A typical culinary mistake, why stuffed cabbage rolls are hard

1

Preparing cabbage rolls seems simple, but many people face a problem – the cabbage leaves turn out hard. Instead of a tender, juicy dish, we get hard cabbage, which spoils the impression. The main reason is improper preparation of the leaves before wrapping the filling.

Cabbage has dense cell walls, which make the leaves hard. Hot steam or boiling water helps to “open” these cell walls, making the cabbage softer.

Ingredients:

• Fresh white cabbage
• 500 g minced meat
• 1 cup rice (cooked until half cooked)
• Onion, carrots, spices to taste

Tips for softening the leaves:

Proper heat treatment. The most common mistake is not boiling or steaming the leaves enough. Before forming the cabbage rolls, dip the cabbage in boiling water or steam for 5-10 minutes until the leaves become soft. To easily roll the cabbage rolls without damaging the leaves, it is important to start with this.

Choosing the cabbage. It is advisable to use cabbage with soft leaves. If you have young cabbage, the cooking time can be reduced. You can cut off the hard part from older leaves.

Cooling the leaves. After scalding, place the leaves in cold water for a few minutes. This will stop the heat treatment process, help preserve the structure, and make it easier to form cabbage rolls of various shapes and sizes: whether fingers or fists.