Caper bushes, or in Spanish, alcaparras, grow wild around the Mediterranean. They are so prolific, that our neighbour actually burns his every year.

A few years ago, a Maltese friend, told us we had capers growing wild on our land! I was amazed! I have to admit, I no idea what these beautiful plants were.

However, we had noticed that when walking our goats, they avoided them like the plague. The flowers are beautiful, in addition, they are covered in thorns.

Caper bushes have a will to survive! As well as the many thorns spread along the stems; growing half way up a precarious hill side is enough to put most people off collecting them.

What could I use them for?

Capers have been used in Mediterranean cooking for centuries. When pickled, you could just pick a few straight of the jar, but they are a delight when used in many dishes.

They are lovely in a sauce, particularly served with fish. Capers and fish create a taste of heaven. Salmon in particular (my absolute favourite fish), whether smoked, poached or grilled work well with capers.

Soups can also benefit from a handful of them. They work perfectly with tomato soup and squash soup, adding that little something extra to them.

Capers compliment tomatoes, so a pasta sauce with a few capers included takes it to a different level.

One famous dish using chicken and capers is Chicken Piccata. I will re-make this and add it soon.

Do you have any ideas on using them? Add any ideas to comments to share with others?

Anyway! Back to my caper picking operation!

Challenge on!

I was determined to not to be put off. Capers have to be picked early morning. It is the small unopened flower buds that you need. The sun was already out and it was getting hot. Flip flops were not the ideal footwear so I donned my boots and grabbed a bag.

The hills were calling!

There are plenty of bushes, many of which are dangerous to reach. However one was easily accessible.

On reaching my target, I started to pick the small capers from the ends of the stalks. The bush was heaving with them.

My patience at times wears thin! After a few minutes, I decided picking one at a time was not going to be fruitful . Decisive action had to be taken.

Snipping off the ends of the stalks covered with the smaller buds was the option taken. A few minutes later, my bag was feeling weightier! In addition, I was hot! At this point I decided to head back home.

How to pickle Capers!

Capers are an easy plant to pickle. There are different methods of pickling, but this is what I do.

I had 70 grams of buds:

Rinse the capers thoroughly in cool water, discarding any that are damaged. Next, leave the capers to soak in water, and rinse and replace the water once a day for three days.

For the brine:

1/2 cup wine (or sherry) vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon salt

Next prepare the brine mixture of vinegar, water and salt in a jar, and add the capers. I just mixed Let them sit for another three days or so. The capers will then be ready to eat.

Once pickled, store the jar of capers and brine in your refrigerator.

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Have you tried pickling capers? Let our readers know which method you use by adding it to comments?