How Do Tiny Capers Pack Such a Big Flavor Punch?

Capers are the flower buds of a spiny shrub, and though they have a lot of flavor on their own, they're often amped up by being pickled or packed in salt. Learn more about capers and how to cook with them in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://recipes.howstuffworks.com/capers.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain
Stuff Lauren Vogel Bomb here. They may be small, but
capers path a big punch when it comes to flavor. Capers,
which are commonly found in Mediterranean dishes, are actually just
immature flower buds that are pickled or preserved in salt.

(00:25):
The buds can add a sharp burst of flavor, a bitter, peppery, floral,
lemony tang to everything from salads and smoked salmon to
pasta and chicken pecada. They may be the cherry on
top of classic Mediterranean dishes, but preserved capers need a
little care and know how to use well. Today, let's

(00:46):
talk about how to cook with capers at home, plus
a little science and history on this tiny flavorful flower bud. Okay.
Capers are yes immature flower buds of the caper bush
uncle named Caparus spinosa. This is a scrambly, thorny sort
of evergreen shrub that only grows about three feet or

(01:08):
a meter tall, but spreads out a lot. It's a
rocky cliff crevice sort of shrub and commonly grows along
the Mediterranean Sea and in other temperate seaside climates. Straight
through Central Asia. If you let caper buds bloom and
grow fruit, they'll develop what's called caper berry. These are

(01:28):
also picked early, when they're green and unripe and about
the size of an olive. They taste less peppery than
capers and are also often pickled. The scientists aren't sure
where capers originated, possibly West Asia, but there's archaeological evidence
that people might have been eating capers as long as
seventeen thousand years ago in what's now Egypt. There's also

(01:52):
evidence from five thousand, eight hundred BCE in Mesopotamia and
two thousand, eight hundred BCE in ancient China. They're in
the Caparassier family, which means their cousins to the brassicasier plants.
You know, mustards, turnips, broccoli, stuff like that. That's why
these foods all share a bit of a peppery kick.

(02:13):
Ancient Greek physician and botanist Diascorides and ancient Roman scholar
Pliny the Elder both made note of caper products in
their records. Like us, both Greeks and Romans used capers
as a condiment on all kinds of savory dishes. Caper
buds are harvested when they're wee green nubs that haven't
bloomed yet, about the size of a pea fresh off

(02:35):
the plant. Capers are super bitter and don't last very long,
so to preserve them and mellow them out a bit,
they're usually salted, either dry or in a wet brine
that is pickled. When pickled, that'll add to their flavor
a heavy punch of saltiness and sourness from whatever combination
of brine, wine, and or vinegar used. When packed dry

(02:58):
in salt, you wind up with a less tag product
that allows more floral notes to come through. For the article,
this episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke via
email with Natalie Dom, a Michigan based chef. She suggests
a quick and easy protocol for unpacking and preparing capers
before cooking with them. Quote. If you're using capers from

(03:19):
a brine, you can just drain them and add them
to a dish as is. If you're using dry salted capers,
they need to be soaked and rinsed a couple of times,
otherwise the salt is overpowering. Dom explained that she uses
capers most frequently in sauces, dressings, and salads. She said,
I love the saltiness from their brine and almost a

(03:41):
little acidity that they bring to dishes. They add a
sort of brightness to dishes. They compliment lemon and even
sweeter things like golden raisins and dried apricots. As products
of the Mediterranean, it makes sense that now classic Italian
or Italian American dishes like pacata putnesca, scallapina al lamone,

(04:01):
and caesar salad incorporate capers. But other classic caper inclusive
dishes like smoked salmon spread and beef tartar are obviously
hits as well, and you can take inspiration from that spectrum.
Capers are great for cutting rich, fatty flavors and for
amping up fresh herbal or citrusy flavors too. And by

(04:23):
the way, they're really good If you pan fry them,
their petals get all crisp. Just press them dry first. However,
you use capers, go easy on them, especially if you're
cooking with them for the first time. A little goes
a long way. Capers and their brine can both easily
overwhelm delicate dishes. Some recipes even call for rinsing brined

(04:44):
capers to soften that bite. And however you use them,
you probably want to add them towards the end of
cooking so that they maintain their texture and don't lose
too much of their flavor bomb flare to the rest
of the sauce. Even if you enjoy going overboard on capers,
you probably aren't eating enough to have a real nutritional impact. However,

(05:07):
they do pack in a lot of flavor for very
few calories, and they contain a little fiber and a
great spread of micronutrients. You know, your vitamins and minerals,
compounds that can work as antioxidants in your body. Stuff
like that. Capers and their extracts are currently being investigated
for potential heart and brain positive effects. Though nutrition is
really complicated and we don't understand how it works very well,

(05:30):
so don't start popping them like tic tax for your health. Also,
they can contain a lot of sodium from being preserved
in salt, so watch out for that if that's a
thing that you watch out for. Capers are also currently
an investigation for another use as an erosion preventor and
food source in areas experiencing drought due to climate change.

(05:52):
Because the shrubs are hardy and scrambling. Their roots help
lock in soil and can keep growing when other plants can't.
Today's episode is based on the article Tiny Capers Paca,
Big Flavorful Punch on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Stephanie Vermillion.
Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how

(06:15):
Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four
more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
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