This has to be the ultimate free food find! If you have ever grown nasturtiums you will know how rampant they are. Well they produce a lot of seeds as well and those seeds can be put to good use by pickling them! They are very similar to capers. I used to be very suspicious of capers, they resemble little critters but are actually the flower buds of the caper plant. I will admit I didn’t use capers very often until recently when I developed a taste for them scattered over salads, they add little bites of pickled crunch that I just love. With last years farm challenge, particularly the foraging, still fresh in my mind I decided to try my hand at pickling the many seeds from a friends nasturtium plants.
Once acquiring my nasturtium seeds I turned to the internet, typically it appears everyone but me had tried this! I got the inspiration for my pickled nasturtium seeds from a blog I love called Hitchhiking To Heaven, Shae even calls them “California Capers” I just love that!
I didn’t make very many, I figured small batches were probably better for my needs. I will of course be eating these alone as there is no way I am ever going to get my green food fearing husband to try these! I was happy with the result, they are a little more crunchy than capers. Salty and tangy with a peppery flavour they have been a welcome addition to my salads this summer.
ingredients (to make one small jar) recipe barely adapted from here
- nasturtium seeds (a good handful)
- 15 grams salt
- 200 mls water
- 75 mls cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 bay leaf
method
- Rinse the nasturtium seeds and put into a jar.
- Make a brine by dissolving the salt in the water and pour this over the nasturtium seeds. Leave covered at room temperature for 2 days.
- After the 2 day soak drain and rinse the seed pods. Place into a sterile jar.
- Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil and pour the hot vinegar into the jar, covering the nasturtium seeds. Add the bay leaf and put the lid on the jar.
- Cool and store in the refrigerator.
#1 by Liz on September 6, 2013 - 15:32
now who’s brilliant and inspiring? That’s great information, Jayne. Had never known. Love that they bring a bit more texture to the plate. What fun 🙂
#2 by Jayne on September 6, 2013 - 18:29
Thank you Liz! It’s fun to be adventurous sometimes isn’t it?
#3 by Wendy Read (@Sunchowder) on September 6, 2013 - 16:00
wow, love this Jayne! I have never pickled them, much more difficult to find them “wild” here in Florida, for me anyway 🙂 Great job on this post, I would really like to try this sometime.
#4 by Jayne on September 6, 2013 - 18:14
Thanks Wendy, perhaps it’s a little too hot in Florida for nasturtiums?
#5 by Lizthechef on September 6, 2013 - 22:25
My front garden is loaded with “nasties” – they reseed and sometimes I yank them out by the handful…Cannot wait to try “California capers” – very creative!!
#6 by Jayne on September 15, 2013 - 17:24
“Nasties”! They can be a bit weedy cant they? This is a good way to try to stop them reseeding!
#7 by Charlotte @charlottekdiary on September 7, 2013 - 21:44
Wow, how amazing Jayne – they sound absolutely delicious. Who’d have thought it?!
#8 by Jayne on September 15, 2013 - 17:24
Thank you! It is a bit of a different idea isn’t it?