CAPER

CAPER

Capers are the unopened flower buds of the spiny caper bush (Capparis spinose). 
Capers get their sharp pungency from a sulfurous, mustard-like compound called glucocapparin.  
Capers of all sizes may be cured in salt or brined in salt and vinegar. 
Capers are found in dishes like veal piccata, tapenade, and spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Capers are not the same thing as caper berries. 
While capers are the immature flower buds of the bush, caper berries are the fruit the bush produces once the buds have flowered and then been fertilized. 
Caper berries are about the size of a grape and are often harvested with their stems attached. 
They are also cured in vinegar like capers.
Capers are not naturally sour; to obtain the briny, salty flavor for which they are famous they must be cured in seasoned vinegar, a process that been used for thousands of years.

Throughout the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, you'll find Capparis spinosa, also known as the caper bush or Flinder's rose. It's a prickly plant that grows in dry areas.
The unripened flower buds of this plant — called capers — have been used as a seasoning and flavorful part of recipes for over a thousand years. 
Capers's ripe fruit, known as caper berries, are also used for food.

After farmers harvest the unripened buds, dry capers in the sun.
Once capers're dried, they pickle them in vinegar, brine, wine, or salt. 
This process is called curing, and it gives the capers a unique lemony flavor that's somewhat similar to green olives.
Capers range in size from tiny (about the size of a green pea) to about the size of a small olive. 
The smallest capers are the most valuable and often come with a hefty price tag. 
Capers can be expensive because capers're costly to harvest since they're picked by hand.

The most sought-after capers are a variety known as nonpareils that come from Southern France. 
Smaller capers tend to have more delicate flavors and stronger aromas. 
As capers get larger, they seem to have stronger flavors but weaker aromas.
Capers add a salty, sour, fragrant flavor to various dishes, including salads, sauces, vegetables, and meats. 
Capers are particularly associated with Mediterranean cuisines, including Italian, Maltese, and Cypriot delicacies. 
You may have also eaten capers as an ingredient in tartar sauce.

Capers are one of the oddest things on our diet; Capers’re green flower buds from the caper bush. 
Not the fruit or the seeds, but the buds. 
Capers is often pickled, Capers’re usually placed in the same category as olives, but Capers couldn’t be more different.
Capers are cultivated all around the Mediterranean Basin, and Capers’re common ingredients in Spanish, Moroccan, French, Greek and Italian cuisines. 
Used as a condiment but also as just another ingredient, capers add texture, saltiness and a pleasant peppery and herbal flavor to many preparations.

The caper bush grows in arid and semi-arid areas, and although the plant’s buds are incredibly popular, people also consume Capers's fruit — the caperberry.
Capers are the edible flower buds that grow on a perennial plant called Capparis spinosa (or caper bush or Flinders rose).
The small, green, round capers are about the size of corn kernels. 
Capers usually are pickled and used as a seasoning or as a garnish.

Capers, one of the ingredients of tartar sauce, are often served with salmon dishes.
Capers’re heavily featured in much of Greek and Italian cuisines.
Capers, the flower buds, are not to be confused with caper berries, the fruit of the plant.
The buds will eventually produce white and pink flowers if left unharvested, followed by berries.
Caper berries, which are olive-sized, are larger than capers.
Both capers and caper berries are edible and generally pickled.

Capers Nutrition:
Capers, which are low in cholesterol, are a good source of:
-Protein
-Fiber
-Vitamins A, C, E, and K
-Niacin
-Calcium
-Folate
-Iron
-Magnesium

Salty, rich, and tangy, capers are a mainstay in Mediterranean cuisine and used to bring a burst of flavor to a variety of dishes.
Capers are the immature flower buds of Capparis spinosa, a type of bush that’s commonly cultivated in countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece.
Capers’re usually salted and pickled and used as a garnish or seasoning, thanks to their small size and intense flavor.
What’s more, capers pack quite a punch in terms of nutrition and may be associated with several health benefits.

A tablespoon (9 grams) of canned capers contains:
-Calories: 2
-Protein: 0.2 grams
-Carbs: 0.4 grams
-Fiber: 0.3 grams
-Sodium: 9% of the Daily Value (DV)
-Copper: 4% of the DV
-Vitamin K: 2% of the DV
-Riboflavin: 1% of the DV
-Iron: 1% of the DV
-Magnesium: 1% of the DV

Sodium plays a central role in regulating fluid balance and blood pressure levels.
Capers also contain copper, an essential mineral involved in iron metabolism, energy production, and brain function.
Plus, they provide a bit of vitamin K, a micronutrient that your body needs for blood clotting and bone health.

Capers are the green, unripened flower buds of the caper bush, also known as Flinders rose. 
Native to the Mediterranean but now grown in many countries, the bush does best in semiarid or arid climates. 
Sold by their size, capers range from 7mm or less, called non-pareils, to 14mm+, or grusas. 
Small capers are firm in texture and less aromatic than their more mature counterparts, which are more tender and have a stronger flavor. 
Once picked, Capers are dried and brined or packed in salt, bringing out their lemony, slightly floral green olive-like flavor.

Wondering where the larger caper, teardrop-shaped caper berries come in? 
Those are actually the fruit of the caper bush—the result of a bud left intact and allowed to develop into a flower, and eventually fruit. 
Caper berries can be pickled and used like pickles or olives. 

Even the caper brine can be of use—try Caper in place of olive juice in your dirty martini, add some to mayo-based dressings in place of vinegar or citrus juice, or use Caper to pickle other raw veggies.
If your capers are salt-packed, rinsing is optional.
Capers are very salty, so if you're not rinsing, hold off on salting your dish until you're able to taste with the capers.
Alternatively, you can rinse for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the outer salt, or soak the capers in water in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours to remove even more salt.

After harvesting the caper plant, caper is pickled in natural spring water, salt, and vinegar, then put in a jar without any additives. 
Quite the medicinal herb, caper is also called “gebre herb”. 
Caper plant is known to demonstrate miraculous effects on some illnesses, as the flavonoids Capers contains overpower some substances, named “free radicals” that harm cells, through Capers's antioxidant activities.

You might be wondering, “What are capers, anyway?” Well, these green, pea-sized balls are actually pickled flower buds! 
They come from a plant called capparis spinosa, or more simply, the caper bush. 
Before Capers start to blossom, the buds are picked and soaked in brine or packed in salt. 
You can find them near the olives or pickles in most grocery stores.

You might see another type of capers next to the caper buds on the supermarket shelf: caper berries. 
Capers are larger, about the size of a small olive. 
The pickled berries have a similar flavor to the buds, but their texture is seedier and tougher.
Capers, unopened flower buds found on the caper bush, are the culinary darlings of many cuisines. 
Capers can be found in European foods and in those of Africa and India as well, where cultivation of growing capers is found. 
Growing a caper bush, however, is not an easy task. 

Caper plants (Capparis spinosa) are usually found growing wild in the Mediterranean in dry stony areas similar to those where olives are grown. 
Capers grow in viney brambles, much like blackberries do in North America. 
Cultivation of a caper bush is most often found in Spain and Africa, but in the past, Southern Russia was also an exporter. 
Growing capers are, as mentioned, the buds of a shrub-like perennial (3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 m.) high), which has a multitude of spiny branches bearing 2-inch (5 cm.), white flowers with purple stamens. 

The tiny buds of the caper bush, or Capparis spinosa, are picked on a daily basis and then pickled in vinegar or otherwise brined in salt. 
The resulting flavor of the caper berry is strong and distinct–like that of mustard and black pepper–due to its concentration of mustard oil, which is released when the plant tissue is crushed. 
This piquant flavor and aroma lends itself well to a variety of sauces, pizzas, fish meats, and salads. 

The immature leaves growing on a caper bush may even be eaten as a cooked vegetable and the burnt remnants of the growing caper bush roots have been utilized as a salt substitute. 
Caper fruits (caperberry, capperone, or taperone) may be used in making caper-flavored sauces or sometimes pickled for eating like small gherkins. 

Plant:
The shrubby plant is many-branched, with alternate leaves, thick and shiny, round to ovate. 
The flowers are complete, sweetly fragrant, and showy, with four sepals and four white to pinkish-white petals, and many long violet-colored stamens, and a single stigma usually rising well above the stamens.

Capers are the edible flower bud of the many-branched caper bush, which also produces edible berries. 
Both are pickled before they are eaten, as they are very bitter when raw. 
Other parts of C. spinosa are used in medicines and cosmetics.
Olive-shaped C. spinosa berries are larger than caper buds, which are more roundish. 
Both, when pickled, have a piquant, tangy flavor, though the flavor of the buds is more intense. 

The berries are also starchier.
These pickled bits of goodness are typically used as a seasoning or condiment. 
They are especially delicious with fish and other oily or rich foods. 
The berries are sometimes served in cocktails.

Capers are immature flower buds from Capparis shrubs which grow all over the Mediterranean and they’ve got quite a history too. 
The plant dates back to at least 2,000 BC – they’re mentioned in Sumerian epic Gilgamesh which was inscribed on stone tablets.

One of the main areas of production is the Italian island of Pantelleria where the best capers in the world are said to grow. The island’s location between Tunisia and Sicily goes a long way to explain their appearance in so many different cuisines. You’ll find them in abundance throughout Middle Eastern, North African and Mediterranean cooking, and they’re especially common in Italian and Sicilian dishes.
The buds are picked by hand which means they can be expensive to buy, but they're far too delicate and dainty to be machine picked.

Capers are low in calories (about 25 in a small jar) and high in vitamins and minerals. 
That said, the flavour-packed buds are also high in salt thanks to the way they’re preserved. 
As they’re bitter on their own, capers are stored in brine or packed in salt. 

Capers are such a simple ingredient but they’re one that makes everything you cook taste fancy and impressive with very little effort on your part. 
That’s exactly the kind of ingredient we like to keep on hand.
The best way to get used to cooking with capers is to stick to classic Mediterranean dishes. 
Once you’ve mastered those, capers are easy to experiment with as they retain their flavour individually rather than taking over the entire dish.

Capers are a delight with fish – they’re one of the key ingredients in a traditional tartare sauce. 
You can add a couple of teaspoons into a salad Niçoise with tuna too.
Try this easy 20-minute roast monkfish with capers and olives; douse filets of lemon sole with a caper sauce; add to a salsa to accompany salmon; top gravadlax canapés with them; or whip up a classic puttanesca for an easy midweek dinner.

Capers are the edible flower buds from caper bushes (capparis spinosa). 
Capers are native to most Mediterranean countries, but Capers also grow in many other parts of the world including Asia and Australia.
The flower buds are picked when very young, a long time before the buds would open. 
The buds are then dried and pickled which gives them their pungent, salty and vinegary taste.

It is worth trying capers in your cooking. 
Capers add a wonderful salty flavour when used as a topping for fish, chicken or meat. 
Räksallad med kapris och äpple (prawn (shrimp) salad with capers and apple) is particularly nice and capers make a good addition to many smörgås (open sandwiches).
Capers are easy to use and they keep well, but Capers are best drained and rinsed before use to remove excess brine.

Capers also known as caper berry are immature flower buds of Capparius spinosa. 
They are small shrubs, reach 1 meter height, leaf stipules are transformed into spines, flowers are borne on first year branches, they are white with long conspicuum tassels of purple stamens. 
The flowers open in the morning and close by sunset.

Technically speaking, capers are flower buds, harvested from a bush called Capparis spinosa. 
The plant, also known as the caper bush or Flinders rose, thrives across the Mediterranean rim, from Spain to Israel. 
The salt water–tolerant plant can survive—and even flourish—in extreme drought. 
That may explain why some of the most celebrated capers come from the island of Pantelleria, roughly 100 kilometers southwest of Sicily, which, save rain, has no fresh water source at all.

The buds are picked, cured, and sorted into six sizes, from the largest, grusas, which can be up to 14 millimeters in diameter, to the smallest, non-pareils, which are half that size. 
Harvesting capers is an arduous process—the tiny buds can be picked only by hand, and, as a result, the smaller the caper, the more expensive it is. 
Small capers are the firmest and thus best suited to play a garnishing or finishing role, while the largest—soft, but more flavorful—work best in sauces and stews.

Caper is a small, dark green flower bud (unopened flower) of the Caper bush (Capparis spinosa), used as a pungent condiment in sauces, relishes, salads, and various other dishes.
The flower bud is usually pickled in salted vinegar or packed in dry salt (dry salted). 
Most of the jars you see at the grocery store are pickled capers. 
The basic ingredients in pickled capers are: capers, water, vinegar and salt.

Fresh caper buds are very bitter but once pickled they develop a distinctive acidic and salty metallic flavour and a goat-like aroma. 
The acidic flavour comes from Capric acid, which develops during pickling. 
The word Caper in Greek means “he-goat” Caper flavour is usually described as goaty.
Caper bush is native to the Mediterranean region and is common in North Africa, Spain, Italy and Algeria.
The fruits, called caper berries and leaves are also used.

Capers are unopened flower buds produced on the caperbush. 
This shrubby perennial plant grows 3–5 feet high, with numerous branches, bearing a pair of hooked spines at the base of each leaf stalk. 
Leaves are alternate, round to ovate, thick, and glistening. 
Flowers are about 2 inches in diameter, white with numerous violet stamens, and very pleasing in appearance. 
Seeds are large, kidney shaped, and gray-brown in color. 
There is also a variety without spines, from which the crop is gathered more easily and without injury to the hands.

Caperbush is native to the Mediterranean region where the plant is still grown commercially. 
Little if any is grown in the United States, even in home gardens. 
Capers shipped to Britain and other European countries generally are grown in Spain and Africa. 
Southern Russia was a major exporter at one time. 
In Northern Africa the most commonly used caper is the Timbuctoo caper (C. sodala). 
A popular South African caper is C. corymbifera.

Those tiny green peppercorn looking morsels are actually the immature flower buds from the perennial caper bush (capparis spinos) also called Finders Rose.  
Capers are dated back as far as 2,000 B.C. 
Not to be confused with a caper berry that grows to the size of an olive and is a caper that is allowed to mature. 
So capers are the buds before Capers turn into flowers that eventually turn into the fruit.

Freshly picked capers are not to be eaten. 
Like fresh olives, Capers are extremely bitter and need to be pickled before edible.
Capers are the pickled flower buds of a Mediterranean shrub called the Capparis spinosa. 
Capers’re typically preserved in a salt and water brine or packed in a mixture of brine and vinegar. 
Some fancier capers are cured in salt. 

Capers’re slightly vegetal and sweet, and forwardly acidic, tangy, sour, bitter and salty. 
Capers can brighten up everything from eggs to antipasti. 
Capers add complexity and a lip-smacking punch to tons of chicken and fish dishes (we see you, tartar sauce). 
Capers also work wonders in salad dressings, sauces, veggies and pastas.

Because the caper bush needs a semi-arid or arid climate, they thrive in the Mediterranean region which included the regions around the Mediterranean Sea. 
Capers are also found in Asia and Australia.
If you want to learn more about capers and where they come from, check out this source.

Capers are neither fruit nor vegetable. 
Capers are immature flower buds and closer to being a seed.
Capers come in a variety of sizes, from ¼ inch (about the size of a small pea) to over ½ inch, about the size of a small olive. 
Here are some sizes and what they are called.

Do you know that capers are actually flower buds? 
The caper plant, known by its scientific name as Capparis Spinosa, grows on a trailing shrub native to the Mediterranean region—specifically Italy, Turkey, and Spain. 
Capers are harvested in the spring and early summer when the buds are still tightly closed; Capers're then dried in the sun and pickled. 
The delicate, salty buds are a key element of Mediterranean cooking. 
The size of capers varies; the smallest, more-common kind are called nonpareils.

When you buy capers in the grocery store, Capers will be pickled and packed either in salt or brine. 
If Capers're packed in brine, drain them before using and rinse, if desired, to remove some of the saltiness. 
Salt-packed capers should be soaked for about 15 minutes in water and then rinsed. 
Our food editors prefer salt-packed capers because they are generally better quality, fresher, and offer better flavor and aroma. 
Salt-packed capers also tend to keep their shape and firmness, too.

The flavor of pickled capers tends to be tangy and salty—and the best kinds will balance the two without being overwhelming. Raw capers are a different, less appealing story; Capers're a distant relative of the cabbage plant and contain a similar bitter flavor that somewhat resembles a radish. 
Brining raw capers not only changes their flavor, but also makes their texture softer and easier to eat.

USES and APPLICATIONS of CAPER:
-Capers give flavor and texture to various dishes, from Spanish-style cod to the Italian American classic chicken piccata. 
-Capers also find their way into sauces and dressings, soups and stews. 
-As a condiment to add a distinctive touch to any dish or as the chief ingredient, capers play distinct roles in various recipes worldwide.
-Capers are often preserved in brine, meaning they’re pickled. 

-And like with olives, the salty brine might overwhelm caper’s actual herbal and peppery flavor. 
At the end of the day, the taste of capers is now linked with the brine’s flavor — you might not even recognize them straight from the bush! 
-Caper’s flavor truly shines well when used to condiment other food, from lox to tuna. 
And Caper’s because the flowering bud is more of a condiment than a vegetable. 
-Some parts of Caper, which is native to the Mediterranean, that have no culinary purposes are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.

-Popular in Mediterranean cuisines but used worldwide, capers bring a pop of briny, funky brightness to savory dishes like the ever-popular Chicken Piccata. 
Capers're best added near the end of cooking, like fresh herbs, to maintain their flavor and snappy texture.
-Like chopped pickles or lemon juice, capers can cut through richness in dishes with lots of fatty ingredients. 
Try stirring in a couple tablespoons of roughly chopped capers into tuna salad or the yolk mixture in your deviled eggs. 
-Capers can also be fried and used to garnish dishes for a satisfying salty crunch.
-Capers also pair beautifully with seafood, like with lox on a bagel, or in this Smoked Salmon Pasta.

-Capers contains minerals and vitamins, as well as tannin, flavone glycosides, and carbohydrates.
-In 100 g of dry capers, there are 67 mg of phosphorus, 9 g of iron, and 24,01 of protein.
-Other species of Capparis are also picked along with C. spinosa for their buds or fruits. 
Other parts of Capparis plants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.
-An age-old remedy, growing capers have also been reputed to be useful in treating arteriosclerosis, kidney ailments, diuretics, anemia, arthritis, gout, and dropsy. 

-Capers are used for diabetes. 
-Capers are also eaten as a food and used as a flavoring.
-Capers contain chemicals that might help control blood sugar. 
Capers might also have antioxidant activity.
-The caper bush is a plant. 
The fruit, unopened flower bud, other parts that grow above the ground, and the root are all used for medicine.

-A caper bush also has medicinal uses. 
Growing capers may be harvested to aid in eliminating flatulence, improving liver function, or for its anti-rheumatic effects. 
-Capers are sometimes used in cosmetics.

-Culinary Uses:
*Capers of commerce are immature flower buds which have been pickled in vinegar or preserved in granular salt. 
Semi-mature fruits (caperberries) and young shoots with small leaves may also be pickled for use as a condiment.
*Capers have a sharp piquant flavor and add pungency, a peculiar aroma and saltiness to comestibles such as pasta sauces, pizza, fish, meats and salads.

*The flavor of caper may be described as being similar to that of mustard and black pepper. 
In fact, the caper strong flavor comes from mustard oil: methyl isothiocyanate (released from glucocapparin molecules) arising from crushed plant tissues .
*Capers make an important contribution to the pantheon of classic Mediterranean flavors that include: olives, rucola (argula, or garden rocket), anchovies and artichokes.

*Tender young shoots including immature small leaves may also be eaten as a vegetable, or pickled. 
*More rarely, mature and semi-mature fruits are eaten as a cooked vegetable. 
*Additionally, ash from burned caper roots has been used as a source of salt.

-Medicinal Uses
*Capers are said to reduce flatulence and to be anti-rheumatic in effect. 
*In ayurvedeic medicine capers (Capers=Himsra) are recorded as hepatic stimulants and protectors, improving liver function. 
*Capers have reported uses for arteriosclerosis, as diuretics, kidney disinfectants, vermifuges and tonics. 

*Infusions and decoctions from caper root bark have been traditionally used for dropsy, anemia, arthritis and gout. 
*Capers contain considerable amounts of the anti-oxidant bioflavinoid rutin.
*Caper extracts and pulps have been used in cosmetics.

-The flower buds, semi mature fruits and young shoots with small leaves are pickled for use as a spice. 
-Caper gives flavour, aroma and saltiness to Pasta sauces, pizza, fish, meats and salads. 
-Caper is reduces flatulence and anti-rheumatic. 
-Caper helps to improve liver function and used against arteriosclerosis, as diuretic, vermifuges and tonics. 
-Caper has anti-oxidant property. 
-Caper extracts and pulp are used in cosmetics.

-Capers are commonly used in Mediterranean and Italian cuisines.
-Pickled capers can be used without rinsing (unless you are on a salt-free diet). 
Dry salted capers should be rinsed thoroughly and lightly dried on paper towels, before being used.
-In Italian cuisine, they are used in salads, pasta salads, meat dishes, and pasta sauces. 
They are used in chicken piccata and spaghetti alla puttanesca.

-They are used in strongly flavoured oily fish and to enhance flavour in salads alongside olives. 
They are a key ingredient in tartar sauce and Montpellier butter.
-Capers are also used to flavour Hungarian cheese, Liptauer.
-Peppers can be rinsed, dried on paper and deep fried and served with cheese and crackers.
-Caper berries (fruits) are also pickled especially in Cyprus where they grow in abundance.
-Caper berries are an ingredient of tapas menus in Spain.

-Capers are picked daily since the youngest flowerbuds (about the size of peas) have the highest quality. 
Capers are valued in proportion to the smallness of their size. 
They are pickled in vinegar or sometimes in salted vinegar. 
-Both the capers and the young berries are used in sauces and pickling, primarily in European dishes.

NUTRITION AND BENEFITS of CAPERS:
As for nutrition, capers have adequate levels of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6. 
Capers also have tremendous amounts of vitamin K. 
Capers are rich in calcium, iron and selenium, but you would need to eat lots of Capers to notice changes in your system.
Capers have high amounts of healthy antioxidants.

WHERE CAPERS GROW?
This hardy deciduous perennial comes from the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. 
Capers are part of the Mediterranean diet along with olives, grapes, almond, pistachio, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and garlic. 
Caper plants grow very well in the hot dry parts of Australia and now we can enjoy their delights. 
Capers do not like excess water, humidity or a cold climate.

THE CAPER PLANT:
The Caper Bush grows to about 1 metre high, and as the branches grow longer, they hang over, creating their own mulch along the ground. 
The leaves are tough and rounded. 
The flowers, which grow on long petioles between the leaves, are very attractive with white petals and many long purple stamens. 
Each flower usually lasts only about 16 hours, but there is a continual opening of flowers along the stem. 
Some species and varieties of Caper bushes develops spines under the leaf axil, but the best varieties are spineless.

HOW TO GROW CAPER PLANTS?
The best growing conditions for Capers is in the full sun, planted on a mound of well drained material over good rich soil. 
Caper plants needs a hot and dry climate. 
Capers is beneficial to add good compost and lime to the soil before planting. 
The plants require some watering until established. 
Then Capers require no watering (similar to planting a gum or wattle tree). 
They enjoy the addition of a good fertiliser and organic mineral mix to the soil, in the spring and autumn.

HOW TO HARVEST CAPERS?
The Caper, which has been used as a condiment for over 5000 years, is the un-opened flower bud. 
They should be picked while the bud is still tight. 
The bush can be harvested every 10-12 days in the hot season. 
If allowed to flower, the caper bush produces a long oblong-shaped fruit with many seeds; this can also be pickled. 
Some people also use the young shoots and leaves at the end of the stem both fresh and pickled.

GRADING of CAPERS:
The smallest caper buds are about 3mm, are the most delicate and are called non-pareils. 
The larger ones are called capucines and are about 10mm in size. 
The larger flower buds are considered, low quality.
Grading: non-pareil, surfines, fine, mi-fine and capucines (about 1cm).

HOW TO PRESERVE CAPERS AND CAPERBERRIES?
The best way to process the capers is to add coarse salt to the picked capers (40% of the weight of the capers) and stir occasionally for about 10-12 days, when the liquid that forms on the bottom is drained off. 
Add salt again (half the original amount) for another 10 days or so. 
Then the capers are ready to use, just wash off the salt, or stored in dry salt. 
Capers can be made ready for use by soaking in a bowl of water to remove the salt. 
(Traditionally the caperberry is pickled by soaking in salt water for a day, then washing the salt off and storing the berries in white wine vinegar. 
The salting process can be repeated if required.)

COOKING WITH CAPERS:
Capers add a pleasant but sharp and piquant flavour to cooking, and because Capers are known to promote the appetite, Capers are used in Hors d’oeuvres. 
Capers are also used in salads and mayonnaise; as a garnish; as a topping on pizzas or omelettes; in making caper sauce and tartar sauce; and on fish, or chicken. 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAPERS AND CAPERBERRIES:
The unopened flower bud is the caper that we pick, process and eat. 
If the flower is allowed to open, a large number of anthers and a central female part called the stigma, appear and look attractive. 
If insects pollinate the flower, the stigma develops into a fruit, which we call the caperberry, and which is also edible.

Capers and caper berries are different things although they do both come from the caper bush so it’s easy to see why they’re often mixed up. 
Capers are the unopened bud and caper berries are the fruit, harvested much later in the season. 
You can eat both and we recommend popping a caper berry in a martini, but capers have a much sharper taste.

Caperberries grow on the same bush as capers, appearing after the buds have bloomed, which affects their size. 
Caperberries are much larger than nonpareil capers—they generally tend to be the size of a grape or olive. 
Just like regular capers, you'll find these in stores cured in brine in a glass jar, which makes them a nice alternative to olives for martinis.

WHERE DO CAPERS GROW?
This hardy deciduous perennial comes from the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. 
Capers are part of the Mediterranean diet along with olives, grapes, almond, pistachio, sun-dried tomatoes, basil and garlic. 
Caper plants grow very well in the hot dry parts of Australia and now we can enjoy their delights. 
Capers do not like excess water, humidity or a cold climate.

WHAT DO CAPERS TASTE LIKE?
Capers remind us very much of olives, but that’s the brine in which both foods are cured. 
The flower buds actually have an herbal, peppery and sometimes citrus and earth-scented personality.
The texture and the looks matter too. 
Cappers add a firm, snappy bite to any recipe, and their olive-green color elevates any dish with contrast.
Although some people associate capers with a vinegary or bitter taste, capers are not acidic at all, and they’re rarely overwhelmingly bitter.

Capers, though quite small, pack a big punch: 
Capers’re quite tangy and add a lemony, olivey burst of flavor to dishes.
The caper’s intensity comes from the mustard oil (methyl isothiocyanate) that is released from glucocapparin molecules.

WHAT IS THE SUBSTITUTE FOR CAPERS?
Chopped or sliced olives are a fantastic substitute for capers on any recipe; if you use green olives, even better. 
Other pickled veggies will add a similar salty taste to your food, but caper’s flavor and texture are hard to substitute.
If you don’t have olives around, you can leave capers out of any recipe, often without a dramatic difference. 
Capers are an accent, a condiment, and like any condiment, they play a supporting role and are rarely the leading flavor carriers.
If you really need a caper substitute, try using nasturtium buds, green peppercorns, dill pickles or even anchovies.

Green olives: 
Capers have a somewhat olivey taste, so green olives are an effective substitute when you don’t have any capers on hand. 
It’s important to remember that olives aren’t quite as pungent as capers and they’re a lot bigger, so keep those facts in mind when you’re substituting one for the other.

Thyme: 
Thyme’s strong flavor makes it a great substitute for capers. 
However, since it’s an herb and not a plant bud, thyme isn’t going to give your food any additional texture like capers will.

Pickled artichoke hearts: 
If you get halfway through your chicken piccata recipe and realize you’re out of capers, pickled artichoke hearts may be a good stand-in.

HOW TO GROW CAPERS?
A caper bush can be achieved via propagation from seed, although finding a seed source is more of a challenge. 
If seed for growing capers is located, one may try growing them in a large pot with a base of coarse rock or crumbled brick. 
Take care not to overwater as the plant’s foliage is a natural water conservator. 
Caper seeds are very tiny and germinate readily but in low percentiles. 
Dried seeds are more difficult to germinate and should be soaked for one day in warm water, then wrapped in damp towel, sealed in a jar, and refrigerated for two to three months. 
Post refrigeration, re-soak seeds overnight and then plant at a depth of 0.5 inches (1 cm.) in a well-drained medium. 

HOW TO GROW CAPERS FROM CUTTINGS COLLECT? 
Growing caper berry cuttings in February, March, or April using basal portions with six to ten buds. 
For growing a caper bush, seat cuttings in a loose, well-draining soil medium with a heat source at the base. 
Dipping the stem cutting in a bit of rooting hormone first is also beneficial. 
Caring for Caper Plants Caring for caper plants requires a steady stream of strong sunlight and an arid climate. 
Growing caper plants have a hardiness range similar to olive trees (18 degrees F. or -8 degrees C.) and can also tolerate summer temperatures of over 105 degrees F. (41 degrees C.). 

When growing a caper bush, the plant itself is quite tolerant and develops deep root systems, to better avail itself of its resources in a difficult environment. 
When harvesting, size matters. 
Growing capers are divided into five distinct groups. 
When growing a caper bush, buds are picked at the immature stage and categorized according to size: nonpareils, capuchins, capotes, seconds, and thirds—with the nonpareils being the most prized — and most expensive. 
In Italy, capers are graded on a scale from 7 to 16, which indicates their size in millimeters.

WHERE DO CAPERS COME FROM?
Capers are grown in parts of Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Southern Europe, Turkey and California.
Pickling capers is a long and tedious process. 
The plant from which the tiny flower buds are plucked is prickly, and they’re too small and delicate to be plucked by machine, so they have to be harvested individually by hand. 
After being picked, capers are sorted by size. The smallest are named “non pareilles” and are the most expensive. 
Next in size are surfines, capuchins, fines, and capotes. 
Then they are dried, brined, or salted.

HOW LONG HAVE CAPERS BEEN AROUND?
Capers have been around since ancient times.
The use of capers dates back to 2000 BC where they are mentioned as a food in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh.
He brought her gifts all the things that he had come to know and love in the forest and from the open steppes; wild cucumbers and cassia melon, grapes and figs and caper buds from the dry rocks.
He brought her blossoms of golden mimosa and fragrant branches of jasmine.
—The Epic of Gilgamesh:
The Greeks and Romans both highly regarded capers as an aid in digestion.

HOW TO MAKE FRIED CAPERS?
Use capers that are brined in a jar. 
Drain the capers and put capers on a paper towel or kitchen towel to dry capers as much as possible.
In a small saucepan, heat 1/8 inch vegetable or olive oil until it shimmers (350°F). 
Add the capers to the hot oil (capers’ll give off some liquid at first, so watch out for spattering oil) and fry until capers turn golden brown and begin to crisp. 
This takes me about 2-3 minutes, depending on the size of the caper. 
Fry in batches if you’re doing a lot, otherwise you’ll cool the oil down too much.
Drain carefully and put on paper towels to absorb excess oil. 
The capers can be made 3 to 4 hours ahead; keep them uncovered at room temperature.

WHAT DO FRIED CAPERS TASTE LIKE?
Capers have been valued since ancient times for the burst of salty, lemony, briny flavor they give to foods. 
Get past the brine, and capers have a floral, grassy flavor. 
Frying capers takes away some of the vinegary sharpness and brings out a nutty, crispy, crunchiness. 
When fried, the flower buds open up and each petal becomes as light as gauze and crackly crisp.
Even the stamens inside the flower become crispy.

HOW TO USE FRIED CAPERS?
Fried Capers add a pop of briny, fruitiness to any dish. 
They’re an elegant garnish for pasta, salads, fish, or grilled meats. 
They’re also addictive little nibbles on their own! 
Leftover frying oil will be infused with caper flavor and can be used again to sauté fish, chicken, or vegetables, or wherever you might like the flavor of capers.

How to store fried Capers?
The capers can be made 3 to 4 hours ahead. 
Keep capers uncovered at room temperature so capers stay crispy. 
Any leftover can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CAPER AND A CAPERBERRY?
Capers are the edible buds of the caper bush. 
Caper fruit is obtained by leaving these buds unharvested. 
Caper berries are the fruits of the caper bush and have a milder flavor. 
It is naturally larger than capers and can grow as large as some types of olives.

Like all fruits, caperberries have tiny seeds and often come with their stem still attached, which you must remove. 
Just like regular capers, the most common way of finding caperberries is cured in salty brine or vinegar, and they play a similar role in the kitchen.

Think of caperberries as large, gentler capers or slightly odd olives, and you’ll be all right. 
You can substitute them for capers and olives in almost any recipe.

HOW TO STORE CAPERS?
Capers often come preserved in brine, so they’re practically eternal. 
Actually, if you’ve never opened your caper jar, you can safely store Capers in the pantry carefree.

Once opened, you want to store your caper jar in the fridge just to be safe. 
Pickles and brined foods have long shelf lives and are resistant to bacterial contamination. 

Although the brine protects capers from bacteria and mold, always keep capers away from direct sunlight or heat sources. 
Keep brined capers submerged in their brine, refrigerated in an airtight container. 
Salt-packed capers need no refrigeration—just an airtight container and a cool, dry spot in your pantry.

Storage of Capers:
Store pickled capers in the fridge after opening and make sure they are immersed in the pickle liquid.
Dry salted capers don’t need refrigeration after opening. 
Store in an airtight container.

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS of CAPER:
The caper bush requires a semiarid or arid climate. 
The caper bush has developed a series of mechanisms that reduce the impact of high radiation levels, high daily temperature, and insufficient soil water during The caper's growing period.
The caper bush has a curious reaction to sudden increases in humidity; it forms wart-like pock marks across the leaf surface. 
This is apparently harmless, as the plant quickly adjusts to the new conditions and produces unaffected leaves.

The caper also shows characteristics of a plant adapted to poor soils. 
This shrub has a high root/shoot ratio and the presence of mycorrhizae serves to maximize the uptake of minerals in poor soils. 
Different nitrogen-fixing bacterial strains have been isolated from the caper bush rhizosphere, playing a role in maintaining high reserves of that growth-limiting element.

CULVATION of CAPER:
The caper bush has been introduced as a specialized culture in some European countries in the last four decades. 
The economic importance of the caper plant led to a significant increase in both the area under cultivation and production levels during the late 1980s. 
The main production areas are in harsh environments found in Iraq, Morocco, the southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Turkey, the 
Greek island of Santorini and the Italian island of Pantelleria and the Aeolian Islands, especially Salina. 
Capers from Pantelleria and Aelian island are recognized as European PGI products. 
Capers has developed special mechanisms to survive in the Mediterranean conditions, and introduction in semiarid lands may help to prevent the disruption of the equilibrium of those fragile ecosystems.

Intense daylight and a long growing period are necessary to secure high yields. 
The caper bush can withstand temperatures over 40 °C in summer, but The caper is sensitive to frost during its vegetative period. 
A caper bush is able to survive low temperatures in the form of stump, as happens in the foothills of the Alps. 
Caper plants are found even 3,500 m above sea level in Ladakh, though Capers are usually grown at lower altitudes. 
Some Italian and Argentine plantings can withstand strong winds without problems, due to the plant's decumbent architecture and the coriaceous consistency of the leaves in some populations.

The caper bush is a rupicolous species. 
Caper is widespread on rocky areas and is grown on different soil associations, including alfisols, regosols, and lithosols. 
In different Himalayan locations, C. spinosa tolerates both silty clay and sandy, rocky, or gravelly surface soils, with less than 1% organic matter. 

Caper grows on bare rocks, crevices, cracks, and sand dunes in Pakistan, in dry calcareous escarpments of the Adriatic region, in dry coastal ecosystems of Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, in transitional zones between the littoral salt marsh and the coastal deserts of the Asian Red Sea coast, in the rocky arid bottoms of the Jordan valley, in calcareous sandstone cliffs at Ramat Aviv, Israel, and in central west and northwest coastal dunes of Australia. 

Caper grows spontaneously in wall joints of antique Roman fortresses, on the Western Wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount, and on the ramparts of the castle of Santa Bárbara (Alicante, Spain). 
Clinging caper plants are dominant on the medieval limestone-made ramparts of Alcudia and the bastions of Palma (Majorca, Spain). 

HARVEST of CAPER:
Caper buds are usually picked in the morning. 
Because the youngest, smallest buds fetch the highest prices, daily picking is typical.
Capers may be harvested from wild plants, in which case it is necessary to know that the plant is not one of the few poisonous Capparis species that look similar. 
The plant normally has curved thorns that may scratch the people who harvest the buds, although a few spineless varieties have been developed.

CULINARY USES of CAPER: 
The salted and pickled caper bud (called simply a caper) is used as an ingredient, seasoning, or garnish. 
Capers are a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, especially Cypriot, Italian, Aeolian Greek, and Maltese food. 
The immature fruit of the caper shrub are prepared similarly and marketed as caper berries. 
Fully mature fruit are not preferred, as they contain many hard seeds.

The buds, when ready to pick, are a dark olive green and range in size from under 7 mm to more than 14 mm. 
Capers are picked, then pickled in salt, or a salt and vinegar solution, and drained. 
Intense flavor, sometimes described as being similar to black pepper or mustard, is developed as glucocapparin, a glycoside organosulfur molecule, is released from each caper bud. 
This enzymatic reaction leads to the formation of rutin, often seen as crystallized white spots on the surfaces of individual caper buds.

Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine, especially in Sicilian, Aeolian, and southern Italian cooking. 
Capers are commonly used in salads, pasta salads, meat dishes, and pasta sauces. 
Examples of uses in Italian cuisine are chicken piccata and spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Capers are an ingredient in tartar sauce. 
Capers are often served with cold smoked salmon or cured salmon dishes, especially lox and cream cheese. 
Capers and caper berries are sometimes substituted for olives to garnish a martini.

Capers are categorized and sold by their size, defined as follows, with the smallest sizes being the most desirable: non-pareil (up to 7 mm), surfines (7–8 mm), capucines (8–9 mm), capotes (9–11 mm), fines (11–13 mm), and grusas (14+ mm). 
If the caper bud is not picked, it flowers and produces a caper berry. 
The fruit can be pickled and then served as a Greek mezze.

Caper leaves, which are hard to find outside of Greece or Cyprus, are used particularly in salads and fish dishes. 
Caper leaves are pickled or boiled and preserved in jars with brine—like caper buds.
Dried caper leaves are also used as a substitute for rennet in the manufacturing of high-quality cheese.

NUTRITION of CAPER:
Canned, pickled capers are 84% water, 5% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 1% fat (table). 
Preserved capers are particularly high in sodium due to the amount of salt added to the brine. In a typical serving of 28 grams (one ounce), capers supply 6 kcal and 35% of the Daily Value (DV) for sodium, with no other nutrients in significant content. 
In a 100 gram amount, the sodium content is 2960 mg or 197% DV, with vitamin K (23% DV), iron (13% DV), and riboflavin (12% DV) also having appreciable levels.

PROPAGATION of CAPER:
Capers can be grown easily from fresh seeds gathered from ripe fruit and planted into well-drained seed-raising mix. 
Seedlings appear in two to four weeks. 
Old, stored seeds enter a state of dormancy and require cold stratification to germinate. 
The viable embryos germinate within three to four days after partial removal of the lignified seed coats. 
The seed coats and the mucilage surrounding the seeds may be ecological adaptations to avoid water loss and conserve seed viability during the dry season.

Use of stem cuttings avoids high variability in terms of production and quality. 
Nevertheless, plants grown from cuttings are more susceptible to drought during the first years after planting. 
The caper bush is a difficult-to-root woody species, and successful propagation requires careful consideration of biotypes and seasonal and environmental parameters. 
Rootings up to 55% are possible when using one-year-old wood, depending on cutting harvest time and substrate used. 

Propagation from stem cuttings is the standard method for growing ‘Mallorquina’ and ‘Italiana’ in Spain, and ‘Nocella’ in the Aolian Islands, esp. Salina. 
Hardwood cuttings vary in length from 15 to 50 cm and diameter of the cuttings may range from 1.0 to 2.5 cm. 
Another possibility is to collect stems during February through the beginning of March, treat them with captan or captafol and stratify them outdoors or in a chamber at 3–4 °C, covered with sand or plastic. 
Moisture content and drainage should be carefully monitored and maintained until planting. 

Using semihardwood cuttings, collected and planted during August and September, low survival rates (under 30%) have been achieved. 
Softwood cuttings are prepared in April from 25- to 30-day shoots. 
Each cutting should contain at least two nodes and be six to 10 cm long. 
Basal or subterminal cuttings are more successful than terminal ones. 
Then, cuttings are planted in a greenhouse under a mist system with bottom heat; 150 to 200 cuttings/m2 may be planted.

ORCHARD ESTABLISHMENT of CAPER:
Mean annual temperatures in areas under cultivation are over 14 °C (57 °F). 
A rainy spring and a hot dry summer are considered advantageous. 
This drought-tolerant perennial plant is used for landscaping and reducing erosion along highways, steep rocky slopes, sand dunes or fragile semiarid ecosystems.

Caper plantings over 25 to 30 years old are still productive. 
Thus, physical properties of the soil (texture and depth) are particularly important. 
Caper bushes can develop extensive root systems and grow best on deep, nonstratified, medium-textured, loamy soils. 
Mouldboard plowing and harrowing are usual practices prior to caper plant establishment. 
Soil-profile modification practices, such as deep plowing operating 0.6 to 1 m, can ameliorate some restrictions. 
In Pantelleria, digging backhoe pits for each shrub was found to be the most effective means of cultivating caper in rocky soils. 
Two planting designs are used, the square/rectangle and the hedgerow system. 
Spacing is determined by the vigour of the biotype, fertility of the soil, equipment used and the irrigation method, if any.

ORIGIN of CAPER:
There is a strong association between the caperbush and oceans and seas. 
Capparis spinosa is said to be native to the Mediterranean basin, but its range stretches from the Atlantic coasts of the Canary Islands and Morocco to the Black Sea to the Crimea and Armenia, and eastward to the Caspian Sea and into Iran. 
Capers probably originated from dry regions in west or central Asia. 
Known and used for millennia, capers were mentioned by Dioscorides as being a marketable product of the ancient Greeks. 
Capers are also mentioned by the Roman scholar, Pliny the Elder.

ECOLOGY and HABIT of CAPER:
Dry heat and intense sunlight make the preferred environment for caper plants. 
Plants are productive in zones having 350 mm annual precipitation (falling mostly in winter and spring months) and easily survive summertime temperatures higher than 40°C (105° F). 
However, caper is a cold tender plant and has a temperature hardiness range similar to the olive tree (-8°C, 18°F.)
Where native, plants grow spontaneously in cracks and crevices of rocks and stone walls. 
Plants grow well in nutrient poor sharply-drained gravelly soils. 

Mature plants develop large extensive root systems that penetrate deeply into the earth. 
Capers are salt-tolerant and flourish along shores within sea-spray zones.
Caper plants are small shrubs, and may reach about one meter upright. 
However, uncultivated caper plants are more often seen hanging, draped and sprawling as they scramble over soil and rocks. 
The caper's vegetative canopy covers soil surfaces which helps to conserve soil water reserves. 
Leaf stipules may be formed into spines. 
Flowers are born on first-year branches.

CPOR STATUS of CAPER:
Locally, capers are collected from wild plants within their natural range. 
European sources are Spain (Almeria, Grenada and Balearic Islands), France (Provence), and Italy (especially Sicily and the Aeolian island of Salina and the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria). 
Capers are also cultivated in Dalmatia and Greece. 
Other areas of production include Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Asia minor, Cyprus and the Levant, the coastal areas of the Black Sea, and Iran.

CROP CULTURE of CAPER:
-Propagation:
Plants are grown from seed and by vegetative cuttings.
From seed:
Caper seeds are miniscule and are slow to nurture into transplantable seedlings. 
Fresh caper seeds germinate readily - but only in low percentages. 
Dried seeds become dormant and are notably difficult to germinate and therefore require extra measures to grow. 

Dried seeds should be initially immersed in warm water (40°C or 105°F ) and then let soak for 1 day. 
Seeds should be wrapped in a moist cloth, placed in a sealed glass jar and kept in the refrigerator for 2 - 3 months. 
After refrigeration, soak the seeds again in warm water overnight. 
Plant the seeds about 1 cm deep in a loose well drained soil media. 
Young caper plants can be grown in a greenhouse (preferable minimum temperature of 10°C or 50°F).

*Stem Cuttings:
Collect cuttings in February, March or April. 
Use stems from the basal portions, greater than 1 cm diameter and 8 cm in length with 6-10 buds. 
Use a loose well drained media with bottom heat. 
A dip in a IBA solution of 1.5 to 3.0 ppm is recommended (15 seconds). 
A 70% rooting percentage would be considered good.

-Production Practices:
Transplanting is carried out during the wet winter and spring periods, and first-year plants are mulched with stones.
In Italy, plants are spaced 2 to 2.5 meters apart (depending on the roughness of the topography; about 2,000 plants per hectare). 
A full yield is expected in 3 to 4 years. 
Plants are pruned back in winter to remove dead wood and watersprouts. 

Pruning is crucial to high production. 
Heavy branch pruning is necessary, as flower buds arise on one year old branches. 
Three year old plants will yield 1 to 3 kilograms of caper flower buds per plant.
Grown from seed, in California caperbushes reportedly begin to flower in the fourth year, however Italian sources report some flowering from first year transplants.

-Harvesting:
The unopened flower buds should be picked on a dry days. 
Harvesting is carried out regularly throughout the growing season. 
In Southern Italy, caper flower buds are collected by hand about every 8 to 12 days, resulting in 9 -12 harvest times per season.

-Processing:
Capers are preserved either in vinegar or under layers of salt in a jar.
Raw capers are bland flavored and need to be cured to develop their piquant flavor. 
In Italy, capers are graded on a scale from '7' to '16', which indicates their size in millimeters. 
Mechanized screens are used to sort the various sized capers after being hand-picked from the hillsides.
In French speaking countries, capers are graded using the terms 'Nonpareilles' and 'Surfines'. 

Capers under a centimeter diameter are considered more valuable than the larger Capucines and Communes (up to one and a half centimeters of diameters).
Capers in vinegar are traditionally packaged in tall narrow glass bottles.
Caper fruits (caperberry, capperone, or taperone) may be used in making caper flavored sauces, or sometimes pickled for eating like small gherkins.

CULTIVATION and HISTORY of CAPER:
Native to the Mediterranean, C. spinosa plants require dry heat and lots of sun to grow. 
They will not survive temperatures below 18°F. 
In their native environment, they are evergreen. 
In the caper bush diaspora, however, they may lose their leaves over winter.
In parts of the country where it gets cold, it’s best to grow C. spinosa in a container and let it overwinter indoors.

Caper bushes can grow three to five feet high and spread four or five feet wide. 
They like well-drained, rocky soil similar to that favored by another beloved Mediterranean food plant, olive trees.
They like masonry so much, they can be seen growing on the stone walls of ancient buildings throughout Italy!
Cultivation in the US isn’t rampant, although gardeners in the southwest and in parts of California have had some success.
The climate where I live in Central Texas is often compared to that of the Mediterranean, but local experts that I consulted are unaware of a booming caper bush-growing phenomenon in our area. 

The caper plant is a half-hardy, deciduous shrub. 
The caper needs a sunny position with at least 6 hours of sun per day in summer. 
The caper needs a minimum temperature of 10°C (50°F) and is best grown in a greenhouse or well-lit conservatory. 
Although the caper can tolerate lower temperatures if the compost is kept on the dry side.

Propagation:
C. spinosa can be tricky to propagate, but here’s some information on the most commonly used methods:
*From Seed:
Seeds are best sown when fresh. 
If this is not possible, the seeds require cold stratification to germinate, and even with the best care, germination can be sporadic and lengthy — as long as three months.

If seeds are not fresh, follow these steps:
Drop seeds into a quart jar filled with warm water (110°F-115°F).
Allow seeds to soak for 12 hours – no need to maintain the water temperature. 
It’ll cool to room temperature, and that’s fine.
Remove seeds from water, wrap in a moist towel, place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate for 65-70 days.

Remove from the refrigerator and soak again, as in step 2.
Prepare 6-inch clay pots or a deep planting tray with a mix consisting of 50 percent planting mix, and 25 percent each of perlite and sand.
Plant the seeds ¼ to ½ inch deep; water well and keep in a warm (70°F-85°F) place in part or full sun.
Keep soil moist during the germination period, which should start within 3-4 weeks, and continue for as long as three months. 

Keep in mind that all seeds may not germinate at the same time.
If seedlings become too crowded in the growing container, use scissors to cut off the smaller, weaker seedlings. 
Don’t pull them up, or you risk damaging the root systems of the healthier seedlings.
When seedlings are 3-5 inches tall, transplant each to a one-gallon container filled with the same planting mix as used for the seeds. 

Take care not to disturb their root systems.
Water well immediately and cover each container with a plastic bag. 
If it’s spring or summer, place the container in a shady spot. 
If it’s winter, put the container in a warm (70°F-85°F) area.

After one week, cut off the top of the plastic bag so the seedlings will be gradually exposed to the natural environment.
Enlarge the opening after another 10 days.
After another week, remove the plastic bags and place the plants in a shaded area.
If transplanting to the ground, do so in early spring after the last frost. 
If planting in a larger container, do so when your plant is 6-8 inches tall and appears healthy.

From Cuttings:
Collect 3- to 4-inch cuttings from stems of the plant that are at least ¼ inch wide.
Insert a pencil into a container of potting mix. 
Remove the pencil, creati a hole.
Immerse the cut ends into a rooting medium for 15 seconds, and then carefully insert into the holes you created with the pencil.
Keep in mind that your young plant won’t produce flowers for two to three years.

How to Grow:
If planting outdoors, choose a site that has very good drainage and no flooding.
Water C. spinosa frequently during its first two years of life. 
After that, the plant is fairly drought tolerant.
Fertilize with 21-0-0 or 16-16-16 two to three times during spring and summer.
Don’t prune your young plant for the first three years. 
Thereafter, prune to the ground in November or December.

Sowing capers:
Prior to sowing the seeds, soak them for 2 to 3 days in warm water. 
Sow from late winter to the end of spring in pots of good, moist but well-drained seed compost at a temperature of 18-21°C (65-70°F), ideally in a heated propagator.

Germination can take a long time. 
If germination hasn’t occurred within 2 to 3 months, the seeds will need a period of cold stratification. 
Either move the pots outside over winter for a period or natural cold, or move them to a fridge, for 7 to 10 days. 
Then put them back in the propagator. 
These alternating periods of cold/warmth should ensure germination.

When the seedlings are large enough to handle, transplant them individually to 7.5-9cm (3-3.5in) pots and grow on the plants at a minimum temperature of 10°C.

How to care for capers?
Keep the compost moist while plants are actively growing (spring to autumn), but keep it slightly drier at other times. 
Caper plants are very susceptible to waterlogging, so don’t overwater.
Feed plants regularly with a high potash liquid plant food from spring to autumn.

Pruning:
Cut back plants hard, to a couple of inches from ground level in winter or early spring, to make a more compact plant and to encourage lots of new flowering shoots.

Harvesting:
You should be able to pick capers from May to September, from the third year onwards after sowing from seed.
Harvest the flower buds when they are still tight. 
This usually means picking them early in the morning before they start to open in the heat of the day.

PHYSICAL and CHEMICAL PROPERTIES of CAPER:
Flowering season(s): Summer, Autumn
Foliage season(s): Spring, Summer, Autumn
Sunlight: Full sun
Soil type: Loamy
Soil pH: Neutral
Soil moisture: Moist but well-drained
Ultimate height: 1m (40in)
Ultimate spread: Up to 1.5m (5ft)
Time to ultimate height: 3-4 years

SCIENTIFIC NAMES of CAPER:
Species: Capparis spinosa L. (syn. Capparis rupestris)
also Capparis ovata Desf.
Family: Capparidaceae (or Capparaceae)