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Culinary School Capers
When my friend, who is a culinary school chef, offered me a secret family recipe for veal piccata with lemon, wine, garlic, and capers, I prepared a truly scrumptious dinner for my family. At dinner, the question came up—what exactly are capers?
Today’s chef in training knows that capers are the unopened green flower buds of the caperbush. The buds are generally hand picked each morning as they reach the proper size, then sun dried and pickled in vinegar brine or preserved with salt. The caperbush (Capparis spinosa) grows predominantly in temperate seaside climates like those found in California and in countries that encircle the Mediterranean.
Chef Training Capers
Today’s chef training relies heavily on the finest peppercorn-size capers, which are imported from the south of France. There are also lesser-known and larger capers, which are grown in Italy. Because capers are salt or brine preserved, you learn in chef training that you need to rinse them diligently before beginning any culinary masterpiece.
Culinary school classes show you how capers, with the taste of both mustard and pepper, can enhance the flavor of classic Mediterranean and other types of entrees. A culinary combination of capers and lemon juice or lemon zest allows a chef in training to conjure up piquant sauces to complement meat, fish, and chicken dishes.
Capers Outside Culinary School
In addition to the many uses of capers in culinary school kitchens, the caperbush is also a full sun, water saving, ornamental plant with trailing green foliage and flowers that are a delicate blend of white petals and purple stamens. Capers and even caperbush bark are also purported to have medicinal properties when used in the form of infusions, tonics, and decoctions.
Creativity with Capers
Enrolling in a culinary school can provide you with the chef training you need to pepper your culinary creations with the distinct flavor of ingredients like capers.
Sources
What’s Cooking America
NewCROP
Mountain Valley Growers
About the Author
Judi Sandall is a technical writer and a regular Chef School Review columnist. She is a graduate of the State University of New York, with a BA in English Literature.
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