Things just seem to grow in Italy. On my walk from Ponte a Serraglio to the next part of Bagni di Lucca, La Villa, the sides of the hills are crowded with plants. These change according to the season. In spring bluebells, daffodils and snow drops appear, there is always something to look at.
Before I left in May 2010 I noticed caper plants beginning to grow from a rock wall. By October,when I returned, they were almost finished their season. Now, in February, they look dead, but I’m sure they will be back soon.
capers growing wild from the wall
how do they grow on a wall?
the last of the flowers
more flowers
capers
caperberries
I wonder if anyone picks them. Perhaps they don’t taste very good. I wouldn’t know what to do to them to make them edible so there is not much use me taking them home. Not to worry, I love seeing them growing wild on the wall.
The unopened buds of the flowers are what we know as capers. They can be eaten fresh or preserved in salt or vinegar. The salted ones are better, as vinegar interferes with the delicate flavour and makes them a bit soft. You won’t go back to the vinegar ones after you have tried the salted version.
salted capers
The plants also produce milder-tasting, long stemmed fruit called caperberries. These are usually preserved in brine and are delicious. You can eat them as you would olives, or use them as you would capers.
I’ll be keeping an eye on the plants to see when they start to grow again.