C is for Culinary Capers

Instead of the usual caper flower photos that I like to post, this year I’d thought I’d share the little, immature flower buds – the culinary capers so often used in Mediterannean cuisine. While capers are not used in traditional Egyptian dishes, the bushes are quite abundant here and Egypt does produce and market pickled capers. (Try the ones from Wadi Food.)

The flower buds pictured here were collected by my husband and I yesterday on a hike through a nearby desert wadi. This is the second year we will harvest and pickle our own capers – and then enjoy them on pizzas, pastas, and more! The Bedouin of South Sinai pickle the caper berries, but not the buds.

Read more:

Capers – New Crop FactSHEET from Purdue University

Do-it-yourself capers – a picking and pickling guide

Homemade Pickled Capers, Caper Leaves, and Caper Berries