Roland Capote Capers / 3 oz.

About Capers:

Capers are hand-pickles made from the unopened flower buds of the Capparis spinosa shrub, which grows around the Mediterranean.  Never used fresh, capers are preserved either in salt, or in a salt/water/vinegar brine. You'll find them in Italian dishes like chicken piccata or spaghetti puttanesca, and in French dishes like salade Nicoise. They lend a salty, pungent and vinegary punch to dishes.

If you are purchasing capers in brine, they are ready to use, just rinse them gently before incorporating into recipes and dishes.  Many people swear that salt-cured dry capers have a better texture and flavor as, like any vegetable, preserving in brine makes vegetables soft and mushy.  For salt-cured capers, soak the capers in water briefly and then rinse, to make the capers less salty.   

Capers also vary in size, and generally, people seem to agree that the smaller the capers - the better.  The tiniest capers are Super NonPareille, "non-pareille" is French for "no equal", which are truly tiny, and about the size of a large black peppercorn. Next up in size are the non-pareilles, surfines, capucines, fines, and lastly, capotes the largest of capers.  Some people like the large capote capers for the visual impact and flavor punch they add to dishes.  You may find it convenient to chop large capers into smaller pieces.

Caperberries, quite large and usually complete with a stem, are not true capers, although they come from the same plant, as they are formed when the buds are allowed to open and set fruit. They are often used as part of an antipasti platter, in Sicilian or North African dishes, or as a cocktail garnish.