinade solution and seal with a lid.

• Turn the jar upside down and cover with a warm blanket. Wait for it to cool completely.

The recipe for making marinade No. 1:

Water - 1 liter

Vinegar 9 percent - 2 tablespoons

Salt - 1 tablespoon

Sugar - 1 tablespoon

But in Azerbaijani cuisine, leaves are pickled without vinegar, only salt and citric acid.

Marinade recipe number 2:

Water 1 liter

Salt - 1 tbsp a spoon without a slide

Citric acid - 1/2 teaspoon

You can store canned grape leaves at room temperature.

Salting grape leaves for dolma for the winter

There is a recipe proven over generations on how to preserve grape leaves. They can simply be salted!

Brine prepare as follows: boil water with salt at the rate of 20 grams per 1 liter of liquid.

• We take 10-15 prepared leaves, wrap them in rolls and put them tightly in a jar. Just like we did when we pickled the leaves. Banks must first be washed and sterilized. To prevent the rolls from scattering, they can be tied with a thread.

• Fill with warm brine to the very neck so that all the contents are completely covered with it.

• Next, you need to roll up the jars and cool them.

They are stored in a dark room at a low temperature or in a cellar. If there is no cellar, then in the refrigerator.

For spicy lovers there is mustard option .

• Place the leaves in a 1 liter jar.
• Cover them with a mixture of: 1 tbsp. l. salt, 1 tbsp. l. mustard and 1 tsp. ground pepper.
• Pour boiling water into the jar on top.
• Close the lid.
• Place the lid down.
• Wrap up.
• Keep this way until the jar cools down.

Keep cold.

Harvesting grape leaves for the winter for dolma Freezing

We prepare a variety of products by freezing. Grape leaves for stuffed cabbage are also frozen. This is how all useful elements are saved.

• Take 10-15 prepared leaves, roll tightly in the form of a tube.

• To prevent the tube from unfolding, you can tie the leaves with thread or wrap the tube in plastic wrap.
• Fold a few finished tubes in a transparent plastic bag.
• Place in the freezer for storage.

Such blanks are compact and do not take up much space in the freezer.

Attention! Before stuffing the leaves, it is recommended to douse them with hot water.

How to prepare grape leaves for dolma for the winter in a bottle

Harvesting grape leaves for the winter for dolma in bottles is a way to keep this valuable product fresh. Conservation of vine shoots in a bottle is done as follows: roll 2-3 leaves each with a roll and put them in a plastic bottle.

Attention! The bottle must be clean and dry.

Ram until the bottle is full.

It is recommended to keep a bottle with grape leaves in a cool, dark place; under these conditions, the shelf life is at least 1 year.

How to dry grape leaves for dolma for the winter

• Put the prepared grape leaves for dolma, one at a time, in a washed glass container, sprinkling a little salt.
• Lay the sheets like this until the jar is filled.
• Place the workpiece in the oven and sterilize at low temperature for about ten minutes.
• Seal the jar with a sterilized lid.
• Place the container in a cool, dark place - in a refrigerator or underfloor.

This semi-finished product is stored for up to 1 year.

Grape leaf tea

To brew tea, take 1 teaspoon of the finished fermented tea, pour in 0.25 liters of hot water. Insist the drink for 10 minutes, then strain. You can add green or black tea to your grape brew to taste. An energetically valuable and healthy drink is ready!

Is grape tea useful or harmful

Grape leaves are a storehouse of health, they contain a huge amount of minerals and vitamins. Nutritional value of 100 grams is 93 kilocalories, contains 2.1 grams of fat, 5.6 grams of proteins and 17.3 grams of carbohydrates. Also, 100 grams of grape leaves contain:

vitamins: beta-carotene - 16 mg (323.9% of the daily value); gr B - 14 mg (10%); A - 1376 μg (152.9%); C - 11.1 mg (12.3%); E - 2 mg (13.3%); K - 108.6 μg (90.5%); trace elements: Ca - 363 mg (36.3%); P - 91 mg; Mg - 95 mg (23.8%); K - 272 mg (10.9%); macroelements: Fe - 2.63 mg (14.6%); Mn 2.855 mg (142.8%); Cu - 415 μg (41.5%); Zn - 0.67 mg; Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: 0.856 g (95.1% of the daily norm).

Thanks to the high content of antioxidants, it improves vision, skin and hair condition. The rate of formation of free radicals is reduced, which reduces the possibility of developing cancer, atherosclerosis, cataracts and other diseases. Infusion of grape leaves is used for hypertension. A large amount of calcium and manganese has a positive effect on the condition of bones and teeth.

To prepare an infusion from grape leaves, take 1 tablespoon of tea or just dry leaves, pour 1 tbsp. boiling water and infused for 20 minutes.

Grape leaf tea has all the properties of fresh grape shoots. Drying is the best way to preserve vitamins and minerals. True, if you brew tea from grape leaves, some of the ascorbic acid will decompose under the influence of high temperature. Other elements will go into this drink completely, making it very nutritious and invigorating.

There are contraindications prohibiting the use of tea from grape leaves. Among them are diabetes mellitus, obesity, ulcers and gastritis. It is necessary to carefully weigh the benefits and harms, and in the presence of diseases, we advise you to consult a doctor.

How to collect grape leaves for tea

Attention: Collect tea leaves in those vineyards that have not been processed or fed with chemically synthesized preparations.

You can dry both whole and slightly torn vine shoots. It is allowed to use substandard, not suitable for other harvesting methods. Check them for signs of deterioration, rot, and other stains. Then you need to wash and dry the sheets on a flat surface. Fold the leaves into an envelope, lay them in an even layer on a baking sheet or wire rack. Place in an oven or dryer to dry. The ideal temperature is 65 degrees. After drying, grind the tea leaves with your hands.

The tea is really wonderful. The whiskers of young shoots make tea even better than the leaves. The length of the mustache is approximately 15 cm.

Don't skip the tea fermentation process

Finished fermented tea is stored in a sealed glass container (jar) or in a paper or canvas bag in a dark, dry place.

Dolma is traditionally prepared with grape leaves. Unlike similar stuffed cabbage rolls, the ingredients for which can be found at any time of the year, making dolma becomes problematic in winter and spring. While cabbage is sold in stores all year round, grape leaves can only be found in summer. To cook dolma, you need to harvest grape leaves for the winter. There are several options for harvesting grape leaves for the winter.

To prepare foliage for the winter, you first need to decide on the timing. For dolma, young leaves are suitable, which begin to appear before the flowering of the vine. And if we take into account that the vine grows continuously throughout the entire growing season, then the collection of leaves begins in late spring and ends in autumn.

For the preparation of the dish, only the foliage of white grape varieties is used. Such leaves are juicy and tender, perfect for dolma. In red varieties, the leaves are dry and sinewy. The minced meat in them will be dry, and the leaves themselves will be tough after cooking.

Selection and preparation of grape leaves

For harvesting, grape leaves are used, which grows far from the road. Dolma leaves should be juicy and young, of a light emerald hue. They are easy to distinguish from the old ones. In addition, they must be free of damage, insect marks, stains or plaque. The leaves are chosen healthy and resilient. If the plants have recently been treated with chemicals, then you need to refrain from collecting foliage for several weeks.

Before harvesting the foliage, you must first prepare it. The cut leaves are placed in a deep container and filled with cool tap water. Each sheet is then thoroughly washed and re-examined. After everything is washed, they are laid out in a thin layer in the shade and dried. It is not necessary to dry strongly, the main thing is that only the water dries up, and they are not wet.

Methods for harvesting grape greens at home

There are several ways in which you can prepare grape leaves for the winter. Each method has pros and cons. You will only be able to choose the one that is ideal for every housewife if you try all the methods of harvesting green grapes for preparing this Armenian dish.

Freezing

The easiest way to prepare green grapes for dolma is to freeze them in the freezer. Before freezing greens in the freezer, they are washed and dried. The main thing is that the leaves are dry, otherwise the water will freeze on the leaves, and they will not be so tasty. Greens are stacked in piles of 15-20 pieces and put into a plastic bag. Then put it in the freezer.

The main disadvantage of this method is the difficulty in defrosting and using herbs for cooking. Frozen leaves are very fragile and break with any wrong movement.

Pickling

Grape greens can also be pickled for the winter. First you need to prepare the marinade. For him you will need:

• 1 liter of water;
• spices (cloves, peppercorns);
• lavrushka;
• 1 tbsp. l. common salt and sugar;
• 1-2 tbsp. l. acetic acid.

First, the jars are sterilized. Then spices and lavrushka are placed on the bottom, grape leaves are spread. Pour boiling water over and after 3-4 minutes the water is poured into a container. Then this water is put on fire and brought to a boil. Add salt and sugar. After the salt and sugar have dissolved, add the vinegar and immediately pour the marinade over the jars. Close the jars with lids. This method will keep the leaves intact. Any spices can be used. They will add aroma to the leaves and a pleasant spicy aftertaste. This should be taken into account, because such a dish is not for everyone, and not everyone will like it.

You can close the grape greens in glass jars. The process of cooking salting in jars is as follows:

• Roll the leaves into tubes (no more than 10 leaves in one tube).
• Sterilize banks.
• Boil water.
• Fold the tubes into a jar and fill with water, drain the water after 10-12 minutes.
• Then pour boiling water into the jars again.
• Drain the water again, add salt and boil.
• Pour the brine over the leaves and close the jars with a lid.

Wait for the jars to cool and put them in the refrigerator.

Dry canning

Preserving grape leaves for dolma for the winter using the dry method is quite simple. The leaves are folded into envelopes. You need to choose greens of the same size, then it will fold evenly into the jar. Each envelope contains no more than 10 pieces.

You don't need to use spices, salt or even water for this recipe. Full jars are covered with lids, wrapped in a warm towel and left in a cool, dark place for a day. After 24 hours, you need to get the jar. If the lid is slightly swollen, then it's okay, the leaves have not disappeared. It is necessary to redo the workpiece if the lid is swollen strongly. In such a simple way, grape leaves are prepared for the winter for making juicy Armenian dolma.

Preservation by dry salting

Another way to make harvesting of green grapes for the winter is with the help of dry salting. There are many recipes for making greens, but this one is one of the simplest. It's easier to just freeze greens in the freezer.

Grape greens are washed under running water and dried for several hours in a cool room.

It is important to ensure that the foliage is completely dry when placing the foliage in the jars. Salt jars are sterilized.

The leaves are folded in tubes or envelopes. The main thing is that they are not too thick. Then the blanks are stacked in cans in layers. When the first layer is at the bottom, it is covered with salt. Then lay out the second layer and sprinkle with salt again. This should be done until the bank is full. After that, close the blanks with a lid and put them in a cool room.

Storage

As a rule, it is most convenient to store jars of grapes for the winter in the refrigerator or cellar. After the containers with herbs have cooled, they are removed to the lower shelves of the refrigerator or lowered into the basement. The choice of this or that place is not fundamental, the main thing is that they are stored in a cool room, where bright sunlight will not fall. You need to store blanks for no more than one year. If they stand longer, they lose all their taste, and dolma based on such greens turns out to be tasteless.

The least stored workpieces are in the freezer. Their shelf life is only six months. If they lie longer, then they are safely thrown away. They are no longer suitable for cooking. When thawed, they are watery and slimy.

Of course, even if you observe the ideal storage conditions for grape harvests, Armenian dolma on their basis is not as tasty and juicy as from fresh ones. In this case, cabbage leaves are the best option. After all, stuffed cabbage and dolma are not much different. And it is better to feast on dolma in the warm season, when grape leaves are plucked directly from the vine. Many housewives note that leaves harvested for the winter become tough and coarse, no matter how they are pickled.