Grow Your Own Magazine

Does anyone know if the vine leaves you buy in deli's are a special type or are they just any old vine leaves? Reason I ask is we have several outdoor vines in the garden. They came with the property & I've never tried to remove them after digging down for what seemed ages to no avail with one. They are at least 16 yrs old but very weedy & rarely fruit & have only ripened a couple of years. Just wondered if I could make use of the leaves at least.

Not sure , would be good to know though - Mmmmmm Dolmades

just been googling, and as long as it's a grape vine it seems that the leaves would be OK to cook

Any vine leaves will do but it's suggested you harvest them before they turn tough (july ish) so you'd better get moving. I have heard you can freeze them but I've never tried that.

Pick them young, blanch, remove thick ribby bit from centre, put a small ammount of spicy rice filling in the centre, roll up, side to side and firmly up the other way, pack into sterilised jars and fill with a decent olive oil. They are delicious and will keep forever.

Found this a while back and had great plans for using my own vine leaves - then OH tells me he hates them!!

How To Prepare Grape Leaves For Dolmades (Ampelofylla Yia Ntolmades) - Greek Recipes

__________________
Life is too short for drama & petty things!
So laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

vine prunnings (the soft green ones only, no wood!!) make a nice wine, known as "folly wine", better than peapod but not as good as grape, a few ripe bananas simmered in the water first add body, and the odd tea bag will give that tannin bite, acid can be adjusted with either lemon juice or citric acid, careful not to use too much!

__________________
Eat well, live well, drink moderately and be happy (hic!)