Capers are the unopened flower bud of the plant Capparis spinosa, which usually grows in Southern France, Italy, and Algeria. These buds range in size from a small peppercorn to as large as a fingertip.

The smaller varieties of capers come from Southern France, and are considered the finest, while the larger ones come from Italy. Both sizes are used in a variety of dishes. Usually capers are sun-dried, and then pickled in vinegar brine, and sold this way. They are also distributed in bulk, after being salted. Either way, when a person uses them in cooking they will need to rinse away as much salt as possible.

Capers are used to enhance the flavor of many sauces, and are also used as a garnish for quite a few meat and vegetable dishes. One use of capers is in a chicken dish recipe that is found on the Internet.

This chicken recipe that uses capers is very similar to the recipe used to make lemon pepper dishes. In fact, this recipe contains all three ingredients-lemon, pepper, and capers. The total ingredient list includes the following:

o 2 tbsp. butter (or low-fat substitute)

o 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

o 3 tbsp. chopped parsley, fresh or dried

o 2 tbsp. lemon juice

o 1-2 tbsp. drained capers

o 1/2 tsp. pepper

o 1/2-1 c. sour cream

You may find different caper chicken recipes that call for slightly different ingredients and given slightly different directions for preparation. One of the easiest ways to prepare this meal is to first heat the butter (or substitute) in the pan. After that, you would add the pieces of chicken beast and let the breasts fry for 6-8 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, turn once, and remove chicken, and make sure it remains hot. Then you would prepare your sauce by mixing together the water, parsley, pepper, and capers. After that, you would deglaze pan, remove mixture from heat, and then add the sour cream and stir. You can then take this finished mixture and stir.

Chicken is one type of meat that can be flavored with a caper sauce. You can also make entrees such as cubed steak with capers, which also contains the ingredients of onions and mustard, as well as parsley to use for a garnish. Another steak dish you could make is called Flank Steak with Mustard Caper Sauce and also contains in it Worcestershire sauce and white wine.

Capers can also be used to flavor crab dishes as well. For instance, once crab dish calls for two tablespoons of capers, along with other ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, hot sauce, lemon rind, and/or crackers or Melba toast.

The best part of using capers is that it can be used in meals created for just one person as well. For instance, single people can make a pasta salad that calls for approximately 3 tablespoons of capers, plus ingredients such as marinated artichoke hearts, palm hearts, broccoli, red bell pepper, celery, green onions, or other. This pasta salad is usually served cold.

All of the above recipes take about 30 minutes preparation time (not including any marinating time you may do). Furthermore, most of these ingredients are available in most grocery stores.

If your neighborhood grocery store does not carry capers you may be able to have them shipped to you online. You may also find them at cooking fairs or in gourmet cooking specialty shops. If they do not have capers, you can also ask them where they think you can find it. In some areas of the world, you can find them at outdoor markets hosted by farmers and other locals.

All the types of dishes that you can create using capers are found on the Internet. You can also purchase cookbooks, which have additional preparation methods in them. If you are not sure where to find recipes that call for capers you can start by making some phone calls in your local area, and they can point you in the right direction as well.

If you plan on using capers quite often, you can also grow them in your own garden, in some areas. However, one word of caution in doing so is to make sure that you choose the right variety, because some are poisonous (faux capers).

One that is commonly confused with the edible flower described in this article is the Euphorbia lathyris plant, which is known by its common name caper spurge. The buds on this plant look much like those of the edible plant, so you will need to beware. Make sure you choose the right type, as mentioned in the beginning of this article.

Categories : Cooking Tips