Many times throughout my restaurant career I was asked, “What is a caper?” I always gave the same answer, “The caper is the bud of a flowering plant.” However, if pressed for more information, I was stumped. So after some serious research, here is what I found out.
A caper is basically the immature flower bud of the caper bush that is native to the Mediterranean basin. It’s natural range stretches from the coastal regions of the entire Mediterranean Sea basin west to the Canary Islands and Morocco and all the way eastward to the Caspian Sea and into Iran. It’s also thought that its ancient habitat originated in Central Asia. It is now cultivated extensively in Spain, Italy, France, Algeria, Cyprus, Greece and Africa. A simple rule of thumb is that a caper bush can grow anywhere that an olive tree can grow.
The first recorded use of the caper bush was for medicinal use in 2000BC by the Sumerians as well as ancient Greeks and Romans. The Roman scholar Pliny mentioned capers, and in 1570 Pope Pius X held a banquet featuring ten roasts including “stuffed spit roasted pigeons with sugars and capers sprinkled over them.” The Sieur de la Varenne, the 17th century writer of the first modern French cookbook, simmered game birds in caper sauces.
Caper bushes prefer dry heat and intense sunlight. They grow well in nutrient poor, well drained and gravelly soils. They are often found sprouting out from the cracks of abandoned walls and castles or covering rocky areas. They are salt tolerant and flourish along the shores of sea-spray zones. The bush grows into a mounding shrub about 2-3 feet tall with arching red stems and dark green leaves. Caper fruit is the unopened flower buds that if left unpicked will grow into white flowers with violet stamens. The plant has many prickly thorns, which can make harvesting quite a chore.
Capers are usually harvested in September and harvesting will continue throughout the growing season. Harvesting is done by hand and usually every 8 to 10 days. Capers are graded by their size and the smallest capers are considered the best. The small closed bud with no streak of white on it is what should be picked. Because capers naturally have a very bitter taste, they are preserved after they are harvested. They are pickled in vinegar and salt or just preserved in granulated salt alone.
The flavor of preserved capers can be described as being similar to that of mustard and black pepper. They have a very agreeable sharp, bitter-sour flavor. Capers are essential for many Mediterranean dishes as well as Italian specialties. They are usually used in tomato or wine sauces, pasta, poultry and fish dishes as well as many salad recipes and cold meat dishes. Capers harmonize well with basil, oregano and garlic and should be added at the end of the cooking process.
As mentioned before, capers were first consumed for their medicinal properties. They were said to reduce flatulence and to be anti-rheumatic. They have been used in the treatment of anemia, arthritis, gout, and as a diuretic and kidney disinfectant. It is believed eating capers can improve liver function.
Capers can be found in your local supermarket next to the olives or in the international food aisle. They are typically packaged in narrow glass jars and an opened jar will keep for a long time if stored in the refrigerator. I always keep a jar of capers handy. They are one of my favorite ingredients to perk up sauces at the last minute or to sprinkle on appetizers giving the dish a special flavor boost.
This article appears in March 2024.