How to quickly soften cabbage for cabbage rolls. Preparing cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave. Cabbage leaves for stuffed cabbage how to make soft

The first and main condition for branded cabbage rolls is correctly selected, chopped and cooked cabbage until softened. Delicate, successful, neat duckies are obtained if the cabbage leaf is thin and transparent, but intact and moderately strong. From such leaves, the dish comes out not only amazingly tasty, but also beautiful, appetizing, desirable.

Cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave in separate leaves

The preparation of cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave is very effective. It can be boiled until softened both in separate sheets and with a whole fork. You are lucky if you managed to disassemble the white cabbage into leaves without heat treatment. This is not easy: the raw head is fragile, the leaves break, they are poorly separated from the stalk. You can greatly facilitate the task by removing the stalk and substituting the head of cabbage under the tap with a powerful jet of hot water.

Put the whole leaves of the correct form on a plate and place in the microwave oven for 5-7 minutes. As a result of this processing, you will get white, almost transparent soft blanks for cabbage rolls. Thickenings on them can be cut with a sharp knife or gently beat off with a wooden mallet. Such a method would be the best, but it is difficult to disassemble the tight raw forks of the late white-headed beauty. Any doubts? Do not risk it, try to warm it up entirely.

Cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave with a whole head of cabbage

Connoisseurs recommend: you need to choose for this dish not a rounded, but a flattened head. The flat white leaf is large, the veins are thick, but short. From such blanks it is easier to wrap cute identical cabbage rolls of a standard size. The stalk of the flattened fork is wide and short and easy to remove. The correct cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave for softening is prepared as follows:

  1. Remove the upper “non-marketable” dark green layer from the purchased head, wash the head.
  2. Using four to five deep incisions, excise the stalk and remove it.
  3. Place the forks inside the bowl, the bowl into the microwave.
  4. Turn on the stove at full power for 10-12 minutes.
  5. Ready-to-use cabbage should be soft. If this is not the case, another two or three minutes of processing will not interfere with her.
  6. Place the cooked head of cabbage under a stream of cold water.
  7. Take it apart. Cabbage leaves are then easy to separate.

Such a recipe does not always give an ideal result. As you peel off layer by layer, you may notice that the sheets have not been cooked evenly until softened. Some of them will seem too hard for you. Select the parts that require additional cooking, place them to reheat, setting the time on the timer for 2-3 minutes. To prepare the dish quickly, experienced housewives do not tend to process the head of cabbage at a time, but boil it in stages.

How to make cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave in a few steps

Cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave for softening can be cooked more than once, but this will only speed up the process of preparing your favorite dish. The secret is simple:

  1. Prepare the cabbage (wash thoroughly, remove the top layer, cut out the stalk).
  2. Place the fork inside a deep microwave dish.
  3. Boil without adding water, at full power, setting the timer for 5-6 minutes.
  4. Place the hot head immediately under cold water. Easily separate 4-5 leaves that have had time to cook before softening.
  5. Set the cabbage residue to warm up again for the same 5-6 minutes.
  6. During this time, you will have time to cut off the thick veins and stuff the cabbage rolls with minced meat.
  7. Place the heated again without delay under cold water, separate the soft layer and send it to the oven again.
  8. When the forks are finished, almost all the leaves will be already wrapped and ready for further cooking.

That's all the wisdom on how to prepare cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave. A great result will please your loved ones if you choose the right forks, prepare it and carefully monitor the cooking time. Having prepared this dish once with the help of a microwave, you will never want to return to the traditional complex boiling of a head of cabbage over a fire to soften it.

Cabbage for pigeons. How to properly prepare the leaves so that the cabbage rolls are tasty, juicy and moderately soft, and the cabbage does not turn out tough. In this article, you will learn all the methods of preparing cabbage for making the most delicious cabbage rolls.

1st way

Take a medium-sized head of cabbage somewhere around 1-1.5 kg. , wash it, remove the bad leaves and wrap in cling film in a few words.

Put the cabbage on the stalk in the microwave, turn on for 10-12 minutes at medium power. The cabbage inside should sweat. Let her cool down. Now cut out the stalk and start peeling off the leaves. Remove the leaves down, they should very easily move away and turn out to be whole.

2nd way

Also in the microwave, but the cabbage is cooked there a little differently. Just wash the cabbage and put it on a plate, send it to the microwave.

Turn on medium power, 5-7 minutes will be enough. Now remove the upper soft leaves, microwave the cabbage again for a couple of minutes, remove the leaves. Do this until all leaves are removed.

3rd way

Cut the stalks off the cabbage. and fill it with boiling water, add a pinch citric acid or 0.5 tsp vinegar (this will help keep the leaves firm enough to not tear when cooked).

Boil the head of cabbage for 1 minute. Then take it out and let it cool. Only then disassemble the leaves.

4th way

Pour water into the pan, let it boil, and lower the whole head of cabbage into boiling water, after a couple of minutes we take it out and carefully remove a couple of leaves, which can already be easily removed, put the head back into the water, and also separate the cabbage leaves. Repeat this procedure until all leaves are removed.

5th way. Double boiler.

The principle is the same as with the pan. We put the cabbage in a double boiler for a couple of minutes, take out the leaves, and send it back to the double boiler.

The most difficult step in the preparation of cabbage rolls is to separate the cabbage leaves from the head so that they do not break, but do not turn out to be too soft. Cabbage for stuffed cabbage in the microwave softens enough to wrap the filling in it, but remains elastic. Unlike the standard method using a pot of boiling water, the microwave cooks the leaves completely and retains their strength.

Recipe for softening cabbage in the microwave

The way to soften cabbage for stuffed cabbage in is much easier than the standard method with boiling water. With a microwave oven, there is no need to specifically select soft varieties, heat a large container of water and try to keep the right time so that the leaves do not scald.

You can soften even young cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave. In boiling water, its leaves quickly boil and tear while minced meat is wrapped in them, unlike the more modern way.

For the preparation of cabbage rolls, a head of cabbage weighing 1.5-2 kg is suitable. It can be put directly into the oven or wrapped in cling film.


Hot cabbage after getting it out of the microwave should immediately be doused with cold water. So the leaves are easier to separate from the stalk, and you can immediately wrap the minced meat in them.

Another cabbage recipe for cabbage rolls

The easiest way is to put the cabbage in the microwave for 10 minutes and do not cover with anything. However, many housewives prefer to use a baking sleeve or wrap a head of cabbage in a plastic bag or cling film. Thus, the moisture does not evaporate, but remains in the leaves. They bake more evenly and become soft even in the center.

A head of cabbage in a sleeve or film can also be cooked in several stages, but it is easier to place it for 10-15 minutes at a lower temperature. After that, it is dipped in foil in cold water, and when it cools down a bit, they begin to parse the leaves. All veins are removed with a sharp knife so that they do not spoil the taste of the finished dish. However, instead, the leaves can be gently beaten off with a hammer, while it is important not to damage them.

How to choose the right cabbage?

If you choose cabbage for cabbage rolls and cook it in boiling water, you need to know a few subtleties. The shape, size, color of the leaves, as well as the structure of the vegetable matter. In the microwave, you can cook any cabbage so that it is convenient to wrap minced meat in it. However, if you follow the advice of experienced housewives, it will be even easier to cook cabbage:

  • the head of cabbage should not have a round, but an elongated shape - the leaves are separated from such a cabbage much easier;
  • cabbage should have large leaves - if they are small, it will be difficult to wrap minced meat in them, and the cooking process will take a long time;
  • leaves should be light (white with a greenish tint), without black dots, tears and damage, signs of fungus or mold;
  • individual leaves must be dense, thick and resilient, otherwise they will quickly tear, and the filling cannot be wrapped in them;
  • withering cabbage is not good - it can be stewed with meat, and for cabbage rolls, get another head of cabbage.

You can soften cabbage leaves not only in boiling water or in a microwave oven. Cold has a similar effect.

First you need to freeze a whole head of cabbage, and then take it out of the freezer and defrost at room temperature. However, after processing, the cabbage can only be used for the preparation of cabbage rolls and cannot be stored even frozen.

Preparing cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave to soften is the easiest way. Even a novice hostess will be able to cope with cooking according to this recipe. The leaves are soft and elastic, keep their shape well and do not allow cabbage rolls to fall apart.

Most housewives believe that the most difficult thing in cooking stuffed cabbage is preparing cabbage leaves for their subsequent filling with minced meat. Regardless of the method chosen, the process turns out to be equally long and laborious, and besides, there is always a risk of scalding with boiling water. But you can also make leaves for cabbage rolls soft in the microwave, which is much faster and safer than in a saucepan. How to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave in different ways, we will tell in our article. Here we present a recipe for delicious homemade cabbage rolls.

How to choose cabbage for cabbage rolls

The right choice of head will help facilitate the laborious process of separating cabbage leaves. It is recommended to pay attention to the following:

  • For the preparation of cabbage rolls, choose large and slightly flattened heads of cabbage. Usually the leaves on them are thin, even and well separated even without scalding.
  • There should be no damage or holes on the leaves, otherwise the stuffing will fall out of them.
  • Do not forget to cut or beat off the dense part of the leaf at the base of the head with a kitchen hammer.

Before we tell you how to cook cabbage for stuffed cabbage in the microwave, consider the traditional way to separate the leaves. It involves scalding a head of cabbage in a pot of boiling water.

How to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls in a saucepan

Traditionally, cabbage for cabbage rolls is boiled in a large pot. The dimensions of the container should correspond to the selected head of cabbage so that it easily enters the pan. Recall how to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls without a microwave, and in what order:

  1. Pour at least two liters of water into a four-liter saucepan and bring it to a boil.
  2. From a cabbage weighing about 1.5 kg, remove the top and spoiled leaves and, if desired, cut out the stalk.
  3. Lower the head of cabbage into boiling water, let it boil and immediately pull the cabbage out of the pan onto a plate.
  4. Allow the head of cabbage to cool slightly, then unfold the upper leaves a little and, turning the head of cabbage onto a stalk, cut them off at the base.
  5. After the first scalding, it is possible to remove 3-4 cabbage leaves, after which the head is again lowered into a pot of boiling water and all actions are performed in the same sequence until the required number of leaves can be removed.

How to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave: photos and step by step instructions

The tedious disassembly of cabbage leaves for the preparation of cabbage rolls is greatly facilitated by a microwave oven. In this case, the workpiece takes several times less time and effort.

How to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave and in what order:

  1. Prepare the head: remove the top and damaged leaves from it.
  2. Prepare a five-liter pot with cold water, filled up to half the volume of the container.
  3. Put the cabbage in the microwave on the stalk.
  4. Set the power to the highest level and the microwave time to 10 minutes.
  5. After the specified time, remove the head of cabbage from the microwave and lower it into cold water. The upper leaves will immediately begin to separate from the cabbage. They will need to be turned a little more with your hands and cut off at the base of the head of cabbage. Similarly, you will need to remove all other flexible and elastic leaves. If they are hard, the head will need to be sent to the microwave for another 3 minutes, and then continue to disassemble the cabbage again.

After completing the disassembly of the head of each sheet, you will need to cut off the solid part at the base with a knife or completely cut it out.

How to cook cabbage leaves in the microwave

This method of butchering a head is more suitable for young cabbage with tender leaves that may not be boiled at all, since they are already quite elastic. If you are just looking for a way to cooking cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave is delicious, the proposed option is perfect for you.

To begin with, the head of cabbage is cut into leaves, very carefully so as not to damage them. Otherwise, the stuffing will seep through the holes. Each leaf is moistened with a small amount of water and put in a glass plate or bowl. Then a plate with leaves stacked in a pile is sent to the microwave for 2 minutes at high power. After the specified time, they are pulled out, cooled and used to make cabbage rolls.

How to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave in a bag

There is another way to cook cabbage in the microwave. Moreover, it is also considered the fastest, since the leaves will become soft and elastic after 4 minutes.

How to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave quickly using a bag:

  1. Prepare a bag or sleeve for baking.
  2. Put a head of cabbage in it. Wrap or tie a bag and make small holes in it.
  3. Set the microwave power to the highest setting and the cooking time to 4 minutes.
  4. After the specified time, remove the head of cabbage from the microwave and substitute it under a stream of cold running water.
  5. Unfold the top leaves and cut them off the stalk at the base.

In the event that the leaves do not seem elastic and flexible enough, they can be stacked in a bag, tied up and sent back to the microwave for 2 minutes.

Recipe for delicious cabbage rolls

To prepare cabbage rolls, you can use the following recipe. All you need is a head of cabbage, about 700 g of minced meat, a little cold boiled rice, salt and spices, as well as onions, carrots and tomato paste for frying.

First you need to decide how to cook cabbage for cabbage rolls in the microwave. The recipe involves using the first method, in which a whole head of cabbage is immediately sent to the microwave, and then it is already cut into leaves. Then, hard veins are removed on each leaflet, a tablespoon of the filling (minced meat with rice) is laid out in the center of the sheet, after which it is folded into an envelope. Prepared cabbage rolls are put into a saucepan, poured with fried onions, carrots and tomatoes, and water so that it covers them completely. Stuffed cabbage is prepared on low heat for about 1 hour after boiling.

To quickly cut cabbage for cabbage rolls, you can use a microwave or place a head of cabbage under running water. Both of these options are available and do not require special skills.

Cabbage for cabbage rolls: how to quickly cut a head of cabbage

If you have a microwave at home or in the country, then you can prepare cabbage for cabbage rolls in a few minutes. To do this, you can use a household appliance of any power and capacity. The main thing is that the head of cabbage placed inside the equipment rotates freely when turned on.

To quickly cut cabbage for cabbage rolls, use the microwave

Step by step instructions:

  1. Before starting work, you need to cut off the stem of the stalk and make notches along the base.
  2. Put the cabbage on a plate or in a bowl and microwave for 8-10 minutes, setting the oven to maximum power.
  3. After the end of the process, dense leaves will be easily separated from the head. If the procedure becomes more complicated, you should re-send the cabbage to the microwave oven.

Thus, within a minimum time, you can disassemble the head of cabbage into separate elements. If the finished semi-finished product turns out to be too hard for cooking cabbage rolls, send the cabbage leaves folded in a pile in the microwave for about five minutes. After additional processing, they will become soft and will fold easily.

How to cut cabbage for cabbage rolls without improvised means

If it is not possible to use household appliances, you can use a simple option, which will require only access to running water:

  • prepare a head of cabbage by cutting off the stalk and cutting the junction of the leaves with the base;
  • place cabbage under running water;
  • feel for the junction of the leaf with the stalk and slightly separate it from the head of cabbage, letting water in;
  • loosen the leaf until it separates.

In this case, the water acts as a lubricant, separating the tight joint between the leaves. It will take no more than 2-3 seconds to separate one sheet.

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