The caper (Capparis spinosa), from the Arabic kabar, is a perennial plant that grows among dry-stone walls, belonging to the family Capparidaceae and the genus Capparis. It has round leaves and refined, showy, fragrant flowers with white petals and violet stamens. The bud is the part that is harvested and then sold.

The properties of capers

Capers are discussed by the two celebrated physicians Dioscorides and Galen who, according to ancient wisdom, described the plant as an energetic diuretic, excellent against toothache, and even against hardness of the spleen and ear parasites. Modern pharmacologists, however, no longer concern themselves with investigating its virtues. Officinal literature, on the other hand, still takes an interest in it, presenting the plant as tonic, stimulating and aperitive. Some physicians have recognised digestive properties in the caper, going so far as to champion the medicinal qualities of caper wine, which is prepared by macerating 60 g of bark in 2 litres of good red wine for a long time: a liqueur glass is taken before or after meals. From the bark covering the root, a decoction with a bitter taste is obtained, with diuretic, astringent and tonic properties. An interesting fact is that in veterinary medicine the caper is an effective vermifuge for horses.

The caper plant

Capers love warmth to grow, dry air and stony soil. The most widespread wild variety (Capparis spinosa), in fact, grows on volcanic rocks even when poor in limestone and is able to survive in conditions of extremely limited water availability. The roots penetrate deeply into dry-stone walls, keeping themselves cool. Ants and lizards, unwittingly, as they approach split ripe fruits, scatter the seeds into the cracks in walls or among the stones of old dry-stone walls. When, in May, the flower buds begin to be ready — full and round — they are harvested by hand: they are small, not yet bloomed flowers, picked within five days of forming, with all their aroma still enclosed within.

Italy's finest capers are the small ones of the Nocellara variety from the island of Pantelleria, the only ones to bear the PGI quality mark, Protected Geographical Indication. Also marketed in vinegar, it is under salt that they best preserve their flavour, pleasantly bitter and pungent. In gastronomy, caper fruits are also appreciated as snacks at aperitivos: oblong, firm and full of dark seeds, "cucungiu" (in Pantesco dialect) are found preserved with their stalk intact — which is not eaten but serves as a grip.

Caper cultivation

Cultivation represents a first-rate resource for many Aeolian farmers who sell them wholesale or retail. The product comes from spontaneous vegetation, in some cases from organic farming. Establishment is not easy. The seed arrives in crevices via ants, and must find a suitable spot to germinate: moisture is necessary for root growth.

To attempt cultivation, one can use seedbeds in pots or boxes, to be placed off the ground and up against walls filled with sand mixed with powdered rubble and mature vegetable compost. At the bottom, a generous layer of broken crockery or gravel is spread. The seeds are moistened in water for 24 hours, then planted 2 to 3 cm deep. A light watering will complete the process. The seedbeds are kept under cover (protected above all from rain) until the seedlings have taken hold. Sowing is preferably done in late spring, and in southern Italy in autumn. A caper field, in good productive condition, can last thirty years or more. The harvest improves from year to year. Those who wish to grow capers for domestic use, and cannot find suitable climate and soil conditions, can resort to cultivation in a pot of around 50 centimetres, sheltered from the cold: it can be placed in the sun and the soil covered with straw. The flowers grow on one-year-old branches. Preservation of capers is entrusted to salt (they keep for years), after wilting for one day in the shade.