www.sausagemaking.org

NCPaul wrote:Andre, I would pickle the capers in a 3 / 1 mixture of white vinegar to water (I use this for canning peppers).
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Thanks, but don't you think that capers need something like the same treatment as olives because of their extremely bitter taste when raw?

mitchamus wrote:Does anyone know how strong the Lye needs to be?

if I got my own powdered sodium hydroxide...
what percentage should the lye solution be?

and measured by by volume? or weight?

20 grams of lye in 1 liter of water (I wrote it in my post).
Paul, I cannot access the link and I am too lazy to copy and paste. You are right: anything between 1.5 and 3% would work as long as the process is stopped at the right time.
Regards
Massimo

Re capers, I'm a bit surprised they grow in Sweden. They're a Mediterranean plant by origin. Online recipes just suggest vinegar + salt for pickling. Apparently the leaves can also be pickled.

Martin/

onewheeler wrote:Re capers, I'm a bit surprised they grow in Sweden. They're a Mediterranean plant by origin. Online recipes just suggest vinegar + salt for pickling. Apparently the leaves can also be pickled.

Martin/

Thanks. They don't normally grow in Sweden. They grow in my kitchen window.

Massimo Maddaloni wrote:

mitchamus wrote:Does anyone know how strong the Lye needs to be?

if I got my own powdered sodium hydroxide...
what percentage should the lye solution be?

and measured by by volume? or weight?

20 grams of lye in 1 liter of water (I wrote it in my post).
Paul, I cannot access the link and I am too lazy to copy and paste. You are right: anything between 1.5 and 3% would work as long as the process is stopped at the right time.
Regards
Massimo

OK - Got it... I thought Lye was the name of the Sodium hydroxide solution (i.e. once mixed with water)

so... 20g NaOH per 1L - thanks.

Ok, I talked to somebody who knows how to brine capers. I didn't try but I think it's a legitimate recipe because it fits what I recall I saw when I bought capers in Eolie islands back six hundred years ago.
1) mix 1Kg of capers and 350g of coarse sea salt in a glass jar.
2) wait 10 days, discard mushy brine
3) add 250 grams of sea salt
4) wait 7 days
5) discard new brine if any.

At this piont you'll need to evaluate if capers are wilted enough as not to release any more "juice" upon adding a handful of salt. Add a handful of coarse sea salt and store them "indefinitely".
Remove the aliquot you need, de-salt by soaking in water (time depends on size) and store in vinager in the fridge.
Regards
Massimo

Thanks Massimo! And Merry Christmas!