Can you actually eat capers?

Question

I have only saw capers on the food network channel, but I am not sure if you can eat them or not, are they only for seasoning? How do they taste?

Answer 1

Amazing, they are salty and vinegar-y like pickles but more pungent and they taste wonderful with chicken or fish on a lemon butter white wine sauce. They're available in almost all grocery stores

Answer 2

Yes! Capers are actually a certain type of flower bud! They are used on salads and are served with fish dishes usually. I eat capers all the time. They have a strong taste but give salad an extra flavour. Try them!

Answer 3

A Caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is a biennial spiny shrub that bears rounded, rather fleshy leaves and big pinkish-white flowers. Native to the Greek archipelagos, it grows wild on walls or in rocky coastal areas throughout the Mediterranean region. It is best known for its edible buds and fruit which are usually consumed pickled.

The pickled or salted caper bud (also called caper) is often used as a seasoning or garnish. Capers are a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine. The grown fruit of the caper shrub is also available, prepared similarly to the buds, as caper berries.

The berries, when ready to pick, are a dark olive green and about the size of a kernel of maize. They are picked and then pickled in a vinegar and salt solution.

Capers are often enjoyed in cold smoked salmon or cured salmon dishes, salad, pizza, pasta and sauces. Capers are also sometimes substituted for olives to garnish a martini.

Answer 4

Capers are the unopened green flower buds of the Capparis spinosa, a wild and cultivated bush grown mainly in Mediterranean countries (southern France, Italy, and Algeria) and also in California. They are soaked in a vinegar brine and are the most delicious forms of "highlighting" to foods that I have ever had. I was first introduced to capers when my aunt prepared spaghetti (gourmet stye). They add a salty flavor to foods such as fish, potatoes, and other Italian style dishes. Some people don't like the taste, but capers remind me of tiny olives without the centers.

Answer 5

Yes you can eat capers. They are a staple for many italian dishes. If you want to try them try this recipe

Pollo Alla Cleopatra Chicken Breasts with Capers

Ingredients

(4 servings)

4 Chicken breasts, skinned and de-boned
2 tb Flour
2 tb Oil
2 tb Butter
4 Green onions
1 tb Chopped tarragon (or 1 tsp dry)
1 tb Chopped capers
4 oz Stock, chicken or beef
4 oz White wine
2 oz Brandy
6 oz Heavy cream
Salt & pepper
1 tb Chopped parsley


Instructions

Servings: 4
DIRECTIONS: Heat the oil and butter in a large frypan. Dredge the chicken in the flour and saute for 3 minutes on each side. Add the green onions, tarragon, capers and cook for 5 more minutes. Pour in the wine, stock, brandy and cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice or pasta with chopped parsley on top. (My notes: after adding & cooking the green onions, etc, remove the chicken from the pan. Add the brandy first, and simmer until reduced by about half. Then add the wine and beef stock and reduce slightly. Add the cream and return the chicken to the pan- simmering 5 minutes as above.)

Answer 6

You wouldn't like a caper if you ate it straight out of the bottle. They are used as an ingredient in other dishes - as for the spaghetti - it was probably Pasta Putanesca & you have to have a taste for it. I use it quite often - in Caponata, in pasta, in dips - it is a little pungent!

Answer 7

This one time I was eating spaghetti and all of a sudden I bit into something nasty. The waiter came over and told me they were pickled capers. I demanded a new order of spaghetti.

Answer 8

I love the taste of capers. They're tangy, add a definite bit of sour flavor to balance a dish. My favorite Italian pasta dish is Chicken Piccata...They remind me of little olives, sort of. I guess they're an acquired taste...you either find you like them or hate them. =o)

Answer 9

Yes, you can eat them. I find capers sorta like coconut: you either love them or hate them, not much middle ground.

They are salty, and have a twang to them b/c they've been pickled in a salt/vinegar solution. Try this dish to test your palate for capers. If you don't like them, just eat aroudn them or leave them out next time. I love them!


** CHICKEN PICCATA **

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups all purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large 10 or 12-inch skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Reduce heat to medium low and add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

-- Giada De Laurentiis, FoodTV

Answer 10

yes, you can eat them....i don't know what they taste like but my mom always orders this chicken plate that contains capers at the local italian rest.

Answer 11

Capers are excellent. Try them with lox and cream cheese.