Capers for Snacking: tips, tricks and recipes from professionals to perfectly master their use and how to incorporate them for your creations.
Capers are versatile and tasty ingredients. Their pungent, slightly lemony flavor can enhance many types of specialties.
What are capers?
Capers are the unopened flower buds of the caper tree, a shrub native to Mediterranean regions. They are usually marinated in vinegar or salt, which gives them their characteristic taste.
There are several types of capers, the most common being “non-alike” capers. BROVER offers classic capers, with salt, capers from the nasturtium flower, which produces slightly larger buds, and capers, which are the developed fruit of the caper tree, which are larger and with a tail.
Capers to season
Salted capers and nasturtium capers add a salty, acidic touch to salads, pairing well with greens, tomatoes, and potatoes.
They are a key ingredient in sauces such as tartar sauce, ravigote sauce or in a beurre blanc sauce for fish. Capers can be incorporated into tapenade, a mixture of olives, anchovies and capers, or pestos to add an extra dimension to the taste profile
Capers to accompany
They are often used in meat dishes such as veal (for example, “veal à la pizzaiola” or “veal piccata”) to add a spicy note.
Capers are particularly popular in fish dishes, such as the recipe for grilled salmon with capers and lemon.
Capers as a topping
Make your own tapenade of olives, green or black, by blending them with garlic, capers, olive oil and herbs.
Stuff green olives with goat cheese or almonds for a delicious snack
Whip olives, cherry tomatoes and cheese cubes onto skewers for a simple and elegant appetizer. Capers, with their beautiful appearance, whole and with tail, are ideal for decorating salads, verrins, delicatessen bites.
Capers can be used to add flavour to sandwiches, wraps, or bagels, especially those topped with smoked salmon or chicken.
On a pizza, capers provide an interesting contrast with milder ingredients, such as cheeses, cured ham and anchovies.
A few tips to finish
Capers have a very strong flavor. It is important to use them sparingly so as not to overpower the other ingredients, especially in subtle dishes such as white fish.
If you use capers preserved in salt, remember to rinse them before use to avoid excess salinity in your dishes.
Marinated capers can be stored for a long time in the refrigerator after opening, making them a convenient ingredient for professional kitchens where inventory management is crucial.
Feel free to experiment with capers in unexpected dishes. Their unique flavor may surprise but often seduces!
