A Culinary Caper

     Over the weekend I planted some recently purchased herbs in my porch pots.  Soon I will enjoy their use in a variety of different food preparations.  Parsley, oregano, chives, cilantro, and thyme will be a delight to the palate.
     But little did I know that when I bought a jar of preserved capers yesterday at the grocery store I was also adding to my list of essential herbs.  Capers look like little peppercorns but I never really knew what they actually were.  They are the unopened flower buds of a Mediterranean bush, Capparis spinosa, which have been gathered from the wild.  This process has gone on for thousands of years, according to Harold McGee, author of On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.  Capers were even used by spice merchants as an informal currency, as was salt.

     The caper bush is distantly related to the cabbage family as is evident by its pungent sulfur compounds.  They dominate the raw flower bud which grows in parts of Europe where the bush flourishes in the nutrient-poor soil of the Middle East.  It has even been seen growing up between the cracks of the sidewalk and in the broken asphalt of roadways.  But by the time it reaches the Americas this tender immature flower bud has been preserved in one of several ways: in brine, in vinegar, or dry salted.  It is used as a sour-salty accent in foods and sauces, especially fish.  One taste tester commented that capers have the same burst of flavor as Dijon mustard.  And that makes sense since both the caper and mustard are related to the cabbage.

     I have a new found herb to add to those growing outside.  Now to experiment with some recipes that call for capers and to appreciate their distinct flavor and qualities.