Cabbage Rolls - Doobydobap (2024)

FAQs

Why are my cabbage rolls tough? ›

Why are my cabbage rolls tough? after baking, then you either didn't parboil them them longer before rolling, or need to bake the rolls longer. If leaves are not pliable enough after parboiling for 1 minute, return them to simmering water another 1-2 minutes to desired softness.

After all the work of making homemade stuffed cabbage rolls, I find it hard to pour tomato soup on top. For one pound of meat, I mix an 8oz. can of tomato sauce, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce. I mix well and pour over cabbage rolls.

Too much flour, or not the right kind, could be to blame. Dough made only from flour with a high or even average amount of protein (like bread flour or all-purpose flour) can become tough from overmixing. Protein gives bread structure in the form of gluten—the more you mix and move the dough, the more gluten you get.

Baking soda does help green vegetables retain color, but it causes undesirable color changes in red cabbage—it turned blue. The science can be distilled to this: Adding baking soda to cooking water makes it slightly alkaline, which stabilizes the green color of chlorophyll.

Freezing breaks down the structure of the leaves, making them pliable and unlikely to crack or break when you pull them from the head or roll them for stuffing.

Any variety of green cabbage will do for this recipe, but we went with savoy cabbage because the leaves are a bit looser and easier to work with. The leaves are also just the right shape and size for this application.

Initially, cabbage rolls were created by the Turkish, who claim to be the original cookers of the dish. But as they conquered more and more territory, the recipe was spread and adapted by tens of other countries.

“Freezing it raw will preserve the texture slightly better than freezing it blanched, but it will still suffer from some breakdown of the cell structure, resulting in softness when thawed; you will never achieve the crispness of raw cabbage once it's frozen,” says Chen McCarthy.

Once it's washed and cut up, cabbage can be frozen, but for longer-term storage, it's best to blanch it first. Blanched cabbage can be frozen for up to nine months, while unblanched cabbage will only keep for one to two months.

Common in the cuisines of Central and Eastern Europe, according to The Spruce Eats, stuffed cabbage — or cabbage rolls — is an ideal way to use up outer cabbage leaves because the dish braises for quite some time, allowing the tough leaves to become tender.

Can you eat raw cabbage leaves? ›

This common leafy green vegetable comes in a range of colors, shapes and sizes that you can use for soups, salads, sandwiches and more. Eat it raw or stir-fried to get the most benefit. Find it fermented in gut-healthy foods like sauerkraut and kimchi — or chopped into coleslaw for a quick fix.

You're not cooking the right kind of cabbage

If you do want to cook it, add a touch of acid like lemon juice or vinegar to lessen the effect. The Savoy cabbage can be used as a substitute for green cabbage, just keep in mind that its leaves are a bit more tender than that of other cabbages.

Make stuffed cabbage

Common in the cuisines of Central and Eastern Europe, according to The Spruce Eats, stuffed cabbage — or cabbage rolls — is an ideal way to use up outer cabbage leaves because the dish braises for quite some time, allowing the tough leaves to become tender.

The key to cooking cabbage: Don't overcook it.

Cabbage is sweet and aromatic when cooked correctly. But the same sulfuric compounds that provide many of its health benefits can turn saboteur when overcooked, creating a pungent, unpleasant smell.