# Attention Pizza Places, allow me to introduce you to . . . Capers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233 "2010-10-25T01:39:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/1 "2010-10-25T01:39:22Z")
I wish more Pizza places had capers. I like capers. When I’m at a full menu restaurant that serves pizzas, I like to get mine with capers and kalamata olives- kind of a puttanesca pizza. I’ll add feta to that when available. There was a “delivery/take-out only” pizza place near my last apartment in L.A. that offered capers and feta as toppings (not real kalamata olives, just your basic “salad bar” black olives but it was good enough). I ate a lot of pizza when I lived there. I’m not holding my breath waiting for real kalamata olives to be widespread among pizza joints, but I would really love it if they had capers. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/2 "2010-10-25T01:50:33Z")
Kalamata olives always remind me of those big flying Southern cockroaches. I mean, I like ‘em okay, just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/3 "2010-10-25T01:52:57Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I wish more Pizza places had capers. I like capers. > > When I’m at a full menu restaurant that serves pizzas, I like to get mine with capers and kalamata olives- kind of a puttanesca pizza. You should go the full way and add the anchovies and red pepper flakes. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/4 "2010-10-25T01:57:52Z")
Aren’t capers pretty expensive? Are you willing to pay for it? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/5 "2010-10-25T01:57:54Z")
Vegetarian, so I don’t do the anchovies, but red pepper flakes yes! ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/6 "2010-10-25T02:01:48Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Aren’t capers pretty expensive? Are you willing to pay for it? There’s one place I’ve had it that had a “per extra topping” charge as well as a “per extra topping (premium)” charge. I think it was $1 per extra topping and $1.50 per extra premium topping. Capers, I believe, were in the premium topping category (as was feta). I paid happily. Other places just charged the same as for any other topping. Even restaurants that didn’t have capers listed among the pizza toppings- but did have capers on the menu as ingredients in other dishes- usually just charged me the same as any other topping. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/7 "2010-10-25T07:14:36Z")
That sounds interesting. I use them exclusively in potato salads, but… ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/8 "2010-10-25T07:35:27Z")
Capers are the devil’s boogers. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/9 "2010-10-25T07:58:07Z")
I do understand why you would have to introduce places to capers. I’m not unacquainted with food, but I had to look up what a caper was. (Sure, I’d heard of it, but I assumed it was a type of pepper.) ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/10 "2010-10-25T08:15:44Z")
If said pizza place serves entrees, they probably serve chicken piccata, and thus have capers on hand. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/11 "2010-10-25T16:12:15Z")
> [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](#): > > If said pizza place serves entrees, they probably serve chicken piccata, and thus have capers on hand. Oh, make no mistake, I know very well what menu items to look for to clue me in on the kitchen’s having or not having capers . . . Penne Puttanesca, Chicken Piccata, Veal Piccata, Caponata . . . if the kitchen’s got capers they’ll be putting them on my pizza- I’ll make sure of it! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/12 "2010-10-25T17:30:28Z")
I’ve always imagined that embalming fluid smells like capers. I’ve no idea what embalming fluid _actually_ smells like, but now every time I think of capers I think of dead bodies. ---
**Author:** ![wolf-alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9e8a1a/32.png) [@wolf-alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf-alice)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/13 "2010-10-26T13:25:57Z")
Capers aren’t that expensive. I have a debilitating caper addiction so I’m onto the catering size jars now; I don’t know what they cost exactly but I’ve never noted it so it can’t be much. _God_ I love capers. Get this, though - half the time when I order extra capers in a restaurant they take the capers _off_, since they’re so used to that being the order ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2010, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/14 "2010-10-26T13:28:02Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ve always imagined that embalming fluid smells like capers. I’ve no idea what embalming fluid _actually_ smells like, but now every time I think of capers I think of dead bodies. Funny, I’ve always felt the same way about turnips. Anyway–yeah, capers seem like the vegetarian version of anchovies, as pizza toppings go. I’m all for pizza places carrying them. I’d order them. AND anchovies. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/15 "2010-10-27T01:21:30Z")
mmm … capers, artichoke hearts, red onions, and sopresata. Figures, we are having doner for dinner tonight =( At least this gives me time to get the ingredients ready to make pizza tomorrow =) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/16 "2010-10-27T04:43:46Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Aren’t capers pretty expensive? Are you willing to pay for it? They’re about $3-$4 for your average 2.5 oz jar of capers. So, a bit more expensive than jarred olives adjusted for price (I’m comparing it with jarred olives and not bulk olives because I’m sure the price of the jar is a significant factor in the pricing) but not what I would call “pretty expensive,” per se. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/17 "2010-10-27T05:14:05Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Kalamata olives always remind me of those big flying Southern cockroaches. I mean, I like ‘em okay, just sayin’. I assume the roaches don’t have pits, although they’re probably less flavorful. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/18 "2010-10-27T14:50:28Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I assume the roaches don’t have pits, although they’re probably less flavorful. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried 'em. It’s sort of the opposite of an olive - squishy on the inside, crunchy on the outside. It’s something of an external pit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/19 "2010-10-27T19:13:54Z")
They’re good on salads, too. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233/20 "2010-10-27T19:55:49Z")
I used to love capers on my pizza, but now despise them. One of the brick oven pizzerias by my house has a special pizza called “the Caper”. It is topped with onions, fresh garlic, black olives and capers. Since I like the other 3 ingredients, and 3 individual toppings would be more expensive, this is how I used to order: “I’d like a large Caper, but hold the capers!” Now they easily recognize my number, so they answer: “Large caper, no capers?”. They think its hilarious. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-pizza-places-allow-me-to-introduce-you-to-capers/558233.md?page=2)