I have only ever been able to buy them in a narrow jar with a small opening which makes it difficult to get a few out, I sometimes tip them out and put the ones I don't need back in again. Dam dumb darn jar, I wonder why they do that.

rainrain1 - 2017-03-31 17:53:00

rainrain1 wrote:

I have only ever been able to buy them in a narrow jar with a small opening which makes it difficult to get a few out, I sometimes tip them out and put the ones I don't need back in again. Dam dumb darn jar, I wonder why they do that.

You are not alone there ...if you try to get just a few out you lose a lot of the juice!

samanya - 2017-03-31 18:06:00

samanya wrote:

You are not alone there ...if you try to get just a few out you lose a lot of the juice!

but you can just top up with some vinegar (I use cider) !

I buy bigger jars of capers, from Gilmores or specialty stores.... I go through a lot, making my own Tartare sauce.... bigger jars of gherkins, too, for the same....

autumnwinds - 2017-03-31 19:14:00

I use a fork in the small narrow jars.It just fits.

priscilla2 - 2017-03-31 19:29:00

samanya wrote:

You are not alone there ...if you try to get just a few out you lose a lot of the juice!

A timely thread. I just made a dish I love that uses a heap of olive oil, capsicums, garlic, white wine vinegar, parsley and.............capers which I struggle to get out of the stoopid jar.

I am going to do what ^^^^^^^there said and buy a bigger jar!

awoftam - 2017-03-31 19:46:00

Anddddddddddd talking of capers, I just love caper berries; great for a pre dinner nibble.

awoftam - 2017-03-31 19:47:00

autumnwinds wrote:

but you can just top up with some vinegar (I use cider) !

I buy bigger jars of capers, from Gilmores or specialty stores.... I go through a lot, making my own Tartare sauce.... bigger jars of gherkins, too, for the same....

Can you post your tartare sauce recipe ? Thanks

timturtle - 2017-03-31 20:32:00

awoftam wrote:

A timely thread. I just made a dish I love that uses a heap of olive oil, capsicums, garlic, white wine vinegar, parsley and.............capers which I struggle to get out of the stoopid jar.

I am going to do what ^^^^^^^there said and buy a bigger jar!

Can you post your recipe ? sounds nice Thanks

timturtle - 2017-03-31 20:34:00

timturtle wrote:

Can you post your recipe ? sounds nice Thanks

Core and cut 6 large peppers into 8 pieces (different colours looks best) and pat dry.
Heat quarter cup good extra virgin olive oil to medium a pan and add peppers. Fry for 5 minutes stirring often.
Then add 4 cloves garlic finely chopped and fry for another 5 minutes.
Turn heat down, add tablespoon white wine vinegar, tablespoon of capers, salt and grind over black pepper.
Put lid on pan and cook for about 15 mins until the peppers are just tender.
Remove lid, increase heat and fry a couple of minutes more to thicken the juices. The peppers will take on a burnished look.
Cool, stir through tablespoon of parsley and serve at room temp.

This is glorious on fresh crusty bread.

awoftam - 2017-04-01 07:52:00

I usually try to get them out with the handle of a teaspoon......I've never seen them in a wider jar, I must look harder next time I'm at shop.
Also I think you can buy a little spoon for getting them out

Edited by rainrain1 at 7:57 am, Sat 1 Apr

rainrain1 - 2017-04-01 07:54:00

um why not just tip into another jar or a plastic container, one of those smaller seistma numbers? Saves the brine and easier to scoop out.

Those big jars you get from Nosh/ Farros, delis etc are great. Especially if you're like me and love using capers for all sorts sauces.

rexavier - 2017-04-01 14:24:00

They probably keep better and more submerged in the original jar, and besides, I want to buy a little skinny britches spoon

rainrain1 - 2017-04-01 14:50:00

rainrain1 wrote:

They probably keep better and more submerged in the original jar, and besides, I want to buy a little skinny britches spoon

ha i read that as you want to buy a skinny witches broom

rexavier - 2017-04-01 17:05:00

rexavier wrote:

ha i read that as you want to buy a skinny witches broom

There's room on the broom for you.

rainrain1 - 2017-04-01 18:06:00

Maybe a fat knife on the right angle? (Rexavier will probably read this as a fat wife on a wide angle)

wendalls - 2017-04-01 18:19:00

wendalls wrote:

Maybe a fat knife on the right angle? (Rexavier will probably read this as a fat wife on a wide angle)

ha, a fat knight on a wide angel..

rexavier - 2017-04-01 18:42:00

wendalls wrote:

Maybe a fat knife on the right angle? (Rexavier will probably read this as a fat wife on a wide angle)

ha ha

rainrain1 - 2017-04-01 18:43:00

rainrain1 wrote:

There's room on the broom for you.

I'm no fat angel, but can I come for a ride on your brrrrrom?

samanya - 2017-04-01 18:50:00

rexavier wrote:

ha, a fat knight on a wide angel..

and ha ha again

rainrain1 - 2017-04-01 18:55:00

samanya wrote:

I'm no fat angel, but can I come for a ride on your brrrrrom?

Sure can, but one has to fall off the back at each pickup, I can't guarantee the landing

Edited by rainrain1 at 6:56 pm, Sat 1 Apr

rainrain1 - 2017-04-01 18:56:00

I too have only seem them in the skinny jars... could be some marketers cunning plan for shipping them economically... who knows... anyway tip them out and replace the brine... easy.

karlymouse - 2017-04-01 23:11:00

I've got a big jar from Nosh but to be honest it would be safer if I had a little jar with a narrow opening because I love those suckers so much I eat them like lollies. More difficult access would be a good thing.

norse_westie - 2017-04-02 11:12:00

timturtle wrote:

Can you post your tartare sauce recipe ? Thanks

Hahahaha - I make it as I go, as needed..... so no real recipe, just a method,,

Just good home made egg mayonnaise (or, occasionally, a good store-bought one, or even the good old Highlander condensed milk one, if I'm in a hurry!), to which I add
chopped capers and gherkins
finely chopped parsley and some chives
and maybe a few extra drops of balsamic vinegar or lime juice or lemon juice.

It's so much nicer than store-bought "tartare" sauce, in appearance, texture and taste.

autumnwinds - 2017-04-02 12:23:00

Thanks ill have to try it

timturtle - 2017-04-02 13:37:00

This message was deleted.

esther-anne - 2017-04-02 20:24:00

esther-anne wrote:

confession time. I have a jar of capers in the fridge I got for a recipe I never made.

My ignorant question is - what are capers, really>> What do they taste like - i have no idea.

"Retires embarrassed"

Young nasturtium flower heads, I believe....
(and no need for embarrassment - we all learn something every day, it's what keeps us going...)

ETA: and no, they're not - though I have picked and pickled nasturtium flower buds myself, and they taste the same! And clearly no ill-effects, as nasturtiums are edible - I often use flowers in salads, even as cake decorations.....

They are, however, the flower buds of another plant.... which produces the luscious caper berries.....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caper

Edited by autumnwinds at 9:00 pm, Sun 2 Apr

autumnwinds - 2017-04-02 20:56:00

This message was deleted.

esther-anne - 2017-04-02 22:13:00

Re getting capers out of the very small jar, I use a parfit spoon, they are a perfect size!

ruby19 - 2017-04-03 07:57:00

Lemon caper butter sauce, over you salmon is delicious

rainrain1 - 2017-04-03 08:59:00

esther-anne wrote:

....What do they taste like - i have no idea.

....

As nobody has answered this I'll do my best Esther-Anne. Capers pickled in vinegar taste mainly of the vinegar, with a herbaceous, slightly bitter taste. Capers cured in salt have a truer caper taste, herbaceous and slightly astringent. They don't sound very appetising I know, but there is nothing quite like them iand I use them a lot. If you want to get an idea of the flavour try some this way:

Boil some waxy potatoes until tender. Meanwhile drain and rinse some capers, about 1 tab per two medium potatoes, and chop roughly. When the potatoes are cooked and drained add the capers with a big lump of good butter and some pepper. Go easy with salt as the capers will be salty. Serve as a side dish with fish or any plainly cooked meat. Lamb chops would be ideal.

davidt4 - 2017-04-03 09:57:00

davidt4 wrote:

Boil some waxy potatoes until tender. Meanwhile drain and rinse some capers, about 1 tab per two medium potatoes, and chop roughly. When the potatoes are cooked and drained add the capers with a big lump of good butter and some pepper. .

I have never thought to use capers with potatoes in this way. Thanks so much for this, will def be using this recipe.

Edited by awoftam at 1:48 pm, Mon 3 Apr

awoftam - 2017-04-03 13:47:00

I never have any problems, maybe I buy different "jars"?
Mine can accommodate a spoon easily.

However if you buy the cheap stuff from the supermarket, all you have to do is upend the lot into a bigger jam jar or some such, take out what you need and if there is not enough "juice" left top up with vinegar.

So not sure if it really is a "Dam dumb darn jar" or maybe a cook with no imagination on how to solve such a small problem?

uli - 2017-04-18 12:34:00

uli wrote:

I never have any problems, maybe I buy different "jars"?
Mine can accommodate a spoon easily.

However if you buy the cheap stuff from the supermarket, all you have to do is upend the lot into a bigger jam jar or some such, take out what you need and if there is not enough "juice" left top up with vinegar.

So not sure if it really is a "Dam dumb darn jar" or maybe a cook with no imagination on how to solve such a small problem?

I don't like vinegar with capers, as davidt4 says the vinegar tends to overwhelm the flavour.
"a cook with no imagination on how to solve such a small problem?"
Welcome back uli.

samanya - 2017-04-18 13:34:00

uli wrote:

I never have any problems, maybe I buy different "jars"?
Mine can accommodate a spoon easily.

However if you buy the cheap stuff from the supermarket, all you have to do is upend the lot into a bigger jam jar or some such, take out what you need and if there is not enough "juice" left top up with vinegar.

So not sure if it really is a "Dam dumb darn jar" or maybe a cook with no imagination on how to solve such a small problem?

Yep! I always have been a bit of a blond :-)))
The less air gets in, the better food keeps, hence the narrow jar........don't suck in too much air Uli

rainrain1 - 2017-04-18 15:27:00

rainrain1 wrote:

Yep! I always have been a bit of a blond :-)))
The less air gets in, the better food keeps, hence the narrow jar........don't suck in too much air Uli

Or exhale too much?

samanya - 2017-04-18 19:05:00

samanya wrote:

Or exhale too much?

;-)

rainrain1 - 2017-04-19 07:52:00

rainrain1 wrote:

They probably keep better and more submerged in the original jar, and besides, I want to buy a little skinny britches spoon

They'll be just as submerged in a container of any size. Simple physics.

schnauzer11 - 2017-04-19 10:40:00

schnauzer11 wrote:

They'll be just as submerged in a container of any size. Simple physics.

You will no doubt be quite right, but it still doesn't answer the question, why some are in the narrow jar in the first place?

rainrain1 - 2017-04-19 12:35:00

This message was deleted.

whitehead. - 2017-04-19 15:21:00

Why should you have to decant a product into another vessel to make it more user friendly? Most of the world these days do not preserve or know much about products they buy and their shelf life beyond expiry dates. They might not have other containers. But maybe the tall skinny jar has less risk of bacterial contamination than one with a wider surface area whose constituents are largely poking themselves out of the brine/vinegar/ whatever it is that many haven't made time in their busy lives to think about.

wendalls - 2017-04-22 18:50:00

uli wrote:

I never have any problems, maybe I buy different "jars"?
Mine can accommodate a spoon easily.

However if you buy the cheap stuff from the supermarket, all you have to do is upend the lot into a bigger jam jar or some such, take out what you need and if there is not enough "juice" left top up with vinegar.

So not sure if it really is a "Dam dumb darn jar" or maybe a cook with no imagination on how to solve such a small problem?

shouldn't think this poster would need to use vinegar in anything with the amount of acid they ooze every time they post

Edited by laser51 at 9:16 pm, Wed 10 May

laser51 - 2017-05-10 21:15:00

I think she moo's a bit as well that one

rainrain1 - 2017-05-11 08:59:00

Thanks for all the nice "welcome back" messages. Keep it up and you might end up with even less posters here.
Down to 40 pages a year now I see. Good luck and keep sharpening your tongues people.

uli - 2017-05-14 16:39:00

uli wrote:

Thanks for all the nice "welcome back" messages. Keep it up and you might end up with even less posters here.
Down to 40 pages a year now I see. Good luck and keep sharpening your tongues people.

Uli, what are you saying, exactly?
An explanation would be great, instead of posts full of insinuations, because that is how your posts are coming across.
What is it about this forum, as it is, that you think is wrong?
We are all here to help where we can ...aren't we?
Please give us all the courtesy of an answer.

samanya - 2017-05-14 18:10:00

This message was deleted.

rexavier - 2017-05-14 20:29:00

Trade Me wrote:

The originally quoted post has been removed.

Um, I am speaking for myself & I suspect many others.

samanya - 2017-05-15 12:20:00

When such a little thing as a caper cause such nasty posts, I am reminded of one of the reasons I chose to stop posting on here and other boards.

Edited by kay141 at 2:53 pm, Mon 15 May

kay141 - 2017-05-15 14:52:00

Yep & I'm sorry that you made that choice kay141, because you have a lot of sensible thoughts to offer.
I hope you rethink your decision.

samanya - 2017-05-15 19:11:00

kay141 wrote:

When such a little thing as a caper cause such nasty posts, I am reminded of one of the reasons I chose to stop posting on here and other boards.

.

awoftam - 2017-05-15 19:25:00

laser51 wrote:

shouldn't think this poster would need to use vinegar in anything with the amount of acid they ooze every time they post

Wow. That's really mean. Just focus on capers.

awoftam - 2017-05-15 19:27:00