What are capers and where do they grow? Caper plant: what it is, uses and beneficial properties

Those who are far from Eastern or Mediterranean cuisine may not know what capers are and what they look like. However, today the mysterious product is freely sold in supermarkets and getting to know it better is not difficult.

In cooking, caper buds are better known, which are consumed exclusively in salted or pickled form. They are sold in glass jars and have such a distinctive appearance that it is impossible to confuse them.

How capers grow. Botanical certificate

The creeping caper shrub (Capparis spinosa) with beautiful, large white-pink flowers is grown not only for its fruit, but also as an ornamental plant in demand in landscape design.

The Mediterranean is considered the homeland of this exotic representative of the subtropical flora., although it is also common in Asia, Crimea and the Caucasus. Almost all parts of the plant: roots, berries, buds, young shoots, flowers and seeds are used in folk medicine.

It is believed that the name of the shrub comes from the island of Cyprus. Capersnik is unpretentious - it can easily withstand the scorching southern sun and is not “afraid” of rocky soil. At the same time, the plant blooms profusely throughout the summer and is considered an excellent honey plant.

The benefits and taste of capers were known back in the 3rd millennium BC. e. This unique spice is mentioned in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is considered one of the most ancient literary monuments of our civilization.

In addition to wild capers, There are also varietal crops with improved nutritional properties. Industrial production of exquisite spices is carried out in North Africa, Spain, Italy and France. The most delicious buds come to us from the island of Thira in the Aegean Sea, where the soil is abundantly fertilized with volcanic ash.

To this day, the buds and fruits of capers are collected by hand, in dry, clear weather. The buds are sorted by size using a sieve: specimens that do not reach 1 cm in diameter, with a dense structure, have the most delicate and delicate taste. And they are appreciated by gourmets accordingly.

The berries are oblong pods with a reddish softness, reminiscent of watermelon in their sweetness. They are eaten raw or made into jam. But fruits are pickled extremely rarely, since their taste becomes too rich and not everyone likes it.

What are capers in cooking?

For cooking, they use, first of all, unripe buds. They are called capers in culinary recipes.


Fresh buds have a pronounced bitter taste and are not suitable for food. Therefore, immediately after collection, they are dried in the open air, and then kept for at least 3 months in a saline solution with the addition of either vinegar or olive oil. Sometimes capers are placed in glass containers and simply sprinkled with salt. With this method of preservation, the product can be stored for several years.

The best variety of capers is “non pareil”, with a bud diameter of up to 7 mm. The largest specimens, called “grusas”, reach 14 mm or more. They are slightly tart, with a bright spicy aroma, simultaneously reminiscent of gherkins, olives and mustard in a very complex but pleasant combination.

In our stores, the Mediterranean delicacy is sold marinated only in vinegar, without adding oil.

This worsens the taste of the spice, but increases its shelf life significantly. The situation can be improved by adding capers homemade marinade

1. prepared according to the recipe below.
2. Add oregano, thyme, oregano, basil and rosemary to olive oil and heat the mixture in a water bath so that the herbs “give off” their aroma.
3. Remove the caper buds from the vinegar solution and rinse thoroughly.

The fruits are used to decorate meat and fish dishes, and added to solyankas. You can effectively serve the tongue with boiled potatoes as an appetizer, garnished with capers. And a simple dish will immediately be transformed:

Benefits and contraindications

Initially, various parts of the caperberry, including flower buds, were used as medicine.

Official medicine recognizes that the plant effectively fights cancer and cardiovascular diseases, normalizes the activity of the thyroid gland, eliminates inflammatory processes, including chronic ones, and reduces pain.

1. Caperberry buds contain almost all vitamins and microelements. They are especially rich in rutin, which makes blood vessels more elastic, prevents the formation of blood clots, improves vision, stabilizes heart pressure, and also improves immunity.
2. Capers are also a powerful antioxidant that, when consumed regularly, can prolong our youth and preserve our beauty. Nutritionists recommend consuming the product with meat to neutralize the oxidative processes caused by protein foods.
3. The flavonol quercetin, which is also found in buds, according to scientists, is able to resist the formation of malignant tumors at the genetic level. It has already been called an “anti-cancer bomb”, which helps primarily with problems with the reproductive organs in men and women. In addition, the substance reduces the risk of allergic reactions and has a beneficial effect on the respiratory system and intestines.
4. If you have a poor appetite, you should add a little capers to your dishes - and food will again be a pleasure. The healing seasoning will help improve digestion and cleanse the body of toxins.
5. By regularly consuming caperberry buds, you can lower your blood sugar levels, so the product is also useful for diabetics.
6. Strong bones, luxurious hair and fresh, clear skin are all guaranteed to caper fans. Dermatological diseases will become a thing of the past if you include a Mediterranean delicacy in your menu.

In addition to useful substances, buds contain large amounts of sodium, an excess of which can cause heart failure, severe swelling and nervous disorders. To avoid negative consequences, pickled or salted capers are soaked in water and only then added to dishes.

What do capers eat with?

Since the seasoning, popular in the Mediterranean, is little known in our country, housewives are at a loss, not knowing which dishes to add it to and how exactly to add it.

In this case, it is better to hold off on culinary experiments, but there are products that are guaranteed to be combined with spicy capers. This:

• Any meat (chicken, beef, veal, lamb, pork) in a variety of preparations: fried, stewed or boiled.
• Seafood
• Vegetable salads
• Multi-ingredient sauces, including mayonnaise, tartar and bechamel.
• Brine cheeses
• Spicy herbs: parsley, dill, tarragon, celery
• Pasta
• Oil: olive or butter

When choosing dishes with capers for your menu, do not try to come up with something exotic. The most common soups, stews and salads will “sound” differently if you add just a little of this product to them.

Note that fragrant buds are an essential component of classic Olivier and Solyanka. For example, this is what fish solyanka with capers looks like:

The exquisite spice is not necessarily added in its entirety - it is often crushed or even ground to a pasty state. This way, the seasoning can be evenly distributed among the other ingredients and will highlight, rather than overwhelm, their natural flavor.

Here are some typical interesting recipes.

Hodgepodge

This thick, mouth-watering soup is valued by gourmets for its unusual, rich taste and ease of preparation. The secret of solyanka is in the right combination of meat products, a rich, concentrated broth and special “zest” that gives it its own unique aroma. Among these “secret” ingredients are capers.

So, let's write down the recipe.

We will need:

• 300 g meat (pork, beef or chicken to choose from)
• 700 g of a mixture of hunting sausages and delicacy smoked meats
• 150 g pickles (preferably in barrel)
• 100 g brine
• 2 medium sized onions
• handful of capers
• 50 g olives
• 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil
• 50 g tomato paste

for submission:

• green onions
• 1 lemon

Preparation

1. Boil the meat until done. You need to put it in cold water to make the broth rich.
2. Cut the chilled meat into thin strips.
3. We do the same with smoked meats and sausages. Then lightly fry the slices.
4. In a heated frying pan, brown the chopped onion, add the chopped cucumbers and simmer everything together for about 5 minutes.
5. Pour the tomato into the vegetables and simmer for another 10 minutes. The result is a dressing that should be added to the meat broth and stirred thoroughly.
6. The base for the hodgepodge is ready. Add smoked meats, meat and cucumber brine to it, bring to a boil and keep on fire for 5 minutes. Just before turning it off, add olives and finely chopped capers.
7. Solyanka is served in portioned plates with lemon slices and green onions. If desired, you can season the soup with sour cream and any herbs you like.

If you are planning to cook, check out ours.

Italian caponata

We are talking about a vegetable stew that is prepared in Sicily. It is served as a side dish for meat or as an independent snack, hot or cold. Like all Mediterranean dishes, caponata is very light, healthy and incredibly tasty.

We will need:

• 400 g canned tomatoes
• 700 g eggplant
• olive or any odorless vegetable oil for frying vegetables
• 3 tbsp. l. red wine vinegar
• 3 – 4 cloves of garlic
• bunch of fresh basil
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp. l. capers
• pine nuts for the top

Preparation

1. Fry finely chopped eggplants, onion half rings and pressed garlic in hot olive oil, stirring constantly, for about a quarter of an hour. The heat should be low so that the vegetables do not burn.
2. Remove the skin from the tomatoes, cut into cubes and add to the rest of the ingredients. Add the remaining brine, vinegar and capers there.
3. Simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. It is better to season with pepper and salt at the very end of cooking, then add chopped fresh basil. Mix everything and remove from heat.
4. Separately, lightly fry the nuts in a dry frying pan. They are sprinkled on the finished dish immediately before serving.

Salad with capers for a slim waist

A great dinner for those who are watching their figure and want to eat healthy. The combination of tuna and baked pepper can be considered classic, while the salad, like any dish where capers are added, has an exotic touch.

We will need:

• 8 large bell peppers
• 400 g tuna in its own juice
• 1 small red onion
• any lettuce leaves (arugula, iceberg, romaine, etc.)
• olive oil
• 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice
• 1 clove of garlic
• small bunch of chives and parsley
• 2 tbsp. l. capers
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Bake the peeled and halved peppers in an oven preheated to 200ºC for 10 minutes until the skins turn black. Place the hot vegetables in a bag, tie it and wait 15 minutes.
2. Next, remove the skin from the peppers, cut into large strips and place in a salad bowl.
3. Add onion chopped into thin rings. Let's make a dressing from garlic, lemon juice and oil, passed through a press, pour it over the vegetables.
4. Now it's tuna's turn. Cut it into small cubes and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Sprinkle with chives, parsley and chopped capers. Pepper and salt.
5. Place our dish on washed lettuce leaves and serve.

Watch a video on how to prepare a spicy caper sauce for serving:

How to replace capers in dishes

Caperberry buds are exotic for us, not always available due to high prices or other reasons.

If you want to add some spice to your dishes, you can find “native” products that taste similar. For example, in the same Olivier, capers have long been replaced with pickles.

In this case, it is more correct to take gherkins - small-fruited cucumbers, collected slightly unripe and pickled.

Olives are added to meat or fish dishes (their taste is more similar to capers than olives).

For salads, pickled nasturtium pods or pickles, a spicy mixture of small vegetables, are often used.

I would like to make special mention of the beautiful “fiery” flowers that can be found in almost every front garden or city flower beds.

Nasturtium is native to South America, where its buds and unripe fruits have been used as a seasoning for centuries. In our country, it is more of an ornamental plant than a spice intended for cooking.

However, pickled nasturtium fruits and buds are in no way inferior to capers in taste or beneficial properties, and will cost several times less. Shall we cook?

Nasturtium capers

We will need:

• ½ liter of water
• 1 tbsp. l. salt (without top)
• 1 tbsp. l. Sahara
• 2 – 3 tbsp. l. 9% vinegar
• allspice corns
• 2 clove buds
• Bay leaf

Preparation

1. Add salt, sugar, spices to the boiling water; you can additionally take the Herbes de Provence mixture. At the very end, add vinegar.
2. Place the nasturtium buds or pods in boiling water for 3–4 minutes, remove them and repeat the procedure again.
3. After this, pour the marinade over the product, which is filtered through a fine sieve for transparency. Jars of spice are sterilized and sealed, stored in a cellar or refrigerator.
4. Before use, the “capers” are washed and placed in olive oil for several days.

World-famous culinary specialists advise at least once to try real caper buds, in which healing properties are so surprisingly combined with a refined taste. This is in every sense a haute cuisine product, worth adding to the family menu. Why not discover something new, especially if it's truly useful?

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What are capers and what are they eaten with? Many have heard, but not many know, although they have often been found in recipes for various dishes. Previously, it was almost impossible to find them on sale, and savvy housewives boldly replaced them with pickled cucumbers. But now there are beautiful jars in a row on the shelves of large supermarkets.

However, our compatriots do not strive to purchase a jar of dark olive-colored balls. And all because they have no idea how tasty and healthy the product is, and how to use it in cooking.

Let's debunk the mysterious areola of capers, find out what they look like, where they grow, where they can be added in dishes and what to replace them with.

Capers - what are they?

Capers are the unopened buds of a thorny shrub called caperberry. The very name of the buds is capers, which can be translated as “passion” and “desire”.

The plant blooms from May to September, caper fruits ripen in early June, but the harvest period lasts right up to October - the flowering period is so extended.

It is noteworthy: the buds are collected only by hand, but even the most experienced picker can collect less than a kilogram in a couple of hours. From a young bush you can collect up to 3 kg per year. capers, and an adult gives no more than 5 kilograms.

The collected buds are dried a little in the fresh air, then sent to be salted or pickled. Capers are usually pickled in olive oil, marinated in wine vinegar, and kept in the marinade for three months. And only then are the capers ready to eat.

Interesting! The most expensive and delicious are Provencal small capers, measuring only 1 - 3 mm, they are called nonpareil.

Caper flavour:

Salted and pickled buds have a specific refined taste, spicy, tart, slightly sour and slightly mustardy.

Gourmets believe that salted capers are superior in taste to pickled capers.

Calorie content of capers:

A low-calorie product that can safely be called dietary. In 100 gr. buds contain only 14 kcal.

How to replace capers:

The price of a jar of capers is quite high, and it is not always possible to find the product; in this case, the question arises of what can be taken as a replacement. There is an alternative option, you will learn from the video.

Capers - photo, description

Where does caper grow? We call the shrub kaperets, kaporets, with the emphasis on the first syllable. The shrub is quite tall, up to 2 meters, creeping and terribly prickly.

The shrub is extremely hardy and unpretentious, growing freely on bare rocks. Blooms in summer with snow-white and large flowers. Look at the photo.

In the Mediterranean and Asian countries, shrubs are classified as landscape plants. The shrub grows in large quantities on the Italian island of Cyprus, and they say that the name of the plant comes from the Greek name - Cypros.

It is known in Turkey and the Mediterranean countries. There, the shrub is cultivated to obtain buds for food, since the product is most in demand in the cuisine of the countries. In our country it grows in the Crimea and the Caucasus.

The shrub has several hundred species, but people use only one for food - the prickly caper.

People harvest not only unopened buds, some parts of the bush have long been used by people in the treatment of diseases: the ends of shoots with young leaves and unripe berries, as well as roots.

What do capers eat with?

Our ancestors knew where to add capers to food and what they were eaten with - information about the use of the product appears in ancient cookbooks. It is worth noting that only salted or pickled capers were used, since fresh ones do not have a pleasant taste, having a specific bitterness.

• Pickled and salted capers will give your dish a spicy, piquant taste, a little tartness, sourness and pungency.
• In the national cuisine of some countries, capers are especially valued for these qualities; they are loved in Italy, Morocco, and widely used in Greece and Turkey. Recently, culinary specialists in our country have tasted and appreciated the delicious buds and began to put them in various dishes, highlighting the main taste and giving a new, interesting note.
• Most often, small canned buds are added to fish dishes. For example, I recently wrote about an original Russian dish - where capers have long taken their place of honor (don’t be lazy, check out the recipes).
• Culinary experts put lightly salted and pickled capers on pizza and prepare delicious salads with tuna, chicken, and pasta.
• The buds are widely used in the preparation of sauces. For example, the famous tartar sauce cannot be imagined without small spicy buds.
• I make an unusual-tasting oil from fresh capers and use it to dress salads. And in Greece it is used as a starter in making cheese.
• Served as a spice for smoked meats, sometimes served as a separate appetizer with meat. Often in martini cocktails you can find capers instead of the traditional olive.

Capers - recipes

If you want to know the taste of real pickled capers, prepare your own pickled buds. They will only benefit, because in industrial conditions only vinegar is used in the marinade, depriving capers of their traditional taste and aroma. Homemade ones turn out much tastier, since you add everything that is supposed to be added to the marinade.

Pickled capers - recipe

• Take a jar of capers, olive oil and a few herbs: rosemary, oregano and thyme.
• Heat the oil by adding spices in a water bath.
• Add capers from a jar to it. Be sure to drain the water and rinse them a little.
• Marinate for 2-3 days.

Tuna salad with capers

I offer a small recipe for salad with capers and tuna - the most common recipe in the Mediterranean.

• Take a can of tuna, a small onion, a bunch of arugula, 100 gr. Parmesan cheese.
• Chop, season with capers, olive oil, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and pepper.

Some tips for using caper owls in cooking

Ideally, it is better to store capers directly in the marinade, and salted ones, of course, in brine.

• Most essential oils and vitamins will not be destroyed if you add the spice buds at the very end of cooking.
• When buying, choose jars with small buds, no more than 6 mm, they are tastier and richer in vitamins.
• Do not overdo it, add the product strictly according to the recipe, otherwise bloating and sometimes vomiting will occur.
• First, add the buds to the dish, and only then, after tasting the dish, add salt. Sometimes there is no need for additional salting.

Capers - health benefits

Since Biblical times, the benefits of caperberry for human health have been known. It has always been associated with youth and fullness of life. People used flowers, small fruits, leaves and roots to treat various diseases. Absolutely all parts of the plant have a powerful astringent, antiseptic and analgesic effect.

1. From historical documents we have received information that the ancient Greeks knew about the benefits of capers in treating joints. And they used it in cooking to avoid flatulence.
2. In the Caucasus, the flowers and fruits of capers have long been used to treat rheumatism, and in Central Asia they treat the thyroid gland - it turned out that the fruits of the bush contain a lot of iodine. If you are lucky enough to have shrubs growing in your area, follow their example to replenish your supply of an important micronutrient. Dilute fresh fruit juice with water and drink throughout the day.
3. A decoction is prepared from the roots of the bush, which helps with diseases of the spleen and kidneys.
4. If you have a headache, just chew some fresh caper seeds. If, God forbid, you have a toothache, apply the leaves to the sore spot.
5. The leaves and flowers were used to treat the heart and speed up the healing of wounds.
6. Mash caper shoots with garlic and you will fight skin and fungal diseases.
7. Eat a few caper buds before meals, and your sleep will be as sound as a baby’s, and your appetite will be pleased.

Unfortunately, the chemical composition of the shrub has not been properly studied. But it is known that the main active substance in it is rutin, which effectively reduces high blood pressure.

• Quercetin, a flavonol that effectively affects the DNA structure, instantly relieves inflammation and neutralizes allergic reactions in the body, will protect you from serious skin diseases and cancer. Moreover, there is much more quercetin in caperberry fruits than, for example, in apples and raspberries.
• In capers you will find vitamins C, A, P, PP. The constant components of capers are fiber, healthy fats, and proteins. The seeds of the plant contain essential oils, natural manganese, magnesium, iron, and calcium.
• In fairness, it must be said: this beautiful plant has one significant drawback - it contains a lot of sodium, which in large quantities is not always useful. You can correct the problem by briefly soaking fresh capers in water and olive oil.

Cooking with capers is very interesting, friends, because sometimes many dishes, you just need to add a few buds, open up from a new side, thanks to the unique taste of capers. I found a video: what are capers and what they are eaten with, be sure to watch. With love... Galina Nekrasova.

If you are an experienced cook, then most likely you have heard this name, but if not, then the information provided will completely answer the question: what are capers?

Capers are not a fruit or a vegetable, they are a plant. The shrub on which these small, unopened buds grow. What do capers look like? They are green in color with petals that are just beginning to develop.

The buds are collected by hand; when fresh they are inedible, so they are canned, pickled and used as a food additive.

They are very salty and contain a lot of sodium, so they need to be soaked before using.

Their taste is bright, piquant, slightly tart and sour. There is also a mustard taste, as the stems contain mustard oil.

How and where capers grow - an excursion into botany

How do capers grow? It is a small thorny shrub with long branches that creeps. He has very beautiful flowers. And it lives mainly in cracks in walls or between stones.

The plant originated from Asia and the Mediterranean coast, and the main suppliers of capers are Italy, the Balkan Islands, Italy, and North Africa. It grows wild in Ukraine, Central Asia and the Caucasus.

What are capers in cooking?

Capers are not consumed in their pure form. They are a seasoning or food additive. Due to their pronounced taste, they saturate the dish, making it brighter.

They are added to meat, fish and vegetable dishes. But not in whole form, but cut into small pieces or grind them. This is done to soften the very strong taste. It is recommended to add them when the dish is almost ready, since during heat treatment the plant loses its properties.

If you like spicy dishes, you can make sandwiches, bake pies and even desserts with capers. They are an essential component of Georgian solyanka.

The ideal combination is capers with anchovy or herring. They go well with ground black pepper, fresh tomatoes and cheese.

The benefits of capers for the human body

The benefits of capers for the human body are quite great, because they are antioxidants, so it is recommended to include them in the diet more often.

1. In addition, they contain many vitamins and phytonutrients that have a beneficial effect on the immune system.
2. Rutin, which is part of the composition, strengthens capillaries, prevents the formation of blood clots, and improves blood circulation. Sometimes they are used for varicose veins and hemorrhoids.
3. Niacin helps reduce bad cholesterol levels, and quercetin has an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect.
4. They are also used to eliminate flatulence, heaviness in the abdomen, and stimulate appetite.
5. Capers are used to treat burns, eliminate bleeding and kidney disease.

Popular recipes with capers

Of course, over the years this plant has been growing, many dishes have already been invented, but among them there are the most popular and delicious ones that you need to try at least once.

Homemade pickled capers

The easiest way to prepare this plant.

Required Products:

• spoon of salt;
• one onion;
• 500 grams of fresh capers;
• half a lemon;
• two cloves of garlic;
• vinegar - 0.3 liters;
• two dried cloves;
• a few black peppercorns.

Cooking process:

1. Sort through the buds well, there should be no spoiled ones among them, rinse and leave to dry so that excess liquid is removed.
2. Finely chop the onion and garlic, turn the lemon into slices and place these ingredients in the pan. Pour vinegar, all the specified spices and salt into it.
3. Bring this mass, stirring constantly, to a boil, but only over medium heat, and then remove and wait until it cools.
4. We place the capers in a sterilized jar so that they are almost up to the neck, fill them with the prepared brine, close the lids and leave for 2-4 weeks, after which they are ready to use in other dishes.

Solyanka

Solyanka with capers is a dish that came from Georgia. If we are used to preparing it with pickles, then there, and in European countries, they are completely replaced by green buds.

Required Products:

• 0.4 kg of various smoked meats;
• salt, pepper and other spices;
• spoon of sugar;
• half a kilogram of beef;
• onion and carrot;
• Bell pepper;
• three tomatoes;
• 200 grams of capers and the same amount of olives;
• four potatoes.

Cooking process:

1. From the specified amount of meat you need to cook broth, remove it, cut it into small pieces and return it back to the pan.
2. Place the potatoes there, chopped into squares, and continue cooking.
3. Fry the chopped onion, grated carrots and capers in a hot frying pan until soft.
4. Add peeled and pureed tomatoes, a small spoon of sugar, and leave to simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the resulting mixture to the broth, and fry the selected smoked meats, cut into squares, in a frying pan.
6. We also put them in a saucepan and add chopped pepper there.
7. All that remains is to lay out the olives; they can be placed in the dish whole or divided into parts. Add spices to your taste, you can chop some herbs.
8. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and let stand for about 30 minutes before serving.

Delicious salad recipe

Salad with capers is a very unusual dish, but it is these buds that make the taste spicy and refined.

Required Products:

• 2 eggs;
• walnuts - two spoons.
• 0.3 kg chicken fillet;
• two spoons of sour cream;
• seasonings and spices;
• a spoon of vinegar;
• 2 large spoons of capers.

Cooking process:

1. Place the fillet in a saucepan with water, bring to a boil and boil, not forgetting to season with spices. We take it out and wait until it cools down.
2. The eggs also need to be cooked, they must be hard-boiled.
3. The nuts need to be crushed, this can be done with a blender, but not so much that it turns out to be a complete mess, they should be at least a little felt. It’s better, of course, to just cut it with a knife.
4. In a salad bowl we put chicken cut into cubes, eggs in squares, capers from which we first drain the liquid and sprinkle everything on top with nuts.
5. Season the dish with a mixture of sour cream with vinegar, salt, pepper and other spices to your taste.

Unusual pasta with capers

A combination that will leave few people indifferent.

Required Products:

• 100 grams of tuna;
• 200 grams of tomato in juice;
• bulb;
• garlic clove;
• 0.3 kg pasta;
• two small spoons of capers;
• spices.

Cooking process:

1. Place chopped garlic and onion in a preheated frying pan and fry until beautifully colored.
2. Place the tomatoes there, turn on low heat and simmer for a few minutes.
3. Then add the indicated amount of tuna and capers there and hold for about five more minutes, without increasing the heat.
4. Separately, cook the pasta in a saucepan, place it on a dish and season with the prepared sauce.

Classic caper sauce

In addition to independent dishes, you can also prepare a delicious sauce from the buds.

Required Products:

• 2 spoons of capers;
• garlic clove;
• juice from half a lemon;
• mustard - two small spoons;
• mayonnaise 100 grams;
• fresh greens.

Cooking process:

1. Cut the capers into small pieces. We do the same with herbs and garlic.
2. Combine mustard with lemon juice, mayonnaise, mix until smooth.
3. Place all other products into this mixture and knead. This is the perfect sauce for meat.

Original pizza

Another dish in which capers perform particularly well is pizza. Be sure to try it.

Required Products:

• 0.4 kg pizza dough or ready-made base;
• a large spoon of capers;
• ketchup or tomato sauce for coating;
• 2 spoons of olives;
• 0.2 kg smoked sausage;
• three tomatoes;
• mozzarella or other cheese – 150 grams;
• Sweet pepper;
• canned corn - two tablespoons.

Cooking process:

1. First, prepare all the ingredients for the filling. We cut the sausage into thin strips, the pepper into slices, the tomato into slices, divide the olives in half, and grate the cheese on a coarse grater.
2. If you have dough, then you need to roll it out to a suitable size; if the base is already ready, then you can start coating it with ketchup or tomato sauce.
3. Place all the crushed ingredients for the filling on the dough, along with the washed capers and corn. The last ones should be the tomatoes, which are covered with cheese. If desired, you can also add herbs. Bake at 220 degrees for 12 minutes.
4. Wash the seeds, place in a jar, fill with marinade, cover with a lid, and store. They will be ready in three months.

Modern cooking gives a person ample opportunities to diversify his diet. You don't need to have ordinary skills to whip up a restaurant dish at home. The action plan is as follows: find an interesting recipe, write down all the necessary ingredients, go to the supermarket, return home and start creating culinary art. After all, now on the shelves of a grocery store you will find everything, even from the most intricate list of ingredients for a gourmet restaurant dish. But sometimes a Russian person is overcome by distrust of overseas cuisine. For example, if a “home chef” sees an unusual word in a recipe that is not familiar, then, most likely, the future “home cook” will start looking for a new recipe rather than getting to know the unknown ingredient better. This often happens with capers. But, in fact, this harmless ingredient does not pose any harm, much less danger. You just need to get to know these “mysterious” capers: what they are, and, in popular parlance, what they eat them with.

What are capers and what do they look like?

So, we answer the main question: capers are called unopened buds and fruits of the plant of the same name. This shrub comes from North Africa and Southern Europe, but is also found in our area: in the Crimea or the Caucasus. This plant has absolutely no special needs, because it grows even on a rocky surface.

They look like small elongated cabbage.

To some, capers resemble peas more. Others will see an unopened bud. Everyone sees differently.

Capers can be either small or large. As usual, their cost also depends on their size: the larger, the higher the price.

Fresh capers have a peculiar taste and are almost impossible to eat. That is why pickled or salted buds are more common, tart and piquant in taste, with sourness and bitterness. So, capers are simply created for connoisseurs of spices and heat.

What is made from capers?

Thanks to their unusual taste, which we described just above, capers have taken an important place in recipes in all cuisines of the world. It should be noted that their effect on the human body when eating is comparable to the effect produced by monosodium glutamate: the main products in the dish become more tasty.

TO what products are suitable capers?

• Meat dishes (lamb and beef are preferred) and poultry;
• Fish dishes;
• Cheeses such as mozzarella and feta;
• As a side dish, you should give preference to pasta and rice.

Pickled buds are great for salads (by the way, in the traditional “New Year’s” Olivier, instead of pickles, there should be capers) and for dishes that require spiciness.

Due to the unusual taste, kitchen experts advise add capers at the very end of cooking, almost before serving.

What can you replace capers with?

Nowadays, you can find these unusual salty buds in almost any supermarket. But they are the ones who most often “fall out” from the shopping list, because they are not the primary product. But if you do find a recipe that includes capers, but you don’t have them on hand, don’t be upset; perhaps you can find an alternative right at home. Let's look at some replacement options:

1. In a salad, they can be replaced with pickled gherkins, or, as a last resort, pickled cucumbers;
2. Olives or black olives are added to fish and meat dishes instead of capers;
3. When preparing sauces, it is recommended to replace it with finely chopped olives mixed with lemon juice.

There are other ways to replenish no capers, but do not forget that they give the dish a delicious, and at the same time, difficult-to-repeat taste.

Recipes using capers

Since, in essence, capers are more reminiscent additive or seasoning, then first of all you need to arm yourself with imagination. But before that, you need to try to cook at least the simplest dish with their participation. Let's give a few examples.

1. Salad with tuna: cut one onion into half rings, add crushed tuna pieces, a little grated cheese and torn arugula leaves. Toss the salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. Add capers at the end.
2. Pasta sauce: Fry the bell pepper into strips, adding finely chopped garlic. After frying, add basil leaves and capers to the mixture.
3. Zucchini and caper appetizer: Cut the zucchini into thin slices and fry in sunflower oil and salt. In a blender, combine capers, anchovies, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The mass should be homogeneous. If desired, you can also add parsley and basil to the sauce. Place the fried zucchini slices and top them with the resulting blender sauce.

Again, it's worth remembering: Capers are not the main ingredient, but they play a huge role in shaping the taste of the dish.

Capers: price per jar

Despite its outlandish name, the price for a jar of the delicacy is close to affordable. No wonder that the cost of the product depends on the manufacturer, quality, weight and place of sale.

• So, the company IBERIKA"offers to buy a jar of capers weighing 240 g for an average of 130 - 170 rubles, and 100 g - from 60 to 100 rubles.
• Pickled buds from the company " AKORSA"will cost an average of 120 - 150 rubles per jar weighing 240 grams.
• Manufacturer FRAGATA offers customers 235 grams of capers in a glass from 100 rubles.
• There are also elite options: for example, “ HAROM" suggests paying about 750 rubles for 100 grams of salted fruits, and 950 rubles for buds pickled in olive oil.

We can conclude that this is a standard situation in pricing. If you want to try capers, or need them as an ingredient, it's best to shop around several stores to find the best deal.

Capers and medicine

Being a plant caper benefits not only for cooking. There are many examples of its use as a remedy:

• Used to protect the cardiovascular system;
• Affects the strengthening of the immune system;
• Helps blood clot better;
• Removes toxins and waste from the body;
• All parts of caperberry can be used as an anesthetic and antiseptic.

What parts of capers should be used in medicinal purposes?

1. If a person headache necessary for this plant.
2. To return healthy appetite and good sleep You need to eat a couple of buds before eating.
3. When fighting fungal and skin diseases You need to grind the shoots with garlic.

As it became clear, this strange plant is useful not only in the kitchen, but also in treatment and for health.

In this article we talked about capers, what they are, how to prepare them. Now we can easily say that these plants, or rather their pickled buds, will make home cooking more refined and unique. And having learned the average price for this unusual product, you involuntarily want to have a jar in the refrigerator, just in case.

Video: how to prepare capers

In this video, Daria Malakhova will tell you what capers are and how to prepare them. Shows the recipe for the dish “Capers with minced meat”:

Capers are not eaten fresh; they have a bitter taste.

A plant with an interesting name, caperberry, blooms with delightful large white flowers. But if you pick the buds that have not yet blossomed, then know that there are capers in your palm. According to information from the botanical encyclopedia, the Latin name for caperberry is Capparis spinosa. The buds of the plant are small in size and greenish-brown in color. When canned, the color is preserved.

How do capers grow?

This creeping shrub with a high level of hardiness - not every flower will feel great on bare rocks, puts out long roots that allow it to break through the slightest cracks in the stones. After flowering, berries appear on the plant.

Where do capers grow?

The prickly caperberry came to all residential corners of the world from the northern part of Africa, first conquering southern Europe, and then mastering the Mediterranean countries, Asia, India, the Caucasus and the Crimean rocks. This spice also grows in North America.

Blooming caperberry flower

Nutritional composition, calorie content and ways to eat capers

To the delight of many people, capers are classified as low-calorie dietary products - only 15-23 kilocalories per 100 g! Unopened caper buds contain the lion's share of fiber, as well as vitamins B, A, C, E and organic acids, up to 3% fat, 25% protein, and microelements. The buds are used only in pickled or salted form. The fresh product is very bitter and not very pleasant to the taste.

What do capers eat with?

Even ancient cooks began to add pickled or salted buds to many dishes. Thanks to this proximity, the taste of many dishes significantly improves, as capers add notes of sharpness, piquancy and some sourness.

Judging by numerous recipes, capers perfectly complement fish dishes, solyanka, pizza, and are used as an independent dressing for salads. Italians prefer to add this spicy product to pasta and even martinis. And the well-known tartar sauce also has these buds in its recipe. But the best combination is caper buds with olives.

ADVICE!

It is better to add the buds before the dish is fully prepared, this way the vitamins and oils of the product are preserved.

Smell and taste of capers

It is interesting that capers have a similar taste to pickled cucumbers, but the difference is that the former do not crunch and have a pronounced piquant flavor. Tartness, pungency, saltiness are complemented by a certain spicy aroma.

Capers are loved in many countries

Although this product is very common today, it occupies a leading position in the kitchens of Mediterranean countries. Perhaps it is their inclusion in many recipes that attracts tourists to the cuisine of Italy and Greece.

Caperberry fruit

Capers: benefits and harm to the body

Before you decide whether you want to try dishes with pickled buds, let's figure out why capers are useful and whether they are harmful.

Caporians, as the Greeks call them, are considered a strong antioxidant and also a blood circulation improver. Eating dishes with caperberry buds improves the appearance of your skin and hair. The iodine, zinc and iron included in the product will help with a deficiency of these microelements in the body. But these are not all the beneficial properties of capers. Caperberry oil is included in products to protect against ultraviolet radiation and moisturize the skin.

ATTENTION!

Eating even a small amount of caper buds helps awaken your appetite.

Can Kaporians cause harm? They can, since the product is classified as an allergen. It is better to exclude it from recipes for pregnant and lactating women. People with stomach ulcers and gastritis should not be overzealous with pickled buds.

Foodies who enjoy eating anchovies, herring and capers together may notice increased blood pressure. This is facilitated by the overall high amount of salt in these products.

Choosing good varieties of capers

Gourmets divide this product into four types based on quality. The smallest smooth buds are recognized as the best, measuring 6 mm, maximum 7. As a rule, jars called Non pareil with such contents are the most expensive.

ADVICE!

The smallest bud balls contain the most vitamins.

Second place is held by Surfines. They are largest by a millimeter in diameter. But they already have differences in taste from the tiniest and most delicate ones. Fines - buds with a diameter of 1 cm. Jars with centimeter bonnets are already significantly inferior in price. The largest, about 1.5 cm, are called Grusas.

Various types of capers

What are capers in cooking?

The art of cooking is truly amazing, and capers added to certain dishes dramatically change their taste for the better. You definitely need to know some of the subtleties of using these wonderful dark green balls. For example, pickled caper buds are finely chopped for making sauces and salad dressings. Thus, their taste and aroma are fully revealed.

ADVICE!

When following a recipe, use a smaller amount of product the first time. Thus, familiarization with a new type of food will be more successful, given the possibility of allergies.

If the dish is cooked by heat, the flower buds should be added at the very end of cooking. This way you will preserve color, taste, and more vitamins. If you have a choice, then the best solution would be to add the caporets directly to the finished hot dish, 15 minutes before serving.

IMPORTANT NUANCE!

When preparing recipes containing capers, you should be careful when salting the dish.

What is made from capers

Where are capers added, since they cannot be a separate dish? Their addition to some products radically changes the recipe and perception of food.

An ideal addition to meat and fish dishes. Italians prepare stewed rabbit in a special way, always including sun-dried tomatoes, olives and capers in the recipe.

There are a lot of interesting salad recipes where you can add this healthy and piquant product, surprising your household with an unusual new taste.

What can you replace capers with?

Gourmets will say that they are irreplaceable. If you are not considered a connoisseur of caper dishes, then the most optimal replacement would be nasturtium seeds, although they, too, are most likely rare in Russian cuisine. Gherkins and green olives are similar in taste to capers.
But if it were possible to replace one product with another completely, then our article would not exist.

In some recipes, capers can be replaced with cucumbers.

Recipes with pickled capers

For the first acquaintance with a new product, it is better to opt for the low-calorie and protein-rich, most delicious, in our opinion, salad recipe with tuna and capers. To prepare it you need the following set of products:

• green salad leaves− half of the beam;
• tuna, canned food− 1 can, about 130 g;
• pickled capers− 20 g;
• salt− to taste;
• lemon juice, olive oil- 2 tbsp. spoons;
• medium sized cucumber;
• Parmesan cheese− 50 g.

The salad is prepared by analogy with Caesar. Place torn lettuce leaves, chopped cucumber and sprinkle with grated cheese, capers and tuna pieces on the bottom of the plate. Dress this healthy salad with olive oil mixed with lemon juice. Only after this do they stir, taste the salad and add salt.

There are many other recipes using pickled capers, try them and experience a touch of Mediterranean cuisine.

Growing capers in the country - is it possible?

Despite the unpretentiousness of the culture and the very inconvenient conditions for caper plants to grow in natural conditions, they are practically not common in our country. However, if you decide to plant such a plant in your country house, then choose a place close to a stone wall. This will provide some protection from the wind.

Caperberry puts out long roots, they can reach 15 m! Keep this in mind when planting, although the shrub itself takes a very long time to grow.

The plant is not afraid of heat; +40°C will not cause the caper plant to wither, but temperatures below zero can plague the Mediterranean guest. Therefore, areas where caperberry cultivation is possible should be arid and located as far south as possible. During the first years, the plant can feel great in a container and overwinter in an apartment. However, as it grows, you will have to plant the bush in the ground. The most painful issue will be wintering.

If you desperately want to try growing this southern crop, then it’s worth considering how you will cover and protect the shrub during frosty winters.

Where to buy capers

If you have made up your mind and don’t know where to buy capers, then we will answer: they are available in almost all large grocery chain stores on the canned food shelves. There are some choices: capers pickled in wine vinegar, canned, in salt, ready-made canned dish.

Price per jar of capers

The price range depends on factors such as bud size, manufacturer, marinade, supplier. The price range for a jar is quite large: from 70 to 500 rubles.

It's always worth exploring something new. Today you have received information about capers; perhaps you should try them and diversify your menu. We hope your feedback will help others decide whether to buy capers to eat or try to grow them themselves.

Fresh caper buds