Grape leaves...is it too late?

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CWS4322

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I usually process grape leaves the end of May-early June for dolmas. Life kinda got away from me--I noticed that there are grapes starting to form. Is it too late to collect the grape leaves to freeze them for dolmas?
 
Not at all. You can pick them anytime.

When I was a child, the family would go for a Sunday ride. Somewhere along the way, Dad would pull over to the side of the road where there were grapevines and Mom would make two paper grocery bags appear and hand them to my sister and me with instructions to, 'go pick grape leaves. ...and don't pick the really big ones, they're tough.'
 
I know what I'm doing this afternoon <g>.


Now yo've got my mouth watering for some of Mom's cooking.

Growing up in an Armenian-American home, we called them dolma when vegetables like peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, etc were hollowed out and filled. When the filling was wrapped in cabbage or grape leaves, we called it sarma. Mom would make a mixed potfull of both. I believe the Greeks call them dolmates.
 
Now yo've got my mouth watering for some of Mom's cooking.

Growing up in an Armenian-American home, we called them dolma when vegetables like peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, etc were hollowed out and filled. When the filling was wrapped in cabbage or grape leaves, we called it sarma. Mom would make a mixed potfull of both. I believe the Greeks call them dolmates.

My friend from Greece called them dolmas...maybe she mispelled the name when she translated the recipe for me.

Care to share your mom's recipes?
 
I don't have them. Since Mom died, my sister has been in charge of making them. I will ask her for the recipe but can't guarantee when she'll get to it.
 
Grape leaves continue to form throughout the entire season (I have 30 vines) so you can pick them anytime. Just try to stick with younger leaves. You can easily identify these because they are more pliable and brighter in color.
 
The season's behind--so the leaves are still not "too big" and they are still the "lighter" green. These are wild grape leaves, not cultivated. I typically freeze them for when I'm ready to use them. My mother used to buy them in jars, but I prefer to preserve my own.
 
The season's behind--so the leaves are still not "too big" and they are still the "lighter" green. These are wild grape leaves, not cultivated. I typically freeze them for when I'm ready to use them. My mother used to buy them in jars, but I prefer to preserve my own.


My mom used to blanch them in salt water before bundling them and freezing them.
 
Dolmadakia - little cute stuffed leaves, in Greek
I love making these! They are SOOOO good and you can change them up in so many ways!
 
Hmm. Got wild grapes all over here, will hafta get me some leaves!
 
Interesting discussion. I wanted to find out more. It prompted me having a discussion with my Armenian hubby from Turkey about sarma and dolma. I've never made the stuffed grape leaves at home, but have made stuffed zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, etc. which he calls dolmas. I'm not fond of the bitterness of the grape leaves, so I neither make them nor eat them.

Andy - was your Armenian family displaced from Turkey before coming to the US? Dh was saying that sarma is a Turkish term meaning "wrap" and dolma means (in Turkish) something "stuffed" or "filled".

We have his mother's recipe for stuffed grape leaves. It's in Turkish, and my Turkish is only O.K., so I'll have him give me a translation of it before I post it.
 
...Andy - was your Armenian family displaced from Turkey before coming to the US? Dh was saying that sarma is a Turkish term meaning "wrap" and dolma means (in Turkish) something "stuffed" or "filled"...

No, they were driven out of Armenia and traveled around the region until they were able to manage coming over to America. My Armenian is a little rusty so I'll take your DH's word for the translations.
 
No, they were driven out of Armenia and traveled around the region until they were able to manage coming over to America. My Armenian is a little rusty so I'll take your DH's word for the translations.

Well, he was just saying the words are the same in Turkish and Armenian and wasn't sure if your family was from within Turkey or not. His family was driven out during the genocide, too, and settled in Istanbul.

I found his mother's recipe for stuffed grape leaves. There are a couple of terms I'm not sure about, but will post the recipe when he can translate it for me. I wish I could get fresh grape leaves for him to make this dish. He so loves it.

Does it require a certain variety of grape for making this? We just buy them in the jar from the ME grocery.
 

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