Kathy Conner Cornell
VCE Southside Master Gardener
Recently, my husband I went on a cruise. One of the great things about cruising is
getting to have bagels and lox (smoked salmon) any morning I want. This treat is served with capers. I thought capers might be the seed of a plant
like coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. I was completely wrong.
Capers are
young unopened flower buds of the caper bush, Capparis spinosa. What surprised me is that I think
of flower buds as ovate and pointy.
Capers are perfectly round, very unique.
According to Wisconsin Extension, “when ready to pick, the
immature flower buds are a dark, olive green and about the size of a fresh
kernel of corn. Because they’re small and delicate, they have to be harvested
individually by hand, instead of by machine, each morning just as they reach
the proper size; this labor is what makes them so expensive. The buds are dried
in the sun, then brined or packed in salt, or pickled in a salt and vinegar
solution. Intense flavor is developed as mustard oil (glucocapparin) is
released from each bud”. I do gasp when
I go to the grocery store and see the bottle the size of a quarter and about 5”
high and they cost around $6. But it is
that hand harvesting that raises the cost.
The caper
bush appears to be a very attractive plant.
It is evergreen although the leaves will fall off in northern extremes
of its range, zone 8. The plant will die
if the temperatures get colder than 18 deg F. It grows freely in what we would consider
hostile growing conditions in sandy or gravelly soils, rocky hillsides, cliffs,
stone walls and rock crevices in Mediterranean coastal regions, southwestern
Asia, the Pacific islands and Australia.
It can sometimes be found growing in sidewalk cracks. Most of the cultivated buds come from
southern Spain, France, Italy and Algeria.
Caper usage goes back at least 2500 years.
The flowers
of the caper bush are white petaled with pale purple stamens, Like daylilies, flowers only last one day but
the bush blooms profusely from May to early fall. After flowering, edible fruits known as
caperberries appear. These are also
pickled and eaten. The plant is rarely
grown in United States gardens even in the dry west where conditions are
favorable. However, Wisconsin Extension
says it can be useful as a potted plant, kept outside during the season and
brought inside for the winter. Since it
doesn’t like a lot of water, only giving a drink every other week is sufficient
and even less in the winter. What is not
to love!
If you are
considering trying this unique plant, it is important to note that it has
spines. There is one cultivar, C. spinosa var. inermis that is
thornless. Plant in a good sized
container in sand with good drainage. The
plant can get 3’ high and sometimes twice as wide. Provide good light, the caper bush will not
grow in shade. Be sparing with the water and hold the fertilizer. It is best to purchase a plant, hardwood or
softwood cuttings are not generally successful.
However, seeds can be an alternative.
Culinary
wise, capers are useful in salads, Italian dishes and scrambled eggs. One
tablespoon of capers will provide all of 2 calories. However, they are high in sodium so limit use. Capers also provide Vitamins A
and E, manganese, niacin and calcium. The smaller the capers, the tastier. The smallest are called nonpareils. Now I knew this term as a tasty chocolate
treat with tiny sprinkles. The larger
the capers the less tasty they become.
Have to
admit, after researching this plant, it makes me want to have one. Not planning to pickle my own capers but it
was fun learning about the capers. I am
sure I will enjoy capers even more the next time I get to have smoked salmon. Master Gardeners are ready to answer your
gardening questions by calling the Help Desk at 434-830-3383 or sending an
email to ask@ssmga.org. Hope to see you
at our 2026 Master Gardener class.
