# Help with grape leaves



## lyndalou (Dec 13, 2012)

I am trying to make stuffed grape leaves for dinner tonight. I have just spent the past half hour trying to remove the leaves from the jar. I've never had a problem before, but this is getting ridiculous. Any tips would be appreciated. The problem is that the opening is narrower than the rest of the jar.


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## Andy M. (Dec 13, 2012)

That's always a problem because they cram a big wad into the jar.  Reach in with two or three fingers and try pulling it out with a twisting motion.  Or you could use tongs to get a better grip.


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## lyndalou (Dec 13, 2012)

Thanks, Andy.
It took a lot of pulling and twisting, but the darned things are now stuffed and I just took them off the stove.


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## Andy M. (Dec 13, 2012)

That's great!  What did you use for a recipe?


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## lyndalou (Dec 13, 2012)

I use Jeff Smith's recipe from his cookbook, The Frugal Gourmet. Seems he had Lebanese relatives who taught him some really good dishes. At least I like them.  Let me know if you'd like me to post it.


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## Andy M. (Dec 13, 2012)

lyndalou said:


> I use Jeff Smith's recipe from his cookbook, The Frugal Gourmet. Seems he had Lebanese relatives who taught him some really good dishes. At least I like them.  Let me know if you'd like me to post it.




Is it a hot dish or a cold one?


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## CWS4322 (Dec 13, 2012)

lyndalou said:


> I am trying to make stuffed grape leaves for dinner tonight. I have just spent the past half hour trying to remove the leaves from the jar. I've never had a problem before, but this is getting ridiculous. Any tips would be appreciated. The problem is that the opening is narrower than the rest of the jar.


Can't help you--I only use fresh, but have you tried tipping the jar over and pulling them out "upside" down?


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## larry_stewart (Dec 13, 2012)

I usually pull and twist, kinda get that corkscrew action and they slowly come out.


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## Andy M. (Dec 13, 2012)

larry_stewart said:


> I usually pull and twist, kinda get that corkscrew action and they slowly come out.



The the fun of separating them from one another begins.


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## CWS4322 (Dec 14, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> Is it a hot dish or a cold one?


Neither--the recipe recommends one eat them warm.

http://www.recipeslib.com/frugal-gourmet/15766-stuffed-grape-leaves-with-egg-lemon-sauce.html

I haven't compared the recipe to what is in his book...too lazy to get up and go to the bookshelf where his books reside. But, I have made his recipe several times, sometimes with lamb, sometimes with beef. Only difference is that I use fresh grape leaves so don't have the challenge of getting them out of the jar OR getting them separated.


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## lyndalou (Dec 14, 2012)

The leaves in a jar are a definite challenge. I serve them at room temperature with plain yogurt. If i had access to fresh grape leaves, I would definitely use them.


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## lyndalou (Dec 14, 2012)

The above link does not give us the recipe from Jeff Smith. If anyone is interested, I'll post it.


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## Andy M. (Dec 14, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> Is it a hot dish or a cold one?





CWS4322 said:


> Neither--the recipe recommends one eat them warm.
> 
> Stuffed Grape Leaves With Egg Lemon Sauce » Frugal Gourmet » Recipes Library - Best Free Recipes from Around the World! WWW.RECIPESLIB.COM...



The reason I asked is that there are two different dishes (at least) that I'm accustomed to that are made with grape leaves.  One is a hot dish often served with other stuffed vegetables.  It's called dolma in Armenian and dolmades in Greek.  The other dish is an appetizer served cold/room temperature.


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## taxlady (Dec 14, 2012)

Andy M. said:


> The reason I asked is that there are two different dishes (at least) that I'm accustomed to that are made with grape leaves.  One is a hot dish often served with other stuffed vegetables.  It's called dolma in Armenian and dolmades in Greek.  The other dish is an appetizer served cold/room temperature.


When are they called dolmas and when are they dolmadakia? When I lived in a Greek neighbourhood in Montreal I used to buy dolmadakia made by an Armenian lady who had a small store. They seem to be the same thing as dolmades, but she made the best ones I ever tasted.


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## GotGarlic (Dec 14, 2012)

taxlady said:


> When are they called dolmas and when are they dolmadakia? When I lived in a Greek neighbourhood in Montreal I used to buy dolmadakia made by an Armenian lady who had a small store. They seem to be the same thing as dolmades, but she made the best ones I ever tasted.



According to Greek Recipes with May Lerios: Dolmadakia or Dolmades:



> A dolmadaki is one of the wraps you'll make; the plural is dolmadakia. The Greek word dolmadaki is actually a direct form of the Turkish word dolma, which means stuffed or filled: all that Greek adds is the standard Greek -aki ending meaning little one. So a dolmadaki is literally a little stuffed wrap. The dish is also called dolmades which is the plural of dolmas, esp. if you use large grape leaves and thus the wraps are somewhat larger.


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## Andy M. (Dec 14, 2012)

Check out this page from Wikipedia.  Dolma - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  It gives a nice overview of the variations.  

If you scroll down about half way down the page, you'll see a section starting, "In Armenian cuisine..."  This gives a good description of the hot dish.  In our Armenian circles we referred to the stuffed rolled cabbage and grape leves as sarma and the stuffed vegetables (peppers, tomatoes, zucchini) as dolma.

Further down the page, in the section beginning, "In Turkey...", there is reference to "yalancı dolma".  This is a cold appetizer served as part of a meze course prior to the main meal.  We call this yalangi.

The real message you get from this page should be that dishes are not bound by political borders.  A stuffed grape (or cabbage) leaf is a staple in many cultures across thousands of miles on several continents.  It doesn't belong to anyone culture.  There are variations based on local preferences.


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## taxlady (Dec 14, 2012)

GotGarlic said:


> According to Greek Recipes with May Lerios: Dolmadakia or Dolmades:


Thanks GG.


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## CWS4322 (Dec 14, 2012)

lyndalou said:


> The leaves in a jar are a definite challenge. I serve them at room temperature with plain yogurt. If i had access to fresh grape leaves, I would definitely use them.


I don't know about grape season in FL, but here in SE Ontario, our grape leaves are the right size about mid-June to July. I use wild grape leaves, which are abundant in the area--we have tons of wild grape vines at the farm where they are not exposed to any pesticides, exhaust fumes, etc. I usually harvest about 400 leaves the size of my hand (I wear a size 7-8 glove) and freeze the end product. I keep telling myself to freeze the leaves for use in the winter, but I never seem to get there. If there is a vineyard near you, you might be able to harvest some leaves...or, if there are wild grape vines that grow where you are.


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