Capers
Their true identity might surprise you, as capers are preserved flower buds.
It’s likely you’ve spooned salty, shrivelled olive-green capers out of a jar to add to tartar sauce, garnish salmon or a pizza or to spice up a salad, and never wondered what they were. Their true identity might surprise you, as capers are preserved flower buds.
They are the buds of an attractive, white-flowered shrub called
capparis or caper bush and are harvested in spring or early summer before the flowers open.
If the buds are not picked and pickled, the flowers open as large,
white blooms with a mass of violet-purple stamens in their centre.
These flowers go on to produce swollen, slightly ribbed green
fruit called caperberries, which are also harvested and preserved. Caperberries are generally larger than capers and pickled with a piece of stem attached. When you bite into a caperberry you’ll encounter small seeds, whereas capers are soft.
Other capers
Caper bush (Capparis spinosa) is native to the Mediterranean region but also found in surrounding countries including parts of Africa. There are also Capparis species found in Australia, including C. arborea, known as bush caperberry, and C. mitchellii, the native orange.
Caper white butterfly
These white and black butterflies (Balanois java) with distinctive orange and yellow spots under their wings are sometimes seen in large numbers across parts of eastern Australia. The caper white is a native butterfly whose caterpillars feed on the native orange (Capparis. mitchellii), which generally grows west of the Great Dividing Range in parts of New South Wales and Queensland. In late spring and summer, the butterflies migrate and may be blown off track as westerly winds push them over mountains towards the coast. As the larvae (young caterpillars) only feed on caper plants, they don’t harm other plants.
The fruit of the bush caperberry is edible and usually harvested in
autumn when it’s about 25mm across. It forms a tree to about 8m
high that grows naturally in rainforest areas along the east coast, but can be grown in most frost-free gardens.
The native orange, also a small tree growing to around 6m tall, is
found in semi-arid regions. It has green fruit that ripens to orange, is edible and is high in vitamin C. Its common name of native orange, however, comes not from its fruit but its fragrant white flowers, which resemble orange blossom.
Tough customers
While capers can be grown in most areas, they are well suited to
regions with tough growing conditions and long, hot summers. The
plants are well adapted to poor soils that may be stony or depleted of nourishment and can also grow in exposed areas near the coast.
Natural adaptations help capers grow in harsh conditions. In the wild they grow with soil mycorrhizae that help in the uptake of
nutrients from the soil. They also have an association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Commercial caper production occurs in the arid areas of Spain,
Morocco and Turkey and also on some of Italy’s Mediterranean
islands. Plants tend to be long lived and may be still productive after 25 years or more of harvesting.
The plant has adapted to harsh growing conditions by producing
a large root system. In the wild it staves off browsing animals with
thorns at the base of its tough leaves.
Get growing
Caper plants can be grown from seed or semi-hard cuttings taken
in summer. Potted plants are available from some garden centres or from mail-order suppliers to give a head start, as seed and cutting-grown plants may not flower until their second year of growth.
Position plants in a well-drained, sunny position with at least
1–2m for its branches to spread. Water plants well until they become established and are then able to cope with dry conditions.
Small shrubs are not frost-hardy and need winter protection.
Established plants are better able to cope with occasional frost.
Harvest, storage & preserving
To gather capers, pick the buds while they are small and pickle in
salt or in salt and vinegar brine. Small, salted capers are considered to be the most desirable caper. The leaves and fruit can also be pickled and eaten.
Pan-Fried John Dory with Caponata
Serves: 4
3 tbsp ghee
1 red onion, chopped
½ fennel bulb, chopped
1 small eggplant, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 tbsp tomato paste
50g capers
50g raisins, soaked in 50mL red-wine vinegar for 1 hour & drained
25g pine nuts, toasted
½ red capsicum, finely chopped
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 John Dory fillets
Sauce
100mL tamari soy sauce
Juice & zest 2 oranges
1 tbsp honey
1 red chilli, finely chopped
- For the caponata, heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the onion, fennel, eggplant and celery for 5 mins until softened. Add the tomato paste and fry for another 2 mins.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and place in a bowl. Add the capers, raisins, pine nuts, capsicum, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix together until well combined.
- Heat the remaining ghee in a sauté pan and place the dory skin side down in the hot pan. Fry over a medium heat for 2–3 mins on each side. Remove from heat and set aside.
- For the sauce, place all ingredients in a pan. Stir over a low heat until warmed through.
- To serve, divide the caponata between 4 plates. Place a piece of dory on each and cover with caponata sauce
