Triana Olivas Mediterranean Capers

• Spanish capers from Triana with a firm bite and bright, briny flavor. Keep them ready for a lemony pan sauce, a tomato salad or a plate of fish whenever a dish needs a savory lift.

About Triana Olivas

• Triana Olivas is an Andalusian house best known for its Gordal queen olives from around Seville, and these are capers made with the same conviction: the unopened flower buds of the caper bush, picked and put up in brine. They are larger and firmer than the tiny nonpareil capers in most supermarket jars, with more to bite into and a cleaner, less vinegary brine, which is why they hold their own scattered over a whole fish or folded through a sauce rather than disappearing.

How to enjoy

• Fold into piccata, puttanesca and pan sauces
• Whisk into vinaigrettes or salsa verde
• Scatter over fish, roasted vegetables, potatoes and composed salads

Details

• Origin: Andalusia, Spain
• Storage: refrigerate after opening; keep the capers under their brine

Questions

• Should I rinse them? Drain, and rinse if you want less salt; taste one first. Brined capers are gentler than salt-packed ones.
• Capers or caperberries? Capers are the buds; caperberries are the fruit that follows the flower, larger and eaten whole. These are capers.
• The easiest thing to do with them? A pan sauce: after searing chicken or fish, add butter, a spoon of capers, lemon juice and a little of the brine, and swirl.

Pairs with

• Cipriani Sansovina tomato sauce for a quick puttanesca; José Gourmet ventresca with capers, lemon and good bread; Il Boschetto lemon oil over the fish. More pantry essentials.

Lello’s Point of View

• Why we chose it. Capers are one of the pantry’s fastest ways to create acidity, salt and savory depth. Triana’s larger, firmer buds give you enough texture that the caper remains an ingredient rather than disappearing into the sauce.
• What it makes better. Fish, chicken piccata, puttanesca, potatoes, tuna pasta and vinaigrette gain the briny lift that makes rich or mild food taste sharper and more complete.
• How we would use it. After searing fish, swirl butter, lemon, capers and a little brine in the pan. Or toss them with spaghetti, ventresca and burrata for a twelve-minute supper.
• Who will love it. Mediterranean cooks, seafood people and anyone who keeps lemons around because dinner often needs one more bright, salty thing.
• Why it earns its place. Andalusian brined capers with a larger, firmer bite and cleaner brine give this $15 jar more presence and versatility than the tiny supermarket caper most cooks know.