About Capers • Feed the Mail

Capers, those tiny, tangy, and versatile buds, have been enhancing dishes around the world for centuries. They are what give remoulade sauce, chicken piccata, and puttanesca sauce their unique, piquant flavor.

What are capers?

Capers are small, flavorful buds are the flower buds of a prickly plant that grows all over the Mediterranean. Some caper plants are farmed, but most grow in the wild and are picked by hand. Raw capers taste very bitter, but after being soaked in vinegar brine or salt, they get a strong flavor that is salty, sour, herbal. If the buds are allowed to bloom and produce seeds, they become caper berries, which are also packed in brine and can be added to salads or eaten like olives.

How to Buy Capers

Capers come in different sizes. The smallest ones, called nonpareil, are often considered the best, but some people like the bigger ones for their stronger flavor. Your choice depends on your personal taste and what you find at the store. You can choose between capers packed in vinegar brine and those packed in salt.

Vinegar-brined capers last a long time but have a sharper taste.
Salt-packed capers have a purer flavor but don't last as long because the salt dries them out. Look for capers with clean, white salt; yellowing salt means they are old. All capers should be kept in the fridge after opening.

How to Use Capers

Rinse capers packed in brine before using them. Salt-packed capers are too salty to eat straight from the jar, so soak them in cool water for about 15 minutes and rinse them a few times. If the capers are big, you can chop them unless you want a strong caper flavor.

Capers taste great with fish and other rich foods. Besides the recipes mentioned, try adding them to a salad dressing or a butter sauce for fish or chicken, or mix a small handful into pasta or potato salad. For a unique garnish or salad topping, pat capers dry and fry them lightly in a little olive oil. They will get crispy and open up like little flowers.