Homemade Pickled Nasturtium Pods Recipe

By
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone
Peggy Trowbridge Filippone is a writer who develops approachable recipes for home cooks. Her recipes range from Grandma’s favorites to the latest food trends.
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Updated on 05/28/21
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) 'Tip Top Apricot' seeds
Mark Turner/Photolibrary/Getty Images
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 15 mins
Servings: 64 servings
Yield: 1 quart
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
7 Calories
0g Fat
1g Carbs
0g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 64
Amount per serving
Calories 7
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 10mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 1g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 6mg 31%
Calcium 5mg 0%
Iron 0mg 0%
Potassium 21mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

While extremely delicious and the finishing touch on traditional recipes like chicken piccata, capers can be an expensive store-bought item for the home cook. You don't have to give up on taste in the name of being thrifty, though. When traditional capers just aren't in the budget, or you'd like to opt for a homemade version, pickled nasturtium buds or pods are an inexpensive substitute for pricey capers.

Nasturtiums are wildly weedy plants that are known for their edible flowers. While the flowers and leaves have a warm, tangy flavor, the buds or pods have a distinct mustardy flavor, and when pickled, can taste remarkably similar to traditional capers. Even better, pickled nasturtium pods are extremely inexpensive (even free if you can find them) and easy to make.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart nasturtium seed pods

  • 1 quart white wine vinegar

  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced

  • 1/2 medium lemon, thinly sliced

  • 1 clove garlic, smashed

  • 1/4 teaspoon pickling salt

  • 1 teaspoon pickling spice

  • 4 to 6 whole peppercorns

  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. After the nasturtium blossoms fall off, pick the half-ripened (still green) nasturtium seed pods. Continue picking as long as the seed crop continues.

  3. Combine wine vinegar, onion, lemon, garlic, pickling salt, pickling spice, peppercorns, and celery seed in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

  4. Pour cooled mixture over nasturtium seeds in an airtight container and refrigerate for one week.

  5. Keep the mixture refrigerated and use the nasturtium pickles in sauces, dips, casseroles, soups, stews, and as edible decorations. You can substitute for capers 1-to-1 in any recipe.

Tip

  • If you decide to forage for nasturtium pods, be sure that you pick them at their optimal stage. The nasturtium plant doesn't usually begin forming seedpods until late in the summer. Around that time of the year, you can find them attached to the stems underneath the foliage, where they develop in clusters of three. After the nasturtium blossom withers and falls away, you will want to pick the half-ripened seedpods—they will still be green and soft. As the pods mature, they will turn yellowish at which point they are no longer palatable.

Recipe Source: This recipe was originally submitted by thrifty home cook Marion Owen. We've reprinted it here with permission.

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