What Are Capers? This Small But Mighty Ingredient Can Transform Your Cooking

Despite their small size, capers are some of the most flavorful ingredients you can have in the kitchen. They're briny, salty, and delightfully tangy, making them excellent for enhancing myriad dishes (particularly those of Italian origin). But what is a caper, exactly—and where does it come from? We asked professional chefs to explain everything you need to know about capers, including the different types you can buy and the best ways to use capers in recipes.

What Is a Caper?

A caper is the preserved, unopened flower bud of the caper bush, a plant related to the cabbage family. As the bush thrives in the Mediterranean, capers are staple ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine, particularly Sicilian and southern Italian dishes, according to the experts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Due to their small size, capers are harvested by hand, which explains their high price tag. They have a plump, teardrop shape and dark green color that can add dimension to a variety of dishes.

What Do Capers Taste Like?

"Capers have the salty floral taste of olives, but with more tart and herbal notes and less
oiliness," explains Ann Ziata, chef at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. They work well with seafood, which is an excellent partner for briny flavors. However, capers can also be used to heighten and contrast dishes with richness and tartness, according to Ziata.

Types of Capers

Capers are categorized by their size, with larger varieties offering a stronger, more acidic flavor, says Branden J. Lewis, EdD, CEC, chef and professor the College of Food Innovation & Technology and Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

These varieties include:

• Lilliput: At 3 to 5 millimeters, lilliput capers are very small. They're difficult to find, but worth seeking out for their intense flavor, says Ziata. 
• Nonpareil: The most popular variety in the US, nonpareils range between 5 to 7 millimeters.
• Surfine: "Surfine capers are small, but slightly larger than nonpareils at 7 to 8 millimeters," says Ziata.   
• Capucines: This variety is more peppery and mustard-forward compared to other types of capers, says Jesus Arevalo, executive chef at Sogno, an Italian restaurant in Boston. They're about 8 to 9 millimeters.      
• Capotes: Capote capers are 9 to 11 millimeters.
• Fine: Between 11 to 14 millimeters in size, fine capers are quite large.
• Grusas: Grusas capers are 14 millimeters or bigger. You can typically find them in specialty supermarkets.

If you're unsure which type to use, consider your desired texture and flavor. Small capers, which offer a small dose of crunch and brightness, are best used as garnishes. Larger capers are ideal for stews and sauces, where they'll provide a strong splash of flavor. They're also the top choice if you want to chop, pulverize, puree, or powder capers, according to Lewis.

How to Buy Capers

Capers are eaten preserved, rather than fresh. Here's how the tangy ingredient is usually preserved and sold.

Pickled

To make pickled or salted capers, manufacturers layer the capers with salt in closed containers to draw out moisture, says Arevalo. Next, they place the capers in a pickling liquid made of water and vinegar to infuse additional flavor and begin preservation, he says.

How to Use: Pickled capers should be drained, but not rinsed, before they're added to dishes, says Ziata.

Brined

Brined capers involve a similar preparation to pickled capers. However, the preservation liquid
typically contains less vinegar, so they're less acidic and more salt-forward, says Arevalo. "They're perfect for when you want [to add] a touch of saltiness to a dish," he adds.

How to Use: Although you can technically use brined capers out of the jar, it's recommended to rinse them to prevent excess saltiness. To do so, simply "drain the capers into a fine-mesh sieve and rinse with cold water," says Ziata.

Oil-Packed

Oil-packed capers are preserved in oil instead of vinegar or salt water, says Arevalo. "This adds a level of fattiness to them that helps balance out the salty and acidic more present in the other two types of caper." Oil-packed capers can be tricky to find but may be sold at specialty grocery stores.

How to Use: You can use oil-packed capers straight out of the jar.

Dried

Dehydrated capers are available freeze-dried, sun-dried, and sealed in salt without brine, says Lewis. Look for them online or at gourmet grocers, as they're typically not sold at standard supermarkets.

How to Use: Dried capers can be used straight out of the bag as a garnish or recipe ingredient. You can also crush them to create a powder.

Caper Berries and Caper Leaves

While shopping for capers, you might come across caper berries and caper leaves. These
products are related to capers but differ in appearance and best uses.

• Caper berries: Whereas capers are the unopened buds the caper bush, caper berries are the bloomed (opened) mature buds. "Caper berries are larger, with a milder flavor and softer texture," says Ziata. They're "fantastic in antipasti platers and make great substitutes for green olives in recipes and cocktails," she adds. 
• Caper leaves: Caper leaves are the leaves of the caper bush. They're brined like capers, so they taste similar, says Lewis. "They can be used wherever capers are [used], but due to their attractive shape and thin profile, they're often favored as a bright garnish," explains Lewis. They pair especially well with seafood due to their briny taste.

How to Eat Capers

With a jar of capers in your kitchen, elevating your recipes will be easy. Here are some of the best ways to eat capers, according to professional chefs.

• Add capers to sauce: Capers are key components in chicken piccata and puttanesca, where they are incorporated into the sauce. They also work well in white wine sauce, where they'll "add the perfect touch of saltiness to the dish," says Arevalo. Start by sautéing capers in olive oil in a saucepan before cooking your sauce. Allow the capers to crisp slightly, then add the ingredients for your sauce, preparing it as usual. Enjoy with chicken or fish and your favorite pasta.
• Toss them in salad: Boost the flavor and texture of your favorite salad with capers. They can be finely chopped and incorporated into a vinaigrette (as seen in our arugula salad with radishes and caper vinaigrette) or used whole as a topping, says Arevalo. But you're not limited to leafy green salads; capers can also be used in potato salad or egg salad, says Lewis.
• Use them in garnish: Between its salty flavor and crunchy texture, capers are most often used as a garnish. They're particularly excellent on lox and cream cheese bagels, says Ziata.
• Upgrade deviled eggs: Capers are a welcome addition to deviled eggs, where their acidity pairs well with rich egg yolk, notes Arevalo. To add capers to deviled eggs, you can sprinkle them on top (whole or chopped), or "loosely chop the capers and incorporate them into the filling," says Arevalo.
• Mix them into dips and spreads: Capers can be diced and tossed in remoulade, pesto, aioli, hummus, and salad dressing. Also, don't forget about the brine; try adding a splash to mayonnaise, vinaigrette, or other condiments for a burst of salty flavor.
• Try them fried: For a unique way to use capers, drain and fry capers in a pan with oil, as recommended by Lewis. Cook for about a minute, slightly increasing the time for larger varieties. Once the capers are fried, place them on a paper towel to dry. "The final product tastes similar to dehydrated capers, but with a crispier and richer finish," shares Lewis. Use fried capers as a garnish on dishes (such as grilled fish) or fold them into compound butter.
• Crush them into powder: "A trending use for capers is to dehydrate or fry them, then crush them into a powder," shares Lewis. You can then sprinkle the powder on wood-fired pizza, flatbread, risotto, a cooked protein such as chicken or pork, or any food that could benefit from a punch of brightness.

How to Store Capers

Once opened, a jar of capers should be stored in the refrigerator in its original container. Be sure to secure the cover to create an air-tight seal.

Shelf Life

When stored in the refrigerator, a jar of capers will keep for up for about one year. Lewis says they can usually last longer. If anything, due to the salty nature of capers, the "lids on the jars will corrode before the capers look or taste any different," he notes.