Nasturtium Capers
Did you know you can make capers from nasturtium pods?
Preparation
Pick the nasturtium pods when the flowers have faded and the pods are still green. It doesn't matter what size they are, as long as they are not yellowing yet.
You can eat the pods raw in a salad; they have a nice, sharp flavour, or you can make capers for later use.
Here is how to make nasturtiums capers:
Dissolve the salt in 900ml water in a bowl and add the capers. Cover and leave overnight or for 24 hours.
Drain the pods really well and pack them tightly into sterilized jars (sterilising jars: wash with water and soap and put in an oven at least 100C for 5 - 10 minutes. Careful when taking the jars out of the oven!).
Add dried dill, a few black peppercorns and a bay leaf to the cider vinegar. Heat the cider vinegar until boiling point and now add the hot cider vinegar to the jars (careful as to not to burn yourself), screw the lid on while the jar is still hot. After some time you should hear a gentle 'plop' this means the jar is now vacuum. You can check this by pushing the centre of the lid, if it doesn't move it is vacuum, but if it does you need to consume these capers first.
Store for a few weeks before eating and the vacuum jars can keep for up to a year in a dry, cool place.