The Italian caper

t was a long time ago but it feels just like yesterday — my first holiday in Italy. Apart from eating and drinking the most delicious fare, I made lifelong friends on that special trip. Standing in St Mark’s square to watch the full moon rise over the Grand Canali — armed with prosecco and my new favourite nibbles, caper berries — was breathtaking.

Caper berries are the fruit of Capparis spinosa — the caper bush, which is believed to have its origins in the Middle East but is now considered native to the Mediterranean. The young buds are harvested by hand in late spring to autumn; these are what we know as capers and go through a salting process before they can be eaten. Like the olive, they are too bitter to eat straight from the bush.

The texture and flavour are best when the buds are in their infant stage. If left on the bush they open into beautiful white flowers with pink stamens. After flowering they turn into berries full of tiny seeds.

Propagating the seeds for home growing is no easy task because the seeds become dormant when dried. Patience is a must for this process. Place seeds in warm water for eight to 10 hours, and then place in a sealed container in the fridge for a few months. Remove and soak again overnight in warm water.

Sow the seeds in a mixture of seedling mix in trays and keep in a warm, sheltered place like a greenhouse. When seedlings sprout, plant out in full sun in well-drained soil; they generally like the same growing conditions as olives. Too much water will kill the plant; they like hot and dry growing conditions.

The best capers are said to grow in the volcanic soil of an island off Sicily called Pantellaria. I am putting that destination on my wish list for my next Italian caper.