Why are cabbage rolls called cabbage rolls

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Probably, many wondered why the stuffed cabbage dish is called so. Where did it come from? In our understanding, stuffed cabbage is minced meat, combined with rice or millet, wrapped in a soft cabbage leaf. And all this is stewed with onions and carrots, poured with tomato juice or sour cream. It would seem that this is a Russian dish. However, this is not the case at all.

Our native cabbage rolls are very similar in appearance and composition to dolma. Only dolma is made from meat that is wrapped in grape leaves, but for cabbage rolls, the filling can be different, but always wrapped in a cabbage leaf.

Assumptions about origins

But the question remains why cabbage rolls are called cabbage rolls. Some sources explain this by similarity with the carcass of a pigeon, wrapped in a piece of lard, fried on coals. Such a dish was made in Russia and was simply called "Dove".

The time frame of origin is stretched, approximately 17th-19th century, when French cuisine had a great influence on Russian cuisine. During this period, salo with pigeonsremains in the past, and cabbage leaves and minced meat with the addition of cereals come to replace. That's why cabbage rolls are called that.

Other sources say that this dish comes from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, and it was dolma that gave life to a new dish. There is also a version that the replacement of grape leaves with cabbage and lamb with more common meat occurred in the 14-15th century. This was done by Belarusian and Lithuanian hostesses.

If we turn to written sources, Ekaterina Avdeeva mentions cabbage rolls in her book “The Hand Book of a Russian Experienced Housewife”. A well-known culinary specialist in the last chapter wrote about Little Russian borscht, dumplings and cabbage rolls. The chapter was called "Different dishes that came into use among the Russians." It was 1842.

How different these cabbage rolls are

Once it became clear why cabbage rolls are called cabbage rolls in our country, it is probably interesting how they look and are called in other countries.

In Israel, cabbage rolls are called holishkes (holishkes). They are, like ours, meat - minced meat with rice, and sweet - dried fruits are mixed with rice and lemon zest is added if desired.

Poles have a peculiar stuffing for cabbage rolls: buckwheat with potatoes. And they wrap it in sour cabbage leaves. Of course, they also have the classic version of minced meat, but minced meat is preferred. They call this dish golabki, which translates as pigeon legs.

Bulgarians say that thanks to the cuisines of Turkey and Greece, they have zelevi sarmi. In minced veal and pork theyadd a lot of paprika. The dish is served with yogurt and mint sauce.

If you get the chance to visit Turkey, you should try their cabbage rolls, which the Turks call sarma from the word sarmak, which translates to "wrap".

Romanians have a very interesting recipe. For the filling, they take minced pork with rice, to which they add dill. Twisted in cabbage leaves and spread on a baking sheet with a vegetable pillow - sour cabbage. A piece of bacon is placed on each cabbage roll and baked.

Lithuanians have gone further and use various options as fillings: minced meat with barley and mushrooms, egg and green onions, bell peppers. The name of this Lithuanian dish is balandeliai, which means "little pigeons".

If too lazy to cook

If there is no time to cook classic cabbage rolls, there is no time to boil cabbage leaves, then you can make a dish in haste. Mix the minced meat with boiled rice, finely chop the cabbage, add your favorite spices. Mix everything, form cutlets and stew with onions and carrots. This cooking option explains why lazy cabbage rolls are called lazy. But they taste just as good as regular ones.

There is another dish called "Very lazy stuffed cabbage". The bottom line is that cabbage is stewed with onions, carrots and tomatoes, minced meat is fried separately, boiled rice is added to it. Everything connects. But this is rather a dish for every day than for a festive table.

Do I need a side dish?

Herethere is controversy over the garnish. In the book “On Tasty and He althy Food”, popular in Soviet times, it is indicated that cabbage rolls are served with mashed potatoes. Probably, many of us will agree that it is very tasty and goes well together. But for some, stuffed cabbage is an independent dish that does not need to be supplemented.

In any case, it is not too important how cabbage rolls appeared, because they contained many qualities: both tasty and he althy, suitable for both daily diet and festive table.