Caper

Capparis spinosa
Illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Brassicales
Family:	Capparaceae
Genus:	Capparis
Species:	C. spinosa
Binomial name
Capparis spinosa Linnaeus, 1753
Synonyms[2]
Synonymy Blumea grandiflora Zipp. ex Span. Capparis aculeata Steud. Capparis microphylla Ledeb. Capparis murrayi Stewart ex Dalz. Capparis ovalis Risso Capparis ovata Desf. Capparis peduncularis C.Presl Capparis sativa Pers.

Capparis spinosa, the caper bush, also called Flinders rose,

The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning or garnish, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed salted or pickled. Other species of Capparis are also picked along with C. spinosa for their buds or fruits. Other parts of Capparis plants are used in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.

Capparis spinosa is native to almost all the

The shrubby plant is many-branched, with

Capparis spinosa ranges around the Mediterranean Basin, Arabian Peninsula, and portions of Western and Central Asia.

In southern Europe, it is found in southern Portugal, southern and eastern Spain including the Balearic Islands, Mediterranean France including Corsica, Italy including Sicily and Sardinia, Croatia's Dalmatian islands, Albania, Greece and the Greek Islands, western and southern Turkey, on Cyprus, and on the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine . In Spain it ranges from sea level up to 1300 meters elevation.^[1]

In northern Africa, it is found throughout the north and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, where it occurs from sea level up to 2000 meters elevation. It is also found in northern Algeria (Kabylie, coastal Algeria, Bouzaréa, and Oran) and the Hoggar Mountains of the Algerian Sahara, in Tunisia north of the Sahara, and Cyrenaica in Libya.^[1]

In western Asia, it is found along the eastern Mediterranean in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and western Jordan, and in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is also found south of the Caucasus in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and northeastern Turkey. On the Arabian Peninsula it occurs in Oman, Yemen including Socotra, and Asir province of Saudi Arabia. In central Asia, it inhabits the mountains of central Afghanistan, the lower Karakoram range in northern Pakistan and Ladakh, and Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and eastern Uzbekistan.^[1]

Environmental requirements

The caper bush requires a semiarid or arid climate. The caper bush has developed a series of mechanisms that reduce the impact of high radiation levels, high daily temperature, and insufficient soil water during its growing period.^[14][15]

The caper bush has a curious reaction to sudden increases in humidity; it forms wart-like pockmarks across the leaf surface. This is harmless, as the plant quickly adjusts to the new conditions and produces unaffected leaves.^{[citation needed]}

It also shows characteristics of a plant adapted to poor soils.

The caper bush has been introduced as a specialized culture in some European countries in the last four decades.^[when?] The economic importance of the caper plant led to a significant increase in the area under cultivation and production levels during the late 1980s. The main production areas are in harsh environments found in Iraq, Morocco, the southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Turkey, the Greek island of Santorini, and the Italian islands of Pantelleria and the Aeolian Islands, especially Salina. Capers from Pantelleria and the Aeolian islands are recognized as European PGI or PDO products. This species has developed special mechanisms to survive in Mediterranean conditions, and introduction in semiarid lands may help to prevent the disruption of the equilibrium of those fragile ecosystems.^[18]

A harvest duration of at least three months is necessary for profitability.^[

]

The known distributions of each species can be used to identify the origin of commercially prepared capers.[7]^[19]

The caper bush is a

Majorca, Spain). This aggressive pioneering has brought about serious problems for the protection of monuments.^{[citation needed}

]

Propagation

Capers can be grown easily from fresh seeds gathered from ripe fruit and planted into a well-drained seed-raising mix. Seedlings appear in two to four weeks. Old, stored seeds enter a state of

lignified seed coats.^[21] The seed coats and the mucilage surrounding the seeds may be ecological adaptations to avoid water loss and conserve seed viability during the dry season.^{[citation needed}

]

Use of stem

cuttings avoids high variability in terms of production and quality. Nevertheless, plants grown from cuttings are more susceptible to drought during the first years after planting. The caper bush is a difficult-to-root woody species, and successful propagation requires careful consideration of biotypes and seasonal and environmental parameters. Rootings up to 55% are possible when using one-year-old wood, depending on cutting harvest time and substrate used. Propagation from stem cuttings is the standard method for growing 'Mallorquina' and 'Italiana' in Spain and 'Nocella' in the Aeolian Islands, esp. Salina. Hardwood cuttings vary in length from 15 to 50 cm, and the diameter of the cuttings may range from 1.0 to 2.5 cm. Another possibility is to collect stems during February through the beginning of March, treat them with captan or captafol and stratify them outdoors or in a chamber at 3–4 °C, covered with sand or plastic. Moisture content and drainage should be carefully monitored and maintained until planting. Using semi-hardwood cuttings collected and planted during August and September, low survival rates (under 30%) have been achieved. Softwood cuttings are prepared in April from 25- to 30-day shoots. Each cutting should contain at least two nodes and be six to 10 cm long. Basal or subterminal cuttings are more successful than terminal ones. Then, cuttings are planted in a greenhouse under a mist system with bottom heat; 150 to 200 cuttings/m² may be planted.^{[citation needed}

]

Orchard establishment

Mean annual temperatures in areas under cultivation are over 14 °C (57 °F). A rainy spring and a hot, dry summer are considered advantageous.[22] This drought-tolerant perennial plant is used for landscaping and reducing erosion along highways, steep rocky slopes, dunes or fragile semiarid ecosystems.^{[citation needed]}

Caper plantings over 25 to 30 years old are still productive.

hedgerow

system. Spacing is determined by the vigour of the biotype, soil fertility, equipment used and the irrigation method, if any.

Harvest

Caper buds are usually picked in the morning.^[24] Because the youngest, smallest buds fetch the highest prices, daily picking is typical.^[24]

Capers may be harvested from wild plants, in which case it is necessary to know that the plant is not one of the few poisonous Capparis species that look similar.^[24] The plant normally has curved thorns that may scratch the people who harvest the buds, although a few spineless varieties have been developed.^[24]

Culinary uses

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on

• Cooking with capers

The salted and pickled caper bud (simply called a "caper") is used as an ingredient, seasoning, or garnish. Capers are a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, especially Cypriot, Italian, Aeolian Greek, and Maltese food. The immature fruit of the caper shrub are prepared similarly and marketed as "caper berries". Fully mature fruit are not preferred, as they contain many hard seeds.^{[citation needed]}

The buds, when ready to pick, are a dark

enzymatic reaction leads to the formation of rutin, often seen as crystallized white spots on the surfaces of individual caper buds.^{[citation needed}

]

Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine, especially in

chicken piccata and spaghetti alla puttanesca.^{[citation needed}

]

Capers are an ingredient in

cured salmon dishes, especially lox and cream cheese. Capers and caper berries are sometimes substituted for olives to garnish a martini.^{[citation needed}

]

Capers are categorized and sold by their size, defined as follows, with the smallest sizes being the most desirable: non-pareil (up to 7 mm), surfines (7–8 mm), capucines (8–9 mm), capotes (9–11 mm), fines (11–13 mm), and grusas (14+ mm). If the caper bud is not picked, it flowers and produces a caper berry. The fruit can be pickled and then served as a Greek

mezze.^{[citation needed}

]

Caper leaves, which are hard to find outside of Greece or Cyprus, are used particularly in salads and fish dishes. They are pickled or boiled and preserved in jars with brine—like caper buds.^{[citation needed]}

Dried caper leaves are also used as a substitute for rennet in manufacturing high-quality cheese.^[25]

• 
  Capers for sale in an Italian market
• 
  Pickled caperberries
• 
  Salted capers
• 
  Caper leaves, pickled or boiled, can be used as an addition to salads.

Nutrition

Capers, prepared, canned

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	96 kJ (23 kcal)
Carbohydrates	5 g
Sugars	0.4 g
Dietary fiber	3 g
Fat	0.9 g
Protein	2 g
Niacin (B3)	4% 0.652 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5)	1% 0.027 mg
Vitamin B6	1% 0.023 mg
Folate (B9)	6% 23 μg
Vitamin C	4% 4 mg
Vitamin E	6% 0.88 mg
Vitamin K	21% 24.6 μg
Minerals	Quantity %DV†
Calcium	3% 40 mg
Iron	9% 1.7 mg
Sodium	129% 2960 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	83.8 g
Selenium	1.2 μg
Link to USDA Nutrient Database Entry
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[26] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[27]

Canned, pickled capers are 84% water, 5%

nutrients in significant content. In a 100-gram amount, the sodium content is 2960 mg or 197% DV, with vitamin K (23% DV), iron (13% DV), and riboflavin

(12% DV) also having appreciable levels (table).

Polyphenols

Canned capers contain polyphenols, including the flavonoids quercetin (173 mg per 100 g) and kaempferol (131 mg per 100 g),^[28] as well as anthocyanins.^[29]

Other uses

Capers are sometimes used in cosmetics.^[24]

History

Archaeobotanical evidence of capers has been found in the Mediterranean region and Mesopotamia as early as the upper Paleolithic period.^[12]

The caper was used in

archaeological levels in the form of carbonised seeds and rarely as flower buds and fruits from archaic and classical antiquity contexts. Athenaeus in Deipnosophistae pays a lot of attention to the caper, as do Pliny (NH XIX, XLVIII.163) and Theophrastus.^[30]

Etymologically, the caper and its relatives in several European languages can be traced back to Classical Latin capparis, "caper", in turn, borrowed from the Greek κάππαρις, kápparis, whose origin (as with that of the plant) is unknown but is probably Asian.^{[citation needed]} Another theory links kápparis to the name of the island of Cyprus (Κύπρος, Kýpros), where capers grow abundantly.^[31]

In

Biblical times, the caper berry was supposed to have aphrodisiac properties;^[32] the Hebrew word aviyyonah (אֲבִיּוֹנָה) for caperberry is closely linked to the Hebrew root אבה (avah), meaning "desire".^[33] The word occurs once in the Bible, in the book of Ecclesiastes, at verse 12:5

.

The King James Version translates based on the Hebrew root (and perhaps the metaphorical meaning):^[34]

...the grasshopper shall be a burden,
and desire shall fail. (12:5 KJV)

The medieval Jewish commentator

idiomatic translation (2004),

...the grasshopper loses its spring,
and the caper berry has no effect; (12:5 HCSB

)

Of other modern versions, the New International Version (NIV) uses "desire" (12:5 NIV), while the New American Standard Bible (NASB) has "caper-berry" (12:5 NASB), as did the 1917 Jewish Publication Society version (12:5).

The berries (abiyyonot) were eaten, as appears from their liability to tithes and the restrictions of the

'Orlah. They are carefully distinguished in the Mishnah and the Talmud from the caper leaves, alin, shoots, temarot,^[35] and the caper buds, capperisin (note the similarity "caper"isin to "caper");^[36] all of which were eaten as seen from the blessing requirement, and declared to be the fruit of the ẓelaf or caper plant.^[35]

The "capperisin" mentioned in the Talmud are actually referring to a shell that protected the "abiyyonot" as it grew.[37]

Talmud Bavli discusses the eating of caper sepals versus caper berries, both inside the land of Israel, outside the land of Israel, and in Syria.^[35]

Capers are mentioned as a spice in the Roman cookbook Apicius.^[24]

Alternatives

marigold, and Cassia buds have sometimes been used as a substitute.^[24]

See also

• List of endemic plants in the Mariana Islands

Gallery

• 
  Caper bushes on the Western Wall in Jerusalem
• 
  Caper bush growing on the Western Wall, Jerusalem
• 
  Capparis spinosa fruit
• 
  Caper flower in Ab Pakhsh
• 
  Capparis spinosa flower
• 
  Caper bush in Ab Pakhsh
• 
  A caper fruit in Ab Pakhsh
• 
  A caper fruit in Ab Pakhsh
• 
  Inside of an unripe caper fruit in Ab Pakhsh
• 
  Caper flower in Behbahan

References

1. ^
   The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T137745831A139593491. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T137745831A139593491.en
   . Downloaded on 24 September 2021.
2. ^ The Plant List, Capparis spinosa L
3. ^ "Capparis spinosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
4. ^ Altervista Flora Italiana, Cappero, Kapernstrauch, Capparis spinosa L. includes photos and European distribution map
5. ^ Flora of China, 山柑 shan gan, Capparis spinosa Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 503. 1753.
6. ^ "Capparis spinosa L." Atlas of Living Australia.
7. ^
   S2CID 8713605
   .
8. ^ Pugnaire de Iraola, F.I. (1989). "Nota sobre las Capparaceae ibéricas". Blancoana. 7: 121–122.
9. ^ Zohary, M. (1960). "The species of Capparis in the Mediterranean and the Near Eastern Countries." Bulletin of the Research Council of Israel, Section D, Botany 8(2): 49-64
10. ^ Jacobs, M. (1965). "The genus Capparis (Capparaceae) from the Indus to the Pacific". Blumea. 12: 385–541.
11. ^ Heywood V.H. (1993). "Flowering plants of the world." Oxford University Press, New York
12. ^ ^{a b} D. Rivera, C. Inocencio, C. Obón, E. Carreño, A. Reales, F. Alcaraz. (2002). "Archaeobotany of capers (Capparis) (Capparaceae)." Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 11(4): 295–313
13. ^ Watson, L.; M.J. Dallwitz (1992). "The Families of Flowering Plants". Archived from the original on 1 November 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2006.
14. ^ Rhizopoulou, S. (1990). "Physiological responses of Capparis spinosa L. to drought." Journal of Plant Physiology 136: 341–348.
15. ^ Levizou, E; P. Drilias; A. Kyparissis (2004). "Exceptional photosynthetic performance of Capparis spinosa L. under adverse conditions of Mediterranean summer." Photosynthetica. 42: 229–235
16. doi:10.1080/01904169109364191
    .
17. S2CID 40662617
    .
18. ISBN 9780471387909
    .
19. S2CID 84708281
    .
20. ^ Sozzi, G.O. (2008). Capparis spinosa, caper bush, pp. 227-232. In: J. Janick and R.E. Paull (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Fruit and Nuts. CABI Publishing, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
21. doi:10.1016/0304-4238(95)00779-S
    .
22. ^ Barbera, B. (1991). Le câprier (Capparis spp.). EUR 13617, Série Agriculture, Programme de recherche Agrimed. Commission des Communautés européennes, Luxembourg, 63 pp.
23. ^ Luna Lorente, F.; M. Pérez Vicente (1985). "La Tapenera o Alcaparra: Cultivo y Aprovechamiento." Publicaciones de Extensión Agraria, Colección Agricultura Práctica. 37. Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, Madrid, España, 125 pp.
24. ^
    ISBN 978-1439856888
    .
25. ^ Mike, Tad, "Capers: The Flower Inside", Epikouria Magazine, Fall/Winter 2006
26. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". Retrieved 28 March 2024.
27. PMID 30844154.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
28. ^ "USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods, Release 3, page 16" (PDF). US Department of Agriculture. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
29. PMID 25377263
    .
30. ^ Fragiska, M. (2005). Wild and Cultivated Vegetables, Herbs and Spices in Greek Antiquity. Environmental Archaeology 10 (1): 73–82
31. ^ Gernot Katzer. "Spice Pages: Capers (Capparis spinosa)". gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com.
32. ^ ^{a b} Kohler, Kaufmann; Hyvernat, Henry (1906). "Caper-berry". The Jewish Encyclopedia.
33. ^ See, e.g. Gesenius's lexicon, via Blue Letter Bible
34. ^ Though, as the Jewish Encyclopedia points out, the female form aviyyonah should strictly mean "the desiring thing", rather than "desire" itself. Kimhi suggested "soul".
35. ^ ^{a b c} Talmud Bavli, Brachot 36a-36b
36. ^ Kaf HaChaim 208
37. ^ Rashi Brachot 36a

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Capers".

• Media related to Capparis spinosa at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Capparis spinosa at Wikispecies
• Caper factsheet – NewCROP, Purdue University
• Book. "Capers. From Wild Harvest to Gourmet Food". Brian Noone 2017 Published by Caperplants.
• Caperplants