Whenever I find myself in a previously un-visited Supermarket, Grocers', or Deli, there are certain aisles that I always visit.
The Charcuterie counter is always first to be inspected, then the canned fish dep't, then the place where you find Gherkins and Olives etc.
I really do try not to eat too much Charcuterie, but I am easily swayed by the sight of a new sexy looking Chorizo or Paté. As for the canned fish, I just adore tins of Squid, Octopus, Mussels, Anchovies, etc.
When it comes to Capers, if I find a new type, or brand, I'll always buy them. Some are just wonderful; others plain dull.
The ones on the right with the stems (above) are 'Fleurs de Capres'; picked just before it flowers, they are first dried then re-hydrated before being preserved in either vinegar or olive oil. The process is lengthy, and they are therefore quite expensive. The two other jars are the seeds left behind after flowering.
A year or so ago, when Wills and Kellogg returned to Australia, they left behind a half empty jar of Capers in their fridge. They were probably the most delicious I have yet tasted. Unfortunately I can't find them anywhere. I'm ashamed to say that I ate them by the spoonful; they were that good.
Capers always go into my simple meat/tomato sauces for Pasta, onto fried Pork chops, and into salads.
It's worth looking-out for new types; you may surprise yourself.
28 comments:
How interesting to see the flowering capers; I've never come across these in South Africa. Before I gave up eating anything- with-a-face, I simply LOVED canned tuna!
I love capers but we only eat them in salads. The young leaves are preserved too and they are delicious. Here the best I've tasted came from the island of Naxos. Your almost-flowers sound gourmet, very French.
I'm not too keen on capers so rarely have them in the house. But Paul loves gherkins so I just use them as a substitute if a recipe calls for capers.
I love capers as well, but not by the spoonful :) I like them in grilled eggplants, grilled yellow-green-red peppers, "vitello tonnato" (I don't know the English name for it), salads etc
You can also make capers from dandelion flower buds - of course, not the same but just as good.
Greetings Maria x
the capres are growing here wild, sometimes i pick them,also the olive tree near my door, i do nothing with it and just buy olives when ever i need them.
I love canned Tuna too, but it has to be in Olive oil.
I'm surprised you don't have Fleurs de Capres in Greece, they're very popular in Italy.
You might like the Fleurs de Capres; they have a similar taste but more refined.
In the UK we used to make them from Nasturtium seeds. Again, similar, but not as good.
We have a small Olive tree, and I was thinking just yesterday of doing something with all the Olives. Maybe next year.
I love capers too Cro and throw them into everything. But I hadn't realised there were different types - I shall look out in future. I never look in the supermarket, always buy from our local deli.
What a caper, hey.
Our Supermarket IS the local Deli.
Hey, indeed!
Rachel, I went to look up the meaning of the sentence; hey, another new way of sayings I've learnt! :)
X
As I have no idea what a caper berry is I turned to Cro's use of the double meaning of the word in his heading Maria.x
I too like capers ..... I think that my favourites are the ones in salt rather than vinegar( although, I like those as well !! )
.... and, as much as I love fresh squid, anchovies and octopus, some of the tinned ones are delicious ..... just a different experience. XXXX
Two words.... CAPER BUTTER!
grind them up add a stick of butter use on toast=yum!
We should dine together some time.
That sounds excellent; almost as good as Capers on buttered toast.
Wouldn't that be lovely Cro ? That's the only trouble with blogging ..... everyone is so spread out and far away. XXXX
My brother, who loves cooking and baking, is also a fan of capers. I'm thinking I don't use them enough and have put them on my shopping list.
Thanks also to the earlier commenters for additional ideas.
I can't imagine not having a jar or two in my cupboard.
By the spoonful sounds an intense way of eating them. On whores pasta they are amazing but I don't use them with much else. Maybe I should experiment more and with other brands.
I love capers and at AJ's market the import section is lovely. The also have the bigger capers on stems, they are just the best.
cheers, parsnip
Try throwing a few in with some fried Pork chops. Just before serving, add some butter and a few Capers; lovely.
The big ones on stems (Fleurs de Capres) are not always available here. When I see them, I always buy several jars.
Oddly I came across caperberries in an Itallian tratoria and delicatessen in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago. I had not realised before that capers were the seeds left after flowering. Like you I use them a great deal in my cooking although I cannot imagine eating a spoonful of them.
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