Capers are the unopened flower buds of the Capparis spinosa plant, celebrated in Mediterranean cuisine for their intensely tangy and salty flavor. These small, pea-sized green spheres are used globally as a zesty condiment, adding a sharp, pungent kick to dishes like pasta puttanesca, fish, and salads. The buds are highly astringent and inedible immediately after harvest, requiring a lengthy curing process to transform them into a flavorful product. The caper bush thrives in the hot, arid climates of the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, where it has been cultivated for thousands of years.
Identifying the Caper Plant
The caper plant, Capparis spinosa, is a sprawling, perennial shrub naturally adapted to hostile growing conditions like rocky hillsides, cliffs, and crevices. This hardy plant is highly tolerant of drought and prefers full sun exposure with lean, well-drained, and often alkaline soil. The shrub typically grows to about three feet tall, but its semi-prostrate branches can spread out six to ten feet wide, often cascading over stone walls. The plant features small, rounded, dark green leaves, and sharp, hooked spines develop at the base of each leaf stem, which can make harvesting challenging.
If left unpicked, the immature flower buds would bloom into striking, fragrant, white-to-pinkish flowers with long purple stamens that only last for a single day.
The Manual Picking Process
The harvest of capers is a labor-intensive process, demanding selective hand-picking because the buds mature at different rates. Harvesters must examine each plant daily during the growing season, which generally extends from late spring through early autumn. Timing is crucial, and the work is often conducted in the early morning before the high heat of the day to ensure the buds remain tightly closed and retain their delicate texture. Harvesters must be diligent in their technique, carefully snapping the small buds off the stem while wearing gloves to protect against the plant’s sharp thorns. This necessity for daily, selective hand-harvesting contributes to the relatively high market value of capers.
Distinguishing Capers and Berries
Capers and caper berries are both products of the Capparis spinosa plant, but they are harvested at different stages of maturity. If a bud is not picked, it blossoms and then develops into the caper berry, which is the fruit of the plant. Caper berries are significantly larger than capers, often the size of a cocktail olive, and are typically pickled with a short stem attached. They contain many tiny seeds inside, giving them a crunchy texture and a milder, less pungent flavor compared to the smaller buds. Commercial capers are graded by size, with the smallest buds, such as nonpareil capers, being the most desirable and flavorful.
Preparing Capers for Consumption
Freshly picked caper buds are bitter, necessitating a curing process to transform their flavor and develop the characteristic salty, tangy piquancy. The two primary methods for curing are dry salting and brining in a saltwater or vinegar solution. Both methods serve to leach out the bitterness and make the buds palatable.
The dry salting method involves layering the raw capers with coarse, non-iodized salt, which draws moisture out of the buds and initiates a fermentation process. This process takes several weeks, with the capers being periodically drained of liquid and sometimes re-salted, resulting in a product many consider superior in flavor. Alternatively, capers can be preserved by pickling them in a liquid brine solution of salt, water, and often vinegar, which is a faster method. Finished capers packed in salt require a thorough rinse and brief soak in water before use to remove excess salinity.