Farmacy And Pickling
Poor Man’s Capers: Pickled Nasturtium Pods
Before you yank your plants out, hunt for those little pods to get one last use out of your nasturtium crop! You don’t need more than a handful to turn them into tasty “capers,” and though they’re sometimes called poor man’s capers, they have a distinct, mustardy flavor all their own.
Ingreadient
- 2/3 cup nasturtium seed pods
- 1/4 cup salt
- 2 cups water
- 2/3 cup distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 bay leaf
Direction
- Harvest young, light green, half-ripened seed pods while they’re still on the vines.
- Separate the pods into individual seeds, and give them a quick rinse to remove any dirt.
- The raw seeds are full of potent mustard oils that make them bitterly strong in flavor; a little too strong for my liking, so I start by mellowing them out in a simple salty brine.
- In a quart jar, dissolve the salt in water.
- Add the nasturtium seeds, then place a zip-top bag over the rim and down into the jar to keep the seeds submerged.
- Let the brine sit for a couple of days at room temperature. The seeds will turn a dull green during this stage.
- Strain the seeds and rinse again to remove excess salt.
- In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the vinegar and sugar to a low boil for 1 minute and stir to dissolve.
- Divide your seeds into half-pint jars, then pour the hot vinegar over the seeds, covering them completely.
- Add a bay leaf to each jar.
- Let the jars cool to room temperature before sealing with lids. At this point, you can either keep the jars at room temp (no need to fire up the boiling water bath), or store them in the fridge.
