Renoir Non Pareilles Capers

Culinarily speaking, capers are a small, round, dark-green condiment pickled in a salty brine. Similar to green olives, the curing process brings out their tangy, pungent, lemony flavor which pops in your mouth.  Technically, they are the flower buds of the shrubby caper bush (Capparis spinosa), which grows in and around regions of  the Meditterranean.  The buds are picked before they flower, dried in the sun, and then packed in salt.  It's a labor-intensive process, as they can only be harvested by hand.  The buds range in size from that of a tiny baby pea to that of a small olive.