Sunday, July 14, 2013

CAPER - KAPERN - TSALAF KOZANI


The caper bushes are blooming in abundance and beautifully here now. Capers  are the buds of the plants, before the flower opens. Capparis spinosa, the perennial prickly plant is native to the Levant and to parts of Asia. Here they are growing wild, but they are cultivated in many countries. Their name is tsalaf kozani צלף קוצני in Hebrew and al-kabara in Arabic.


There are large and small buds, the smaller buds are considered more delicately tasty. After they are harvested  they are pickled in vinegar, which will bring out their tangy pungent intensive flavor. The buds are picked by hand, and I can tell from experience that this is not an easy task, you get pricked quite a lot. This makes the capers you buy quite pricey, although I have read that the cultivated shrubs are less thorny.


Many recipes with caper exist and a lot can be found on the Internet. I remember one (which is not a Jewish dish) that is called "Koenigsberger Klopse". Those are meatballs in a white sauce with caper. They are served with potatoes cooked in salt water. This recipe has its own recognition on Wikipedia.


I love the white flowers with the purple stamen and how the green buds, just before they open have purple tips. Driving home to our village I can see the bushes on the road side. They really make my heart sing, especially now, when the summer is hot and not many flowering plants are left.






Those were photographed by my husband at Mount Avital in the North during our outing last weekend.

9 comments:

Bob Bushell said...

What beautiful flower, wild flower.

Annuk said...

The flowers look lovely! And so beautiful against that blue-blue sky!

Dies und Das vom Neckarstrand said...

Yael, das hat mich alles sehr interessiert. Die Fotos sind wieder excellent.
Ich liebe Kapern - vor allen Dingen in der Sauce von Königsberger Klopsen.
Einen guten Start in die neue Woche wünscht Dir
Irmi

Anonymous said...

Liebe Yael
fantastisch deine Kapernfotos.... als Kind dachte ich Kapern seinen Kaulquappen und so verweigerte ich den Genuss hartnäckig....
Herzliche Sommersonnengrüsse Brigitte

wandamarie.blogspot.com said...

once again, you have shown me most delightful photos, (better than from a book)of what the bush looks like that capers comes from. I love those little things, yum! and THANKS YAEL!

Magia da Inês said...

⊱✿✿°

·.¸.•♪♪
Flores tão lindas e comestíveis!...
A natureza é maravilhosa mesmo!!!!

Boa semana·..¸彡
♪♫° Beijinhos·..°♡♡
°❤❤ Brasil✿✿·..

Unknown said...

I wish they could grow here but I am sure they need a much drier climate.. what a gorgeous flower! Capers are the key ingredient for wild mushroom ravioli in a salmon sauce from my favorite restaurant in Anchorage Alaska .. the Orso... mmmm .. love love love!! now I am hungry!!

Anonymous said...

Hej Yael,

Kapern esse ich, sauer eingelegt, sehr gerne!
Das Tolle an der Bloggerwelt ist, man lernt Dinge, die man schon lange wissen wollte, aber irgendwie nie dazu kam, das einmal nachzusehen. Heute bekam ich eindrucksvolle Bilder dazu.

herzlich
Beate

mispapelicos said...

You always make my day with your beautiful photos and lovely comments.Thank you, my dear Yael from the bottom of my heart.
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