Have you ever wondered what a caper is??
A caper is the bud of a bush that is called a Capparis Spinosa AKA a caper bush also known as flinders rose. The buds are then salted and after a certain amount of time gently washed and pickled with vinegar.
The best capers though are just sea salted. You can also get smaller capers which are generally more expensive but for other reason then they are harder to gather or forage.
Pickled or sea salted capers go well with pretty much everything. Meat, fish or salads. They are also used to enhance the flavours of other dishes such as caponata which is a zesty aubergine dish (which origins are a mystery but believed to be connected to the caper) and one on my personal favourites pepperonata which is a vegetarian dish but can be served with so many different dishes.
The capers we get from the islands between Italy and Africa are the best because of climate and the islands that have volcanic minerals are the best of all. Here are some photos of where they come from and some photos of what you can do with them
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