Description of canned capers, calorie content, composition and useful properties. Harm from use. Recipes and interesting facts about the product, which is usually consumed in pickled form.
Harm and contraindications to canned capers
Canned capers should not be introduced into the diet in case of disorders of the urinary system. This recommendation applies to all pickled and salted foods. Also, the use of canned capers has the following contraindications:
- Digestive dysfunction;
- Flatulence;
- Increased acidity of gastric juice, gastritis or peptic ulcer.
You should not introduce canned capers into the diet of pregnant women. This will put additional stress on the urinary system and may cause swelling. Avoid using the product when drawing up a menu for children under 3 years old, at this age the digestive system is unstable.
When taking antidiabetic or blood pressure lowering medications with pickled capers, be very careful not to provoke a significant drop in blood sugar levels or the development of a hypotonic crisis.
Canned caper recipes
Canned capers are used by culinary specialists from many southern countries. They are added to sauces, salads, fish and meat dishes. Italians often use the ingredient in pizza and tartar sauce.
Caper recipes
- Preservation of capers … The number of products is calculated for 500 g of product. The buds are collected until they have blossomed, washed with cold running water and laid out in a colander. Leave for a while to dry. Chop or pound 4 garlic cloves and chop half a large onion and a lemon. The marinade is cooked: 170 ml of apple cider vinegar is poured into 1.5 liters of water, lemon wedges are added, 3 pieces of cloves and allspice, a teaspoon of salt and a couple of bay leaves are added. The jars and lids are sterilized, the washed capers are laid out, the marinade is poured over, the lids are rolled up. Then the cans are turned over and allowed to cool under the covers. Store in a cellar or on a refrigerator shelf. Cans can explode at room temperature.
- Pickle with capers … Pork broth is cooked in the usual way, dipping pieces of meat in boiling water - 500 g per 2 liters of water, adding an onion and salt. The foam is removed. Pearl barley is soaked in advance, in the evening, to speed up the cooking later. Fully cooked meat is taken out of the boiling broth, prepared barley is added and left to boil. At this time, they are engaged in vegetables: finely chop an onion, rub carrots and 4 pickled cucumbers. Frying is prepared in sunflower oil: onions and carrots are fried, sprinkled with paprika. When the onion becomes soft and slightly golden, 5-6 tablespoons of pork broth, pickles and 5-6 caper buds, a little tomato paste are poured into the pan. Stew until the carrots are absolutely soft. The meat is cut into small pieces and dipped back into the broth, peeled and diced potatoes are added and wait until it is half cooked. Next, spread the frying in a saucepan and bring it to readiness. After turning off, remove the pan from heat and leave for 15 minutes to brew and cool. Before serving, chopped herbs - dill and parsley are poured into each plate.
- Vegetarian salad … 4 bell peppers are baked in the oven or on the grill. Better to take multi-colored, the dish will look more attractive. After 10-15 minutes, when they are ready, peel them off. To facilitate the process, hot peppers are placed in a plastic bag. Peeled peppers are cut into thin beautiful strips, 400 g of canned chickpeas and 6 tablespoons of buds are added. While the mixture is infused, they are engaged in refueling. Mix in a separate bowl 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 4 crushed garlic cloves and 5 grated mint leaves. All are mixed, achieving complete homogeneity, and the salad is poured.
- Chicken with capers … Chicken fillet (200 g) is baked in the oven, pre-salted. It is better to cut the meat into pieces right away. Then they are placed in a mixture of olive oil with rosemary and basil, the herbs are added in a teaspoon, and marinated for 25 minutes. Place the fillets in the oven again to create a beautiful crust. Cut 2 celery stalks into rings. Nuts are crushed to the state of gruel - almonds, walnuts or cashews, it is enough to take them in 8 pieces. Mix pieces of chicken fillet with nuts, celery, 2 tablespoons of capers, sprinkle with black pepper. As a dressing, you can use lemon juice with yogurt, sour cream, olive oil.
- Beef with capers … The dish is Romanian, so you shouldn't be surprised by the abundance of golden crusts. 0.5 kg of meat is washed, cut into equal portions, dried with paper towels. Fry the chopped onion in half rings until golden brown, then meat in the same butter, also until golden brown. Put the meat and onions in a saucepan, pour it over with water and cook over low heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Pickled capers (3-4 tablespoons) are washed to remove excess salt. Then 150 g of freshly picked buds are poured with water and vinegar, mixing 2 tablespoons of water with half a tablespoon of vinegar. Pickled buds are fried in a pan with butter. You can add fresh capers to the meat. Sliced, pre-blanched tomatoes (200 g) and red bell pepper are stewed in a frying pan in the remaining oil. When the vegetables are almost ready, they are poured into the meat and left to simmer. While the dish is being prepared, they are engaged in the sauce. A tablespoon of flour is fried until golden brown in butter and also sent to a saucepan. Pour in the fried capers 5 minutes before turning off. Served with a side dish, preferably with rice.
Experienced chefs do not recommend using whole pickled buds when preparing hot dishes. They suggest rinsing them in running water to get rid of excess salt, and then rubbing them along with herbs or other seasonings that are also ingredients in the recipe. The mixture is added at the very end of cooking, then the taste of the dish will brighten.
Interesting facts about capers
In Southern cuisines, capers have been used since the Middle Ages. It is believed that the product got its name from the island of Cyprus (in Greek "Kipros"), whose culinary specialists began to harvest the buds. By the way, they are referred to as vegetables.
Breeders of France bred the caper without thorns and pinned great hopes on this culture. But they were disappointed. The plant turned out to be capricious, began to react to changes in the weather, and the yield was much lower.
The juice of the fresh buds helps heal non-healing skin ulcers and get rid of acne.
For the first time, the nobility began to use canned capers as food. It was believed that this product is an aphrodisiac, increases sex drive and increases the duration of intercourse. In the future, the properties were not confirmed, on the contrary. The use of pickled capers lowers blood pressure and eliminates vasospasm, which, accordingly, reduces blood flow to the genital area and tension in the penis.
In Ukraine and the Caucasus, instead of capers, green nasturtium seeds are pickled and added to dishes called capers. It is rather difficult to determine by taste what was used for cooking.
Watch the video about capers:
