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A market mystery: Why do capers come in such tiny jars?

This a story about one of modern life’s least consequential but most acutely annoying experiences — getting a sufficient number of capers out of those dollhouse-size jars they come in.

Even if you do have a supremely tiny utensil to fish them out, there’s no single-dip solution: At best you can capture three or four in one go, and any piccata recipe or lox spread worth its salt calls for, like, at least a dozen capers. Reddit threads on the subject tend to upvote the theory that the tall, skinny glass jars keep the capers fresh by ensuring they stay submerged in their brine. Because capers are expensive — and not exactly a staple of the American refrigerator, although sales are rising, according to Mezzetta — food companies opt for smaller jars to keep down the per-unit cost for consumers.

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