Difference Between Capers and Blueberries, and When to Use Them
As a lover of salty and highly salty, I appreciate the many gifts that the caper bush has given us. From it we get not only capers, but also capers – two things that sound like they could be the same, but are actually completely different.
Capers and capers are harvested from the caper bush, but at different stages of maturation. Capers – small, very salty, savory balls often found on salmon bagels – are unopened, unripe flower buds, while capers are ripe fruits.
Both are usually salted in one way or another, but the capers are larger and softer, with a lemon-floral scent. Salted capers tend to be slightly crunchier than their salty counterparts, which, like most pickled foods, are sour and salty, with crunchy seeds that have a similar texture to those found in kiwis.
Use capers like olives, especially in ice cold martinis. You can roast them whole without removing the stems, along with the protein or whole, or toss them in a large bowl of pasta. They also make an excellent pizza filling: cut them into small discs and sprinkle like pepperoni.
On the other hand, capers are smaller and more pungent in flavor, but still quite vibrant and best used as a side dish (or fried as a tar snack). Capers are harvested before they bloom and graded for size, with the smallest, called “non-pareil,” which means “unmatched,” considered the most desirable. Pantelleria capers, hand-picked on an island between Sicily and Tunisia and stored fermented and packaged in sea salt, are the trendiest and best added as a side dish so you can appreciate their complex flavors.
But all capers are pretty good. They are good for chicken, they are good for fish, they are good for salads, they are good for pasta, and they are good in complex butter . (I say they are good at many delicious things.)
Both capers and capers are usually packaged in salt or liquid brine cans. The salty versions of both are, as you’d expect, very salty, so it’s generally a good idea to rinse them (or even soak overnight) to roll up the salinity before adding them to your food. Some people also recommend similar movements for salty boys, but I never do this because I really like salt. (If eating capers straight out of the can is wrong, I will never, never be right.)