Grapes are valued for the juicy, tasty and extremely healthy fruits that adults and children love to feast on. However, the leaves of this culture are no less useful, which makes them a popular product in the cuisines of eastern countries. Find out what the benefits of grape leaves are and how to pickle them correctly for the winter.

The benefits and chemical composition of grape leaves

The benefits of grape leaves have long been appreciated by traditional medicine.

• A huge range of their healing properties is due to:
• Vitamin A : supports normal functioning of the organs of vision, improves the condition of the skin, prevents the development of cancer cells;
• B vitamins : normalize the nervous system, strengthen the walls of blood vessels, participate in protein synthesis, prevent the development of heart attacks and strokes;
• ascorbic acid (vitamin C) : strengthens the immune system, increases the protective functions of the body, contributes to better resistance to harmful environmental factors;
• manganese : regulates the level of glucose in the blood, takes an active part in the development of cells, prevents the development of diabetes;
• magnesium : improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, relieves nervous tension, normalizes sleep, relieves depression;
• iron : prevents the development of anemia, enriches the blood, helps fight fatigue;
• calcium : strengthens bone and muscle tissue, contributes to the correct formation of the skeleton.

Important! 30 g of eaten grape leaves (5-6 pieces) cover the daily requirement of the body for vitamin A.

In traditional medicine, this product is used as an effective remedy for:

• constipation and digestive problems;
• swelling and swelling;
• headaches;
• nosebleeds;
• neurasthenia and hysteria.

Tea or a decoction of this green can reduce blood sugar, heal the functional ailments of the heart, restore and improve vision. Due to the increased content of antioxidants, grape leaves help fight premature aging, rejuvenate the body, and promote rapid cell regeneration.

Another indisputable advantage of the product is its low calorie content, which is only 93 kcal per 100 g.

Dates and rules of collection

The collection of foliage should be carried out in early summer, during the flowering of the crop. Leaves of any grape variety, except for wild ones, are suitable for harvesting in the winter, since the greens of the latter are rather hard, hard and have an unpleasant taste. A fresh, not stiff leaf plate from young shoots is suitable. The material must be collected very carefully so as not to damage; leaflets must be with tails. After the greens are collected, it must be washed under a stream of cool clean water, dried on a towel, folded in a pile, each leaf on top of each other, and placed in a glass container.

Did you know? The taste of the grape leaf directly depends on the variety of culture. In white grape varieties, the taste of leaves is delicate, with a pleasant acidity, which gives the piquancy to the dishes (therefore, in most cases they are taken for harvesting); in varieties of red - harder, coarser and sharper.

If pickling greens in the near future is not possible, folded leaves in a jar must be poured with a solution of water and salt, closed with a plastic lid and stored in the refrigerator.

It must be remembered that material must be collected from vineyards that grow in ecologically clean regions, away from the carriageway, industrial facilities, etc.

How to pickle grape leaves for the winter: the best recipes

The leaves of grapes have an unusual piquant taste and can be a great addition to various dishes. There are more than 1000 recipes for pickling them for the winter, however several are most popular among housewives.

Recipe number 1

Dolma blank

Recipe number 2

With cucumbers

Recipe number 3

With tomatoes

Recipe number 4

With lemon

Recipe number 5

No vinegar

Recipe number 1

165

easily

Dolma blank

This product can become the basis for the preparation of a delicious, juicy and aromatic Armenian dish of dolma - stuffed cabbage from grape leaves.

Steps 3 Ingredients Video Recipe

• grape leaves

  100-120 pcs.

• salt

  3 tbsp. l

• water

  3 l

1. 
   Rinse the greens, dry on a towel, trim the tails.

2. 
   Prepare the marinade: add salt to the water and bring the brine to a boil.

3. 
   Twist the leaves of 10 pieces into rolls, arrange tightly rolls in a glass jar. Thus, "pack" all available sheets.

4. 
   When the brine begins to boil, pour them cans with blanks.

5. 
   Close containers with plastic or metal lids and store in a cool place - for example, a refrigerator or cellar.

Video recipe

Important! By placing the pieces in a jar of 10 pieces each, it will be possible to easily count out the required amount to prepare the required portion of dolma.

Recipe number 2

165

easily

With cucumbers

You can get a tasty, bright, rich, completely new in taste taste snack by combining grape leaves with cucumbers.

Steps 9 Ingredients

• grape leaves

  70 pcs.

• cucumbers

  270 g

• salt

  4 g

• sugar

  11 g

• wine 9% vinegar

  70 ml

• dill

  two branches

• currant leaves

  6 pcs

• garlic

  5 cloves

• allspice and black

  4 pcs.

1. Wash greens of grapes and vegetables.
2. At the bottom of the container, spread the currant leaves, garlic, dill.
3. Wrap cucumbers in foliage, fold them tightly into jars.
4. Make a fill: pour water into the pan and add vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper to it. After the marinade boils for 15-17 minutes, pour it into banks.
5. Sterilize banks for 8–11 minutes.
6. Roll up containers with metal caps, place them upside down, wrap them with a warm towel.
7. Remove cooled cans to a cool place.


Did you know? The grape leaves serve as a conditional passport. For each variety, they differ in surface structure - rough, smooth, with tubercles, color, veins, etc. Specialists, simply by looking at the leaf, can accurately determine the variety of the vine.

Recipe number 3

165

easily

With tomatoes

Grape leaves will also help diversify the conservation of tomatoes. Thanks to them, tomatoes get an unusual astringent taste and amazing aroma.



Steps 11 Ingredients

• tomatoes

  300 g

• grape leaves

  130 g

• salt

  35 g

• sugar

  130 g

• fruit vinegar

  90 ml

• water

  2 l

• dill

  3 branches

• horseradish leaves

  2 pcs.

• bay leaves

  4 things.

• garlic

  6 cloves

• hot red pepper

  4 g

1. Rinse all ingredients thoroughly under running cool water.
2. At the bottom of the can, put chopped greens, grape foliage, pepper and garlic.
3. Fold tomatoes tightly in a container.
4. Make a fill: add salt, sugar to the water. After boiling for 14 minutes add vinegar to the marinade.
5. Pour tomatoes with marinade, put the banks on sterilization for 8-10 minutes.
6. Roll up containers with lids, fold upside down, wrap well.
7. After the jars have cooled, remove them for further storage in a cool, dry place.


Recipe number 4

165

easily

With lemon

Pickled leaves with lemon can become not only a tasty addition to traditional dishes, but also a real medicine against respiratory ailments and gastrointestinal problems. Such a product has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, general strengthening effect and makes it possible to strengthen the immune system.



Steps 6 Ingredients

• grape foliage

  420 g

• lemon

  1 PC.

• sugar

  30 g

• salt

  14 g

• water

  500 ml

• lemon acid

  25 g

1. Rinse greens and lemon.
2. Sand the lemon peel with a special grater, cut the citrus into thin slices.
3. Twist the leaves of grapes into tubes of 4-5 pieces, put them in jars, shift each roll with lemon slices.
4. Prepare the marinade: add salt, sugar, citric acid to the water, bring to a boil.
5. Pour the resulting brine into jars.
6. Sterilize containers for about 10 minutes, tighten with tin lids.
7. Banks turn upside down, wrap, stand for 15 hours, put in a cool place.


Recipe number 5

165

easily

No vinegar


For those who prefer to create blanks for the winter without the use of vinegar, a recipe for pickled leaves with mustard is perfect.

Steps 4 Ingredients

• grape leaves

  60 pcs.

• powder mustard

  1 tsp

• salt

  1 tsp

• black pepper

  ¼ tsp

1. Rinse the ingredients, lower in boiling water for a few seconds.
2. Leaves of 10 pieces are rolled up into tubes, tightly packed in 0.5-liter jars.
3. In each jar, add salt, mustard, black pepper and pour the contents with boiling water.
4. Seal containers tightly, turn over and wrap up.
5. After complete cooling, transfer the cans to a place to store preservation.
Important! This recipe allows the leaves to maintain their freshness and natural taste, without excess acid.


Basic storage rules

As with any preservation, pickled grape leaves in jars are recommended to be kept in a cool, dry place, where there is no moisture, dampness, or vice versa, too high temperatures. Direct sunlight should not be allowed to enter. The best place for storing winter blanks is a cellar, basement, shed. You can also store containers in refrigerators.

It should be noted that grape leaves can be stored not only in a pickled form, but also in fresh. To do this, they are well washed, dried, stacked 10-15 pieces in a stack, wrapped in cling film and sent to the freezer. Such blanks can be stored in the freezer for 6 months or more.

When defrosting the leaves, you should be extremely careful, because in the frozen state they are very brittle. It is recommended to pull them out of the chamber and wait until they fully defrost.

Read more about how to prepare grape leaves for dolma.

How to use pickled grape leaves

First of all, pickled grape leaves are suitable for making dolma. However, experienced housewives found the product more widely used. It is added to salads, used as a snack for dishes of meat, fish, vegetables or as an additional, spicy ingredient in the preservation of cucumbers, tomatoes. Pickled delicacy is ideally combined with pilaf, boiled peas, beans.

The leaves, pickled without the addition of vinegar, are used in folk medicine in the treatment of colds, digestive disorders, headaches, nosebleeds.

So, grape leaves are a valuable, nutritious product that has been successfully used in cooking and traditional medicine. This versatile ingredient can be baked, fried, pickled, added to almost all dishes. With its help, it will be possible not only to give the products a completely new taste, but also to enrich them with a spectrum of vitamins and minerals.