Capers cannot be eaten raw. When canning them, the capers are picked, allowed to dry for one day, and are then pickled in salt brine and vinegar. Capric acid and mustard oil (glucocapparin) are released from the buds during this process and are responsible for the typical savory and spicy flavor of pickled capers. For a finishing touch, capers are added to certain warm dishes.
General information:
From Wikipedia: “Capparis spinosa, the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers.
The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), often used as a seasoning, and the fruit (caper berries), both of which are usually consumed 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. ...”
Nutrition:
“Canned, pickled capers are 84% water, 5% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 1% fat.
Preserved capers are often particularly high in sodium content. In a typical serving of 28 grams (one ounce), capers supply 6 calories and 35% of the Daily Value (DV) for sodium, with no other nutrients in significant content. In a 100 gram amount, the sodium content is 2960 mg or 197% DV, with vitamin K, iron, and riboflavin also having appreciable levels.”
“Canned capers contain polyphenols, including the flavonoids quercetin (173 mg per 100 g) and kaempferol (131 mg per 100 g), as well as anthocyanins.”
Polyphenols:
“Canned capers contain polyphenols, including the flavonoids quercetin (173 mg per 100 g) and kaempferol (131 mg per 100 g), as well as anthocyanins.”
Culinary uses:
“The salted and pickled caper bud (called simply a caper) is often used as a seasoning or garnish. Capers are a common ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine, especially Cypriot, Italian, Aeolian and Maltese. The mature fruit of the caper shrub are prepared similarly and marketed as caper berries.
The buds, when ready to pick, are a dark olive green and about the size of a fresh kernel of corn (Zea mays). They are picked, then pickled in salt, or a salt and vinegar solution, and drained. Intense flavor is developed as mustard oil (glucocapparin) is released from each caper bud. This enzymatic reaction leads to the formation of rutin, often seen as crystallized white spots on the surfaces of individual caper buds.
Capers are a distinctive ingredient in Italian cuisine, especially in Sicilian, Aeolian and southern Italian cooking. They are commonly used in salads, pasta salads, meat dishes, and pasta sauces. ... Capers and caper berries are sometimes substituted for olives to garnish a martini.
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.
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.
Dried caper leaves are also used as a substitute for rennet in the manufacturing of high-quality cheese.”
Etymology:
“Etymologically, the caper and its relatives in several European tongues can be traced back to Classical Latin capparis, “caper”, in turn borrowed from the Greek κάππαρις, kápparis, whose origin (as that of the plant) is unknown but is probably Asian. Another theory links kápparis to the name of the island of Cyprus (Κύπρος, Kýpros), where capers grow abundantly.”
Nutrient tables
The complete nutritional information, coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients can be found in the following nutrient tables.
Nutritional Information
|
per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Energy | 23 kcal 96 kJ | 1.2% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2000kcal |
Fat/Lipids | 0.86 g | 1.2% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 70g |
Saturated Fats | 0.23 g | 1.2% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 20g |
Carbohydrates (inc.dietary fiber) | 4.9 g | 1.8% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 270g |
Sugars | 0.41 g | 0.5% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 90g |
Fiber | 3.2 g | 12.8% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 25g |
Protein/Albumin | 2.4 g | 4.7% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 50g |
Cooking Salt (Na:2'348.0 mg) | 5'964 mg | 248.5% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2.4g |
Essential micronutrients with the highest proportions | per 100g | 2000 kcal | |
---|---|---|---|
Sodium, Na | 2'348 mg | 294.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg | |
Min | Copper, Cu | 0.37 mg | 37.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
Vit | Vitamin K | 25 µg | 33.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 75 µg |
Min | Iron, Fe | 1.7 mg | 12.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Vit | Folate, as the active form of folic acid (née vitamin B9 and | 23 µg | 12.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 200 µg |
Vit | Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 0.14 mg | 10.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Elem | Magnesium, Mg | 33 mg | 9.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 375 mg |
Fat | Alpha-Linolenic acid; ALA; 18:3 omega-3 | 0.18 g | 9.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 2.0 g |
Vit | Vitamin E, as a-TEs | 0.88 mg | 7.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 12 mg |
Vit | Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 4.3 mg | 5.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 80 mg |
Detailed micronutrients and daily requirement coverage per 100g
Explanations of nutrient tables in general
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Essential fatty acids | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Alpha-Linolenic acid; ALA; 18:3 omega-3 | 0.18 g | 9.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 2.0 g |
Linoleic acid; LA; 18:2 omega-6 | 0.11 g | 1.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 10 g |
Vitamins | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Vitamin K | 25 µg | 33.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 75 µg |
Folate, as the active form of folic acid (née vitamin B9 and | 23 µg | 12.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 200 µg |
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 0.14 mg | 10.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Vitamin E, as a-TEs | 0.88 mg | 7.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 12 mg |
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 4.3 mg | 5.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 80 mg |
Niacin (née vitamin B3) | 0.65 mg | 4.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 16 mg |
Thiamine (vitamin B1) | 0.02 mg | 2.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.1 mg |
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.02 mg | 2.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Vitamin A, as RAE | 7.0 µg | 1.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 µg |
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) | 0.03 mg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 6.0 mg |
Vitamin D | 0 µg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 5.0 µg |
Essential macroelements (macronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Sodium, Na | 2'348 mg | 294.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Magnesium, Mg | 33 mg | 9.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 375 mg |
Calcium, Ca | 40 mg | 5.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Potassium, K | 40 mg | 2.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2'000 mg |
Phosphorus, P | 10 mg | 1.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 700 mg |
Essential trace elements (micronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Copper, Cu | 0.37 mg | 37.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
Iron, Fe | 1.7 mg | 12.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Manganese, Mn | 0.08 mg | 4.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2.0 mg |
Zinc, Zn | 0.32 mg | 3.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 10 mg |
Selenium, Se | 1.2 µg | 2.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 55 µg |
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