Capers

The scientific name is "Capparis Spinosa", it belongs to the capparidaceae family which is made up of many species. It is a perennial suffruticose shrub It is a suffruticose perennial shrub from which numerous branches are produced the flower buds intended as capers and the "cucunci" intended as fruits.

It grows in different areas of the Mediterranean Sea, however, as has been amply demonstrated, the plant finds particularly favorable soils and climate in the splendid Aeolian Islands, where capers of the highest quality have grown since ancient times, with peculiar characteristics, with an unmistakable flavor particularly intense and aromatic that differentiate them from other productions.

In fact, the inimitable quality has been certified and recognized by the European Commission which has registered the "Caper of the Aeolian Islands" in the register of Protected Designations of Origin - DOP (Denominazione Origine Protetta DOP).

The harvest, which is performed exclusively by hand and in the coolest hours of the day, is carried out as an ancestral rite, between early April and the end of August.
It is a very delicate and tiring activity that only expert and skilled hands are able to carry out with skill, collecting, one by one, the tasty buds in the apical part of the new twigs without damaging them so as not to compromise the next harvest. Freshly picked capers cannot be marketed fresh but require a proper period of rest, maturation and careful care. During this period the product is treated with periodic and decreasing additions of sea salt until it assumes the typical color, the characteristic aroma, the intense and pleasant flavor and the consistent appearance. The uncollected buds enlarge and subsequently open and at the apex of a stem, they present the "fruit" of the homonymous shrub called "Cucuncio". The product is subsequently selected in different sizes, small, medium, large and classified commercially with its denomination.