Capers
Capers are the pickled or salt-cured flower buds of the caper bush, delivering a briny, tangy punch of flavor that defines many Mediterranean sauces and salads.
How to buy
Choose between brine-packed and salt-packed capers; salt-packed capers, often considered more flavorful, need a good rinse before use. Look for small nonpareil capers for delicate dishes and larger ones for heartier sauces, and check that the brine looks clear and the buds feel firm rather than mushy.
How to store
Refrigerate after opening regardless of which type you buy, keeping the capers submerged in their brine or salt. Brine-packed capers keep for many months refrigerated, and salt-packed ones last even longer if you replenish the salt; always rinse salt-packed capers thoroughly before using to remove excess salt.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Intensely briny, tangy, and faintly floral-grassy, with a sharp, almost olive-like punch. Salt-packed capers taste cleaner and more floral than brine-packed ones, which can read more vinegary.
- Texture
- Small, firm buds that pop slightly when bitten into; frying them briefly in hot oil makes them crisp up almost like crunchy little petals.
- Aroma
- A sharp, briny, faintly vinegary aroma; salt-packed capers smell cleaner and more floral once rinsed.
How to prepare
- Rinsed from brine or salt — Rinsed and patted dry before use to control how much saltiness they bring to a dish.
- Fried crisp — Quickly fried in hot oil until they pop open, used as a crunchy garnish.
- Chopped into sauces — Minced fine into tartar sauce, remoulade, or piccata sauce.
- Mixed whole into salads — Tossed directly into salads and pasta for bursts of brine throughout.
Classic dishes
American
- Bagel with lox and capers — A classic deli bagel topped with cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers.
- Lemon-caper butter sauce for fish — A quick pan sauce of butter, lemon, and capers served over seared fish.
Italian
- Chicken piccata — Thin chicken cutlets in a lemon-butter sauce studded with capers.
- Veal piccata — Veal scallops finished in a bright lemon and caper pan sauce.
- Pasta alla puttanesca — A pasta sauce built on tomatoes, olives, anchovies, and capers for a salty, tangy bite.
- Salsa verde — A chopped herb sauce brightened with capers, garlic, and anchovy.
- Caponata — A sweet-and-sour Sicilian eggplant relish that includes capers among its briny components.
- Vitello tonnato — Thin slices of veal topped with a tuna and caper sauce.
French
- Niçoise salad — A composed salad of tuna, eggs, olives, and vegetables finished with a scattering of capers.
- Sauce tartare — A creamy mayonnaise-based sauce studded with minced capers and pickles.
- Remoulade — A tangy mayonnaise-based sauce brightened with capers, mustard, and herbs.
- Raie au beurre noir — Skate fish served with a brown butter sauce finished with capers.
- Olive and caper tapenade — A chopped olive spread given extra brine and complexity from capers.
Mediterranean
- Mediterranean roasted fish with capers — Whole roasted fish finished with olive oil, olives, and a scattering of capers.
Greek
- Caper salad — A simple salad built around pickled caper buds, common in Cycladic island cooking.
Spanish
- Bacalao with capers — Salt-cured cod cooked with tomatoes, olives, and capers.