Capers are pickled nasturtium buds, and they are soft. I cook a number of Italian dishes with them.
Nasturtium (sounds yummy? Not!) is part of the watercress family whereas capers are the pickled immature flower buds of Capparis spinosa, the caper bush. What did people do before the internet?
So, I looked them up and it seems I have eaten them before in a bean salad sort of dish and did not realize they were not a bean. I learned that 100 grams (almost 4 oz. which I think is a lot) has 23 calories and 2,348 mg of Sodium. I’m swelling up just reading about them!
Wow. I didn’t realize capers were nasturtiums. The nasturtium leaves are so yummy and spicy. I want to eat one each time I see one in a garden and only the thought of the gardeners spraying pesticides on them keeps me away.
Capparis spinosa, the caper bush, also called Flinders rose,[2] is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.[3][4][5]
The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), often used as a seasoning, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed pickled.
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.