Grape leaves
Has anyone else had their family canning recipes add grape leaves? My grandmother told me they kept things fresh and crisp.
Comments
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Adding one or two leaves to fermented foods such as cucumbers definitely helped them stay crisp.
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Yes, they add tannins - like @soeasytocraft said, especially good for cucumber pickles.
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Pickling, like @soeasytocraft to craft mentioned, is one big use for grape leaves ...
but!
you can can grape leaves themselves. Dolmades (Greek style) and Yalenjee (Lebanese style) stuffed grape leaves are wonderful!
The Dolmades are of two varieties:
vegan: with rice, lemon, garlic, onion, dill, parsley (for fun try chervil and/or coriander leaves too), olive oil
meaty: with rice, garlic, onion, parsley, olive oil, ground meat, pepper
Yalenjee is tomato-based instead of lemon: rice, garlic, onion, cinamon, allspice, parsley, salt, pepper, tomatoes; lamb or beef if desired.
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I LOVE dolmades!!!!! They really have to be made right though. The Greek diners I used to go to, family owned, would make either nice hot ones stuffed with meat and rice, etc, or cold ones with a lemon and butter sauce. A couple of years ago, i spotted some on a deli buffet, and I was like "Oh, dolmades!"... but they were made with margarine and fake lemon juice... cold, greasy margarine and unseasoned, plain rice. That may be the only food I've ever actually spat out - it turned my stomach. Actually, I do remember one other thing - some kind of low fat, diet, "garlic and herb flavored" fake cheese. I guess I don't do well with fake food.
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My mom used grape leaves and even some of the small green grapes in her pickles. I've done it too and actually prefer the flavor that way. Grapes are on my "add eventually" list of to do's 😂
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@seeker.nancy - Central Texas I've never been successful with grapes, even the Concords, but I have had beautiful vines adorning the cyclone fence with pest-free leaves (-:
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@Judson Carroll i'm such a snob; I don't like 'fake food' either ! I once let someone talk me into an 'Authentic' Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich at the Place in Philly supposedly renowned for them.
I made them eat it. I hate 'cheese' whiz.
I used to watch a really excellent show that took a particular food item and broke it down into all the components of that item... growing the wheat, blahblabh. The one on the cheeseburger proved to me what I used to joke with my 'food science' counterparts (the plant biologists were next door to the food scientists): In food science, you take food, and make it into .. Not Quite Food. Case in point: American Cheese Food. Note: It isn't American Cheese, legally.
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also @judsoncarroll4 I make real Dolmades. I even got a coworker who was adamant that she'd never eat "those things" hooked on mine. I knew a few Greeks...
I also make authentic Yalenjee. I prefer the lemon to the tomato though, and that's saying something, since I am The Great Tomato Woman (tm) <snort>
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Thank you for all of your wisdom and comments. I am definitely going to add them to some fermented foods too.
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Yes! I add grape leaves to some of my ferments and vinegar-based pickles, too. Either on the top or at the bottom of the jar. My Grandma always did and I have since learned the tannins in grape leaves keep the "crisp" in pickles. ~Michele
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My Mom loves stuffed grape leaves!
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Just read some where else about making pickles and adding grape leaves for the tannin to keep the pickles crisp.
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Does the grape leaves leave any kind of different flavor to the ferments?
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Oh! She says as she knocks her head with her hand. That's what I could have done with my grape leaves. @Ferg I too, didn't have much luck with grapes, but have/ had a ton of leaves. We can put that on the menu to make when we have our field trip to @judsoncarroll4 .
I'm working again for a few months and now have too many of these wonderful ideas to make when I re-retire. The list just keeps getting longer. Thank you!
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@Happy Camper That is good to know. I will be trying that soon.
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