Don't mind if I dolma

September 13, 2013 5:23 PM

I am one broke grad student. I love dolmas, and I know I like Divina dolmas. I'm thinking about getting a HUGE can of Divina dolmas (please note I am just one person) so I can always have dolmas. Can I freeze them? How long will they last? I cannot eat a giant can in any quick range of time.

Dolmas are a delicious treat and are my grocery store kryptonite. I think I'd only eat, like, 6 a week tops. Can/how should I freeze them and defrost them once frozen, or will they keep in the fridge for a really long time by any stroke of luck? Quick calculations say I'd probably finish the can within three months.

This is probably my weirdest AskMe yet. But I am not going to roll my own grape leaves, dammit.

posted by c'mon sea legs to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

I don't know about that particular brand but there is one I used to get from a restaurant supply store in Atlanta that was the same size and as long as it was refrigerated it kept for something like ever. OK, I don't think we ever pushed them past 6 months but I'm sure they would have held up longer than that. The brand we'd get was heavy on the oil and lemon so maybe that helped?

We never did try to freeze them and I'm not sure that would work out too well anyway.
posted by bfootdav at 5:40 PM on September 13, 2013 [1 favorite]

I do think they last a long time, BUT they're not miracle lasts-forever food. I have had a bad dolma from a grocery store salad bar - it was kind of sour and fizzy when I bit into it. Presumably that was bad storage and insufficiently refrigerated.
posted by aimedwander at 5:52 PM on September 13, 2013

Best answer: Not the same, but similar enough I think: I bought feta-stuffed piquillo peppers in bulk (the kind packed in oil) and they froze beautifully in small containers. Taste and texture was same as fresh- I froze them in the oil they were packed in and defrosted in the fridge.

I think as long as you make sure all your dolmas are under the surface of the oil when you freeze them, and defrost by leaving in the fridge overnight, they will come out fine. One reviewer mentions they did this and taste/texture was not changed.
posted by variella at 7:01 PM on September 13, 2013

I have also had a rotten dolmas and it is not something you want to experience.
This company says unopened cans keep for 2.5 years and opened refrigerated dolmas keep for up to 3 weeks. Mmm... Now I have to go buy some!
posted by W.S (disambiguation) at 10:55 PM on September 13, 2013

i know trader joe's used to sell canned dolmas. whole foods probably has them as well and maybe fresh ones in their deli which would taste even better. since you are in SF try an armenian grocery store and ask for sarmas (same food, different name). there are two varieties so make sure you get the yalanchi sarmas which are the cold ones with the olive oil & pine nuts.

But I am not going to roll my own grape leaves, dammit.

haha. yeah, that takes awhile. i used to help my mom make them.
posted by wildflower at 2:01 AM on September 14, 2013

Response by poster: Oh I should mention that I regularly buy dolmas from various places (whole foods, berkeley bowl, etc.), am trying to save $$ and time by bulk buying.
posted by c'mon sea legs at 8:53 AM on September 14, 2013

Just fyi if you go to an Armenian store dolma traditionally refers to stuffed eggplant or zucchini. Stuffed grape leaves would be "sarma". No big deal, you can just say stuffed grape leaves.

You may have some luck at Greek grocery stores or bakeries too.

I've purchased this from BJ's on the east coast:

Zorba Stuffed Grape Leaves

But it doesn't look like they have west coast locations.

It's not that hard to roll your own. Just takes some practice.
posted by eatcake at 4:55 PM on September 14, 2013

Best answer: look what i found: can you freeze stuffed grape leaves? probably what you will want to do is freeze the dolmas in quantities that you will eat pretty quickly so you are only defrosting what you will use rather than defrosting the entire amount and refreezing it. i'd probably wrap them in twos or threes in foil/ziploc bag and stick them in the freezer. then take out the 2- or 3-pack and eat for a few days.
posted by wildflower at 9:50 PM on September 14, 2013

Response by poster: I'mma try it!
posted by c'mon sea legs at 1:17 PM on September 15, 2013

I roll my own, and always make a *huge* batch so that we can freeze some for later use. Freezing in small batches, wrapped in plastic and placed in airtight containers has allowed us to keep them for several months at a time. I would avoid foil due to the acidity of the brine and lemon juice.

When removing from the freezer, allow them to defrost in the refrigerator, then you can steam them or heat in a saucepan with a little olive oil.

Mmm. I need to make grape leaves now!
posted by blurker at 1:21 PM on September 17, 2013