"Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>>
>>> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>>
>>>> "Janet" > wrote in message
>>>> t...
>>>>> In article >,
>>>>> says...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I do not have much experience with these. Used them some time back
>>>>>> in a
>>>>>> recipe and don't recall a problem. Then put them in that rice salad
>>>>>> that I
>>>>>> made last night. I ate one and noticed a medicinal quality to it but
>>>>>> since
>>>>>> there were only 2 T. for the recipe, I thought it would be okay.
>>>>>> Well...
>>>>>> It wasn't! The salad tasted fine when I first made it. But after it
>>>>>> sat?
>>>>>> The capers sort of took over the whole thing and all I could taste
>>>>>> was
>>>>>> those. I fear I am going to have to dump it all out. I could only
>>>>>> manage
>>>>>> to eat a few bites. Even after trying to pick around the capers,
>>>>>> they had a
>>>>>> very aggressive quality to them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Did I get bad ones? I bought the store brand but the other kind was
>>>>>> about
>>>>>> twice as expensive. Are they supposed to taste really strong and
>>>>>> bitter
>>>>>> like that? I don't remember the others being like that. I think
>>>>>> they
>>>>>> tasted more like a pickle.
>>>>>
>>>>> 2 tablespoons sounds an awful lot of capers in anything; are you sure
>>>>> it wasn't 2 teaspoons?
>>>>>
>>>>> Janet UK
>>>>
>>>> Here's the recipe. This is for 1 cup of rice, cooked.
>>>>
>>>> Ruth Douglass's Rice Salad (Tadpole Salad), c. 1910
>>>>
>>>> Turn the rice into a big bowl. Mixing with two forks, add 1/2 cup
>>>> chopped green onions, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1/2 cup chopped
>>>> tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons capers, drained. Salt, pepper to taste.
>>>> Dress with oil and lemon juice.
>>>>
>>>> So, yes. Two Tablespoons.
>>>
>>> That is WAY too much caper. They are strong little suckers. And then
>>> to serve them with lemon? Ouch. In a piccata I maybe use 1 teaspoon.
>>> Two tablespoons makes my mouth pucker just thinking about it.
>>>
>>> Its a bad recipe. Hell, even I would say I hate it if you served it to
>>> me. I'd even whine ... but I
>>> haaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeee it!
>>
>> The odd thing is that it tasted fine when it was freshly made and
>> slightly warm. Apparently letting it sit like that just allowed it to
>> get super harsh! And the other odd thing is that it looks like tabbouli.
>> I kept expecting it to taste like that. And it sort of did. Until I hit
>> some capers. And with that many in there they were pretty hard to avoid.
>>
>> From what read online, you were supposed to rinse them to get the salt
>> off. But the finished dish didn't taste overly salty. Just very bitter.
>> And really like some sort of medicine. Like maybe Nyquil.
>
> Sounds like you have a inferior quality caper. They vary quit a lot as
> does any ingredient. But capers are typically strong and tart and used in
> moderation. Two tablespoons in a cup of rice is just wrong. I'd have
> used a half teaspoon. And yes, some flavors get stronger with time.
These are waaay beyond tart! I think I bought the Star brand before. I
could eat those right out of the jar and they were fine. But these? Gonna
toss them. To be fair, the recipe was from 1910. I imagine they had much
fewer seasonings available to them then. I was a bit surprised to see that
rice was used in those days though. I was about to say that my grandparents
didn't eat rice. But they did! At least the ate rice pudding. Hmmm...
Back to the old drawing board!