Zoe, Jenny is right that capons are birds, specifically, castrated
roosters, i.e., capon is to chicken as steer is to cattle. Capers are
pickled flower buds, of the caper bush, a Mediterranean plant (that's
real helpful, huh? but that's all it said in my dictionary--someone once
told me they were something like nasturtiums).
There's a great film scene very early in the 1970s remake of _Invasion of
the Body Snatchers_ in which Donald Sutherland, as a health inspector,
gets into an argument with a restaurant chef. Sutherland thinks the
little round things in the sauce are rat turds, the chef insists they're
capers--it's almost worth renting the video :-)
Capers are a bit pricey, about $2 for a pretty small bottle, but tasty.
And you don't use many--or in too many dishes. People seem to either
love 'em or hate 'em. I love them, but once a year or so when I pull a
jar off the store shelf, Joe makes a terrible face and says "_What_ do
you want those things for?" Oh well. Otherwise he has a pretty
discerning palate, so it's a minor annoyance.
Vicki
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Victoria Modarresi Dept. of English
vmodrsi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx University of Arizona
(520)621-1836 FAX (520)621-7397 Tucson, AZ 85721
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