Capers bear the same relation to caperberries as squash blossoms to squash. Well, almost. Capers are the buds, not the flowers, of a spiny plant native to the Mediterranean. The buds grow into a dark green fruit, the caperberry. Both capers and caperberries are sold pickled in brine.

Capers have a strong lemony flavor, from the natural mustard oil in the bud. Capers go well with fish, and are well known in that capacity. They are a staple with smoked salmon.

Caperberries are not so common, at least not outside of the Mediterranean region. Caper berries are about the size of smallish olives, and are served up much like olives. Other being salty from pickling, caper berries do not taste like olives. They taste more like capers, but milder and more fruity.

The berries are full of small edible seeds. The fruit has light stripes lengthwise, but actually they can be consumed while informally attired.

I bought caperberries recently at one of those “olive bar” setups in a supermarket.

They are also available in jars from a number of suppliers. The caper plant is known as being highly variable, and the strength of the caperberry flavor is also said to vary considerably with the ripeness of the fruit. With the variability of the basic product, there are likely interesting variations among the offered products. Amazon offers six vendors of caperberries. Gourmet Foodstore offers four varieties. Other online sources include Marky’s, La Tienda, and MexGrocer. Check the written description or photo to make sure you are getting caperberries rather than capers; the listings are sometimes confused.

Caperberries purchased online from La Tienda, a reliable supplier.