Capers. WTF?

[Kali]

Looking around for recipes because YOU PEOPLE have not been very forthcoming :P ;-) see this : http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x5883912

and am coming across a lot of things with capers. I just don't get capers. Crunchy gross little THINGS that seem to make perfectly good food or sauces have a disgusting texture. Why?

[crim son]

1. You are crazy!

I love capers. Aren't they flower buds or something?

[Kali]

3. Not the kind of flower buds I would be interested in....

:smoke:


(I AM a little crazy - can't stand raisins, olives or nuts mixed into real food either, although I do like them alone)


Ewww and whole green peppercorns....gag. I LOVE black pepper, but whole crunchy balls of it...:puke:

[crim son]

6. I've one sister like you.

She also hates anything even vaguely sweet or sweet/spicy. No chinese or indian food for her. Me, I love everything except bananas and squid in ink. At least, that's all I know I don't like.

[Kali]

8. With me it is usually a texture thing.

Used to pick mushrooms out too but now I can eat them.

[crim son]

13. Well thank gawd for that.

I'd have to put you on ignore if you didn't like mushrooms!

[flamingyouth]

2. I love them.

And btw, they're not normally crunchy. :shrug:

[Kali]

5. How would you describe the texture?

and do they actually have flavor?

[flamingyouth]

7. They're very soft.

And they're quite flavorful. They're pickled in a vinegar brine.

[Kali]

12. Really? I must be mixing them up with something else.

I was thinking they were kind of like pickled peppercorns without the flavor - wonder what I had when I thought it was capers????

[flamingyouth]

17. Oh, there are pickled peppercorns out there.

I don't care for those too much. :(

[trackfan]

22. They can get that way (crunchy), in certain recipes, if they're fried first.

I actually like them that way in a salad dressing.

[Kali]

24. aha! So maybe it was them?

[GOPisEvil]

4. Four words: lemon, butter, caper, sauce.

Heaven over chicken and/or pasta.

[Kajsa]

11. Oh, yeah!

Now that's what I'm talking about!

A good caper sauce on fish is heaven on earth.

:9

[GOPisEvil]

15. Oh yeah, I forgot about over fish!

:9

[leftofthedial]

9. pickled boogers?

personally, I love capers. But they are a little faddish.

[Phillycat]

10. What the hell kind of capers are you eating?? They're not crunchy.

They are soft and have a very innocuous salty, somewhat olive-like flavor. They are wonderful in sauces and on bagels and lox.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

16. I was wondering about the crunchy thing myself.

I like them. They're even a good addition into tuna pasta salad.

[Kali]

18. I'm not sure now - I know what peppercorns are like and it wasn't them, so I wonder what

it was that I thought were capers????

[Phillycat]

19. LOL!

Well, you are unfairly maligning the poor capers. Perhaps you should describe what you were eating and we can suss it out for you. :D

[Kali]

23. It was some kind of creamy sauce with crunchy things in it and I don't recall

much flavor from them (and I definitely bit into a few before deciding to avoid as many as possible. Crispier than say a walnut but not quite to peppercorn level and no real flavor. And I am pretty sure capers were in the description of the dish on the menu - so forgive me as I have had this prejudice for a long time and don't really remember the place or time. And I am now totally embarrassed to realize I may have even been wrong about what ever it was that offended me!:blush: :crazy:

Now I need to go buy some capers and try them for real. I am curious.

[Phillycat]

26. Wouldn't it be awesome if you turned out to love them?

A whole other food that will be new to you! :)

[Midlodemocrat]

14. I LOVE capers.

They are delicious.

[mainegreen]

20. I'm with you there. Capers are a quick and easy way to ruin food.

[Gormy Cuss]

21. Well SOME PEOPLE have stars

and could post that recipe request over in the Cooking & Baking Group, ya know.
Is that a whole snapper you have, or some cut? Whole or large roast, I'd slice lemon very thinly and line the cavity with it, add a few sprigs of fresh herbs (parsley or thyme would be great),then lightly oil the skin, sprinkle on a generous dose of black pepper, wrap it in aluminum foil and poach it in the oven.

I love capers. I'm growing a caper bush with the hope of being able to pickle my own some day.

[Kali]

25. USUALLY the lounge is faster.

:rofl:

Got a whole fish - a little over 2.5 lbs. You have pretty much described how I was going to grill it, so I guess if it starts raining (and it has cleared off since I posted so...) I can just wrap it and put it in the oven as is.