{"title":"Asensio Sanchez Capers","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003eCapers and caper berries from Murcia for four generations\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eAlcaparras Asensio Sanchez harvests and processes capers in Almendricos, in southern Spain, right in the heart of one of Spain’s largest caper-growing regions. What the grandfather began as a trade around 1930, the family continues today in its fourth generation, using its own technology for the gentle processing of the buds and fruits.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003chr\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAlcaparras Asensio Sanchez\u003c\/strong\u003e stands for capers and caper berries from Murcia, the arid southeast of Spain. In Almendricos, a village near Lorca, the caper bush grows in a landscape that provides little water but an abundance of sun. The closed buds become capers, and the pollinated blossoms become caper berries. Both leave the facility in eight sizes, sorted by millimeter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eTwo Pedros and the beginning around 1930\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe foundation was laid by Pedro Sánchez Pérez, an enterprising merchant from the area who began trading capers around 1930.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe had the location on his side. Almendricos is situated in one of the largest caper-growing regions in Spain; the bushes grow here without irrigation along field edges, embankments, and old walls. Anyone selling capers back then collected what the neighborhood picked during the summer and brought it through the winter in barrels with salt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis grandson, Pedro Asensio Sánchez, took over the family business and founded Alcaparras Asensio Sanchez, S.L. in the 1970s. He built a new factory and developed his own technique for processing the buds, with a view beyond national borders from the very beginning. Today, the 4th generation leads the company, and the motto still remains above the company page: “la excelencia, nuestro objetivo,” excellence as our goal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe region explains a good part of the taste. Almendricos belongs to the municipality of Lorca and is located in the dry hinterland between Murcia and Andalusia, where rain is rare and the summer is long. The caper bush doesn't mind this at all; it roots deeply, tolerates heat and barren soil, and rewards both with small, firm buds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFrom the bud to the fruit\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt Alcaparras Asensio Sanchez, capers and caper berries come from the same plant, and it is only the time of harvest that separates them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThose who pick the closed flower bud harvest capers. They come in 8 calibrations in the jar, from the tiny nonpareilles at 4 to 7 millimeters, through surfines, capucines, and capotes, up to the gruesas at 13 to 14 millimeters. The names come from French trade and have established themselves as the language of size.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe smaller the bud, the more concentrated its taste and the more elaborate the sorting process. The nonpareille is therefore considered the finest grade and is the most expensive, while the gruesa provides crunch and remains recognizable as a caper on the plate. Worlds lie between the two in price and a few millimeters in diameter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIf the blossom remains on the bush and is pollinated, it grows into a caper berry, the \u003cem\u003ealcaparrón\u003c\/em\u003e in Spanish. The company distinguishes 4 sizes, from the delicate fino through entamado and mediano to the robust gordo, and it is internationally known for the soft texture of its caper berries. They are not eaten like a spice, but like an olive, lifted from the jar by the stem. We stock the jar of \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/kapernbeeren-in-essig-alcaparras\"\u003ecaper berries in vinegar\u003c\/a\u003e on our shelf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat else goes into the jar besides capers\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe origin is the caper, but the range has long reached further into the Mediterranean pantry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGreen peppercorns in brine are included, as are whole garlic cloves, red guindillas, cocktail onions, cornichons, and olives. These are the jars that sit on the counter in Spain when something salty is served with wine, and which have their place in every tapas bar between ham and almonds. The guindilla is the mild relative of the chili, thin, green, and pickled in vinegar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe green pepper is the silent star for the kitchen. Unlike dried peppercorns, it remains soft and can be crushed with a fork, which makes it the basis for any pepper sauce. The cocktail onions and cornichons, in turn, are the classic accompaniment to terrines, cheese, and cold roasts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBottling takes place for three worlds simultaneously: large containers for industry, jars for the deli counter, and lightweight containers for catering. Experience from Morocco and Turkey is incorporated through partnerships, while processing and bottling are handled from the headquarters in Spain. You can find related products under \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/antipasti-mediterrane-spezialitaeten\"\u003eantipasti and Mediterranean specialties\u003c\/a\u003e and on the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/spanien\"\u003eSpain\u003c\/a\u003e region page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFourteen thousand square meters for a small bud\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBehind the delicate caper, Alcaparras Asensio Sanchez operates a factory with 14,000 square meters of production space, plus an additional 20,000 square meters for storage and preservation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe harvest itself remains handwork, and that will not change. The buds sit individually on thorny shoots, they open within a few hours, and anyone who arrives too late has a blossom instead of a caper. Picking takes place from June until late summer, early in the morning, bush by bush. The same bush is revisited over the weeks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the harvest comes the sorting, and it determines the price. The buds run over screens and are separated by diameter, because a jar of nonpareilles must not contain any capotes. Anything that grew too large moves into the next calibration; nothing is wasted, and every size finds its market.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter that, the preservation determines the character. Dried in salt, the caper remains firm and floral and needs to be soaked before cooking; in a salt-vinegar brine, it becomes milder, more acidic, and is ready to use immediately. Sorting and preservation are carried out according to international IFS and HACCP standards, and the company also produces organic and kosher quality items. No preservatives are needed for this; salt and vinegar do the job alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFrom Almendricos to the world\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe jars from Almendricos are now on shelves in more than 35 countries, and the path there has led through four generations of family work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe company name says quite simply what it is about. \u003cem\u003eAlcaparras\u003c\/em\u003e means nothing other than capers in Spanish, the fruits are called \u003cem\u003ealcaparrones\u003c\/em\u003e, and Asensio Sánchez is the family name. Anyone buying a jar of alcaparras in Spain gets exactly what is on the shelf here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the kitchen, capers and caper berries are two different ingredients. The small caper seasons and provides salt and acidity at the same time; it belongs in vitello tonnato, in pasta sauce, on pizza, with fried fish, and in tapenade. If you crush them slightly with a fork, the flavor distributes more finely in the sauce.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn Spain itself, the caper lands less often in the sauce than on the plate beside it. It lies next to the \u003cem\u003eboquerones\u003c\/em\u003e, the anchovies pickled in vinegar; it belongs in \u003cem\u003eensaladilla rusa\u003c\/em\u003e, the potato salad of tapas bars; and it sits on the Gilda skewer next to an olive and a guindilla. Salt meets acidity and heat there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe caper berry, on the other hand, remains whole. It comes to the table as an aperitif, goes into a salad, lies on bread with ham, or next to a boiled egg. The stem is more practical than it looks, as it allows the fruit to be held and bitten off.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThose who want to taste the difference between the two will find both side by side in the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/kapern-kapernaepfel\"\u003ecapers and caper berries\u003c\/a\u003e category, along with the salt-cured capers from \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/la-nicchia\"\u003eLa Nicchia\u003c\/a\u003e from Pantelleria. The Spanish southeast and the Sicilian volcanic island—the same bud, two different approaches.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"kapernbeeren-in-essig-alcaparras","title":"Capers - Capers in vinegar","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003eCaper berries in vinegar from Murcia, Spain\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003eCaper berries are the fruits of the caper bush, not its buds. They are harvested with the stem, pickled in a salt-and-vinegar brine, and eaten like olives rather than used as a spice. These ones come from Almendricos in Murcia, where the bush grows without irrigation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003ecaper berries in vinegar\u003c\/strong\u003e from \u003cstrong\u003eAlcaparras Asensio Sanchez\u003c\/strong\u003e come from the southern Spanish region of Murcia. Four ingredients are listed on the label: caper berries, water, salt, and vinegar. The brine removes the fruit's bitterness and adds a subtle acidity, making them perfect to eat straight from the jar. The stem remains attached, which is more practical than it looks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy the berry has a stem\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eCaper berries, also known as caper apples, grow from the blossoms that were allowed to remain on the bush.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnyone picking the closed bud harvests the small caper, which is used as a spice in sauces and broths. If the bud is left on the branch, however, it opens into a white flower, is pollinated, and grows into a fruit. This is harvested together with the stem by which it was attached to the bush, and that is exactly what you hold on to later.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the jar, the berries lie packed tightly in the brine, olive-green, plump, and with a light longitudinal grain from the stem base to the tip. On the tongue, they are crunchy, sour, and salty all at once. Their bite is firmer than that of an olive and softer than that of a gherkin, and the small seeds inside are eaten along with the fruit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eSalt and vinegar instead of preservatives\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe caper berry goes into the jar without any preservatives because salt and vinegar do the work alone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn Almendricos, the fruits are sorted by size after harvesting, washed, and placed in the brine. There, they lose their raw edge over weeks and absorb the acidity. What starts as a bitter, tart fruit from the bush becomes mild enough for pure enjoyment, while retaining the herbal note peculiar to capers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey are sorted by size, from the delicate Fino to the robust Gordo, and only one size grade goes into each jar. This ensures that the berries cure evenly and present a uniform appearance when opened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe company has been working with this fruit for four generations and is internationally known for the soft texture of its caper apples. You can read more about the family on the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/alcaparras-asensio-sanchez\"\u003eAlcaparras Asensio Sanchez\u003c\/a\u003e page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFrom aperitif to Vitello tonnato\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eCaper berries are used differently than small capers; they don't season, they are eaten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLifted from the jar by the stem, these \u003cstrong\u003ecaper berries in vinegar\u003c\/strong\u003e belong on an appetizer platter just like olives and almonds; in Spain, they are skewered with olives and chili peppers on the \"Gilda\" pintxo. Sliced into a salad, they provide acidity; paired with cold roasts or thinly sliced veal, they are a classic accompaniment, such as in Vitello tonnato. You can find suitable pairings under \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/antipasti-mediterrane-spezialitaeten\"\u003eAntipasti and Mediterranean specialties\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThey also hold their own in stews and Sicilian caponata because they do not fall apart during cooking. If you want to distribute them more finely, slice them lengthwise into strips and add them just before serving.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOnce opened, the jar will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks, provided the brine covers all the berries. If one sticks out, it will dry out, which is why it is worth taking a moment to use a spoon. Further jars of this type can be found in the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/kapern-kapernaepfel\"\u003eCapers and Caper Apples\u003c\/a\u003e category.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e370 g net weight – 180 g drained weight\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alcaparras Asensio Sanchez","offers":[{"title":"370 g \/ 180 g","offer_id":53071266382158,"sku":"047DAN4640","price":5.4,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0905\/1124\/5646\/files\/kapernbeeren-essig-alcaparras.jpg?v=1750981637"}],"url":"https:\/\/nurgutes.eu\/en\/collections\/alcaparras-asensio-sanchez.oembed","provider":"nur Gutes","version":"1.0","type":"link"}