A terrific alternative to the shop-bought caper, these smaller, fruitier and crunchier ‘capers’ can be used in any way your everyday caper is. They’re easy to make and involve no cooking at all, just salt-curing and then storing in vinegar.
If you’ve used the elder flowers in the Spring to make cordial, for example, for this recipe you use the underripe berries which the flowers become. By the end of Summer you can then use ripe berries for other recipes.
Elderberry Capers
Delicious alternative the everyday caper.
- September 12, 2019
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Ingredients
- As many unripe (green) elderberries as you like
- Salt
- White wine vinegar
- Sugar
Directions
- Step 1
- Pick your berries and remove every bit of stalk, perhaps by running the berries through the tines of a fork. Wash and rinse.
- Step 2
- Pack and cover all the berries in salt. Leave curing in the salt for five days.
- Step 3
- Rinse the berries of the salt and place in a sterilised jar.
- Step 4
- Warm vinegar (enough to cover the berries) in a pan and add a little sugar to taste.
- Step 5
- When the sugar is dissolved cool the mixture and pour over the berries and seal the jar.
- Step 6
- The ‘capers’ should be ready after two or three weeks.
Would you not have the fear of poisoning with the raw elderberries or does this process “cook” the elderberries?
The process does apparently break down the harmful compounds! I’ve known professional chefs use elderberry capers. In fact I’ve just made two large jars of them and am currently waiting for them to cure for three weeks before I use them.