If you are an experienced culinary specialist, you most likely heard this name, if not, then the information provided will fully answer the question: what are capers?

Capers - what are they, how do they look, and what do they taste like?

Caper is not a fruit or vegetable, it is a plant. Shrub on which these small, unblown buds grow. What do capers look like? They are green in color with petals that are just starting to develop.

The buds are picked by hand, fresh they are inedible, therefore they are canned, pickled and used as a food additive.

They are very salty, they contain a lot of sodium, so they must be soaked before use.

Their taste is bright, spicy, slightly tart and sour. There is also a taste of mustard, as there is mustard oil in the stems.

How and where capers grow - an excursion to botany

How do capers grow? This is a small spiny shrub with long branches that spreads. He has very beautiful flowers. And he lives mainly in the cracks of walls or between stones.

There was a plant from Asia and the Mediterranean, and the main suppliers of capers are Italy, the Balkans, Italy, North Africa. It grows wild in Ukraine, in Central Asia and in the Caucasus.

What are capers in cooking?

Pure capers are not consumed. They are a seasoning or food supplement. Due to the pronounced taste, they saturate the dish, making it more vivid.

They are added to meat, fish and vegetable dishes.But not in whole form, but cut into small pieces or grinding them. This is done to mitigate a very sharp taste. It is recommended to put them when the dish is almost ready, since during the heat treatment the plant loses its properties.

If you like spicy dishes, you can make sandwiches with capers, bake pies and even desserts. They are an indispensable component of the Georgian hodgepodge.

An ideal combination is capers with anchovy or herring. In harmony with ground black pepper, fresh tomatoes and cheese.

The benefits of capers for the human body

The benefits of capers for the human body are quite large, because they are antioxidants, so it is recommended to include them more often in the diet.

  1. In addition, they contain many vitamins, phytonutrients, which have a beneficial effect on the immune system.
  2. Included in the routine strengthens the capillaries, prevents the formation of blood clots, improves blood circulation. Sometimes they are used for varicose veins and hemorrhoids.
  3. Niacin can reduce bad cholesterol, and quercetin has an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial effect.
  4. They are also used to eliminate flatulence, heaviness in the abdomen, and stimulate appetite.
  5. Capers treat burns, eliminate bleeding and kidney disease.

Popular recipes with capers

Of course, for how many years this plant has been growing, a lot of dishes have already been invented, but among them there are the most popular and delicious ones that you need to try at least once.

Pickled capers at home

The easiest cooking option for this plant.

Required Products:

  • a spoon of salt;
  • one onion;
  • 500 grams of fresh capers;
  • half a lemon;
  • two cloves of garlic;
  • vinegar - 0.3 liters;
  • two dried cloves;
  • a few peas of black pepper.

Cooking process:

  1. Sort out the buds well, there should be no spoiled ones among them, rinse and leave to dry so that the excess liquid is gone.
  2. Finely chop the onion and garlic, turn the lemon into slices and send these ingredients to the pan. Pour vinegar, all the spices and salt there.
  3. This mass, constantly stirring, bring to a boil, but only over medium heat, and then remove and wait until it cools.
  4. We place capers in a sterilized jar, so that they are almost to the neck, pour in the prepared brine, close the lids and leave for 2-4 weeks, after which they are ready for use in other dishes.

Solyanka

Solyanka with capers is a dish that came from Georgia. If we used to cook it with pickles, then there, and in the countries of Europe, they are completely replaced by green buds.

Required Products:

  • 0.4 kg of various smoked meats;
  • salt, pepper and other spices;
  • a spoonful of sugar;
  • half a kilogram of beef;
  • onion and carrot;
  • Bell pepper;
  • three tomatoes;
  • 200 grams of capers and as many olives;
  • four potatoes.

Cooking process:

  1. From the specified amount of meat, you need to cook the broth, get it, cut into small pieces and return it back to the pan.
  2. Put potatoes chopped into squares there, continue to cook.
  3. Fry chopped onions, grated carrots and capers in a hot pan until soft.
  4. Add there, peeled and mashed tomatoes, a small spoonful of sugar, leave to simmer for about 10 minutes.
  5. The resulting mixture is sent to the broth, and in a pan we fry the smoked and cut into small squares smoked.
  6. We also put them in a pan and put chopped pepper in the same place.
  7. It remains to put the olives, they can be dipped in the dish whole or by dividing into parts. Add spices to your taste, you can cut a little greens.
  8. Wait for the boil, remove from the stove and let stand for about 30 minutes, after which you can serve.

Delicious Salad Recipe

Salad with capers is a very unusual dish, but it is due to these buds that the taste is spicy, refined.

Required Products:

  • 2 eggs;
  • walnuts - two tablespoons.
  • 0.3 kg of chicken;
  • two tablespoons of sour cream;
  • seasonings and spices;
  • a spoon of vinegar;
  • 2 large spoons of capers.

Cooking process:

  1. Put the fillet in a pan with water, bring to a boil and boil, do not forget to season with spices. We get out and wait until it cools down.
  2. Eggs also need to be brought to readiness, they must be hard boiled.
  3. Nuts need to be chopped, this can be done with a blender, but not so that it is completely porridge, they should be felt at least a little. Better of course just cut with a knife.
  4. In a salad bowl we put the chicken into cubes, eggs in squares, capers from which we pre-drain the liquid and sprinkle everything on top with nuts.
  5. We season the dish with a mixture of sour cream with vinegar, salt, pepper and other spices to your taste.

Unusual pasta with capers

A combination that few will leave indifferent.

Required Products:

  • 100 grams of tuna;
  • 200 grams of tomato in juice;
  • bulb;
  • clove of garlic;
  • 0.3 kg of paste;
  • two small spoons of capers;
  • spice.

Cooking process:

  1. Sliced ​​garlic and onions are sent to the preheated pan, fry until beautiful.
  2. Put tomatoes there, turn on a low heat and simmer for several minutes.
  3. Then put the indicated amount of tuna and capers there, hold for another five minutes, without increasing the heating force.
  4. Separately, cook the pasta in a saucepan, put it on a dish and season with cooked sauce.

Classic caper sauce

In addition to independent dishes from buds, you can cook a delicious sauce.

Required Products:

  • 2 tablespoons of capers;
  • clove of garlic;
  • juice from half a lemon;
  • mustard - two small spoons;
  • mayonnaise 100 grams;
  • fresh greens.

Cooking process:

  1. Capers cut into small pieces. We also do with herbs and garlic.
  2. Combine mustard with lemon juice, mayonnaise, mix until smooth.
  3. We spread all the other products into this mixture, knead. This is an ideal meat sauce.

Original pizza

Another dish in which capers perform especially well is pizza. Be sure to try cooking.

Required Products:

  • 0.4 kg of pizza dough or ready-made base;
  • a large spoon of capers;
  • ketchup or tomato sauce for spreading;
  • 2 tablespoons of olives;
  • 0.2 kg of smoked sausage;
  • three tomatoes;
  • mozzarella or other cheese - 150 grams;
  • Sweet pepper;
  • canned corn - two tablespoons.

Cooking process:

  1. First, prepare all the ingredients for the filling. Cut the sausage into thin strips, pepper slices, tomato into slices, divide the olives in half, and grate the cheese on a coarse grater.
  2. If you have dough, then you need to roll it into a suitable size, if the base is already ready, then you can start to coat with ketchup or tomato sauce.
  3. On the dough we put all the crushed ingredients for the filling, along with the washed capers and corn. Last should be the tomatoes, which are covered with cheese. Optionally, you can add greens. Bake at 220 degrees for 12 minutes.

How to replace capers, several alternatives

If you can’t find green buds on sale, but really want to cook something with them, then you can try replacing them with something else. For example, olives or salted gherkins are considered a classic substitute.

Caper of Nasturtium

Required Products:

  • 0.1 kg of nasturtium seeds;
  • five peas of black pepper;
  • salt to taste;
  • 0.2 liters of white wine vinegar.

Cooking process:

  1. Make crushed pepper, vinegar and salt marinade, mix all the ingredients and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.
  2. Rinse the seeds, place in a jar, fill with marinade, cover with a lid, put in storage. They will be ready in three months.

How to make dandelions?

Required Products:

  • three glasses of dandelion buds;
  • a spoonful of sugar;
  • two dry cloves;
  • three peas of pepper;
  • litere of water;
  • 2 large spoons of salt;
  • 0.1 liters of vinegar.

Cooking process:

  1. We hold the dandelion buds for two minutes in boiling water, then we douse them in cold and cool.
  2. We fill the cans very tightly, almost to the very top.
  3. Put all spices, sugar, salt and boil for a couple of minutes in the indicated amount of water. Cool a little, pour vinegar.
  4. Pour the buds with the resulting marinade, close the jars with sterilized lids.

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