Barker's Antipasto - Sundried Tomato & Caper product reviews

When I was a child, I discovered capers, my mum had bought a small jar and thrown some onto our pizza. At first, it was something I didn't like but I grew to enjoy it and it became a staple on our pizzas. It's something I eventually forgot about as when I got married, my ex didn't like them and so I stopped buying them. Seeing this brought back memories of the salty topping and I knew I needed to give this a try. Opening it up I was greeted by the smell of tomatoes and capers and I quickly popped some on some crackers with a yummy garlic and herb cheese. This combo worked well but I didn't find it particularly inspiring, so popped it in the fridge to mull things over.

Making homemade pizzas, I remembered this little pottle sitting in my fridge and decided to try it as the base sauce for my pizza, instead of my usual tomatoe paste. I also put on some gherkin, sun dried tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms and onions but left off my usual olives as I didn't want to risk this being too salty. This added a nice element to the pizza, I was defiantly correct in leaving out the olives but the capers in the mix made up for that missing ingredient. At $6.99 this is an expensive spread to add to a pizza, but it worked so well that I could see myself buying it for an extra yummy pizza now and then.

Receiving some of the great new range of Antipasto from Barkers was very exciting for me and this flavour of Sundried Tomato and Caper was exciting me the most. I love sundried tomatoes that rich and acidic taste is so authentically italian and I just love italian food yet I have avoided capers as for some reason for a very long time I thought they were some kind of fish like anchovies and I am not a fish fan. Having recently found out I was wrong all these years I have been dying to try capers to see what I have been missing.

The sundried tomato flavour was very strong and the colour was so dark and rich like sundried tomato dishes are, with an evident generous amount of olive oil, there was also a level of saltiness that complimented the tomato well coming through from the capers. I loved the acidic taste and it had a very fresh home made like taste to it. Spread on a cracker with cheese this was perfect and having something like cheese to balance out the strong tomato taste is great. I always think of sundried tomato's going together with olives as olives also have that authentic italian feel so I stuffed some inside some olives and it worked so well like this.

If you like classic italian flavours then you will find so many uses for this, it works great with pasta dishes, and bread dishes as a topping or even pizza. I will probably buy this again as I did really enjoy the flavours and found so many ways to use it. The quality is fantastic and I love being able to see all the natural ingredients The resealable container is ideal for being able to store in the refridgerator between use and I love that the lid has a push and screw feature so that it protects from any spillage.

I was super lucky to receive 4 of these antipastos to try and was really spoiled for choice with which to try when! Luckily, being Christmas time, plenty of visitors are around and functions are happening where antipastos are great to have, so there was no shortage of tasting opportunities.

I really enjoy Italian tomato based food, and love the more extreme flavours of sour, tart, vinegary, and so seeing the sun dried tomato capers one, immediately requested it. I am one of those weird people that would eat capers on their own, but you do not always seeing things with capers as the ingredient so I was very excited to try this!

My first thoughts on this antipasto is that the packaging is very visually appealing as well as quite unique between the flavours, meaning it is easy to tell between each of them. The pottle is sturdy with a good fitting lid, and inside is foil sealed for freshness, and means that until it is open it can be kept in the cupboard, then it needs to stay in the fridge.

I first tried it on crackers and being that I like capers, can say I was pleasantly impressed and found that the caper taste was really strong - with the typically salty flavour being very present. This antipasto is full of sun dried tomato also, with a good amount of oil in there too - which adds to the flavour. In true Barker's style, the antipasto is made with quality fresh ingredients and herbs, and because it does not have a lot of added preservatives, you do need to remember to stir it before indulging, if you want an even texture and flavour.

My husband is not as big of a plan of capers as me - but suggested mixing it with a little cream cheese (sour cream could work also) and said he enjoyed it much more - it was more like a traditional dip and the creamy-ness took some of the salty away.

I could honestly see this antipasto working really well with fresh cheese as well - maybe something like mozzarella balls.... Something I would definitely like to try.

I thought the Barkers of Geraldine antipasto looked to be a very good product with it being super versatile so that you can add it to a whole range of dishes like pasta, pizza and you could even use it as a dip to give it a nice Italian kick. After popping off the lid my first instinct was to smell the antipasto and it was a very weird smell that I cannot compare to anything I have ever smelt before personally, it was a very offputting smell and I didn't like it but the flavour made up for the strange scent. The design of the pot was beautifully done in that alluring painterly style that I see in all of the Barkers of Geraldine products I have seen in the past, it never fails to catch my eye. Yet another great thing about this product is that it is vegan-friendly and gluten-free which is great because of my wife being vegan and having a gluten intolerance so this product is perfect so we can both enjoy it.

When I first tasted the antipasto I was surprised by the strong salty taste with the tomato and the capers being the dominant flavours and it has a very delicate mix of flavours that blew me away as I wasn't expecting it to be that strong. I was rather pleased with the quality of the product. After tasting it I instantly thought to put it on crackers and let me tell you it was super tasty the way the flavours came together I definitely recommend that combination.

Overall I would definitely purchase this product in the future as it is of very high quality and there isn't really anything bad about this product. It is versatile and makes a great addition to snacks and I would definitely recommend it for anyone who wants an unusual mix of flavours to spice up their meals.

I love Italian food and really wanted to give something new a go so this looked like the perfect opportunity. I wasn't 100% sure what capers were but I knew that if this was something I like then I will be buying it again and if I hate it then not a problem at least I gave it a go.

First thought was to try with cheese and crackers but I found that it was rather salty. I was thinking about using with homemade pizza or pasta but the kids didn't try it and I was scared that they wouldn't like it so I put in the fridge and left while I was thinking about how I could use it. I thought to try again but this time to add salami to the mix and it worked really well, not sure why but it didn't taste salty at all. I was that amazed I had to try some on its own and realised it is so much nicer when it is cold so next time I'm going to put in the fridge first.

I'm going to start being a lot braver and using this in dinners, I can start with homemade pizza and only use a little and see how the family reacts.

We thought this antipasto was just great because its authentically Italian flavour means it would complement a whole range of foods, from pasta to pizza to sformati. These are all dishes that I prepare regularly - especially when there is plenty of fresh spinach in the garden - and which invariably benefit from various additional flavourings. Barker's antipasti are ideal because they are made with genuine ingredients like fresh vegetables and spices rather than artificial flavours, so this means I will choose them by preference. I also like the way that the contents frequently need stirring before use; this indicates that there has been no artificial emulsifier added to make the product look more attractive. (In my opinion, this has the opposite effect.)

I first tried a dollop with a spinach, asparagus and cream cheese sformato. It made the flan so much more interesting! On checking the label, I found that capers comprise nearly a quarter of the ingredients. That is a significant amount, and is what no doubt gives the tomatoes that extra zing. I use capers in home-made tartare sauce so I am sure this product will also go with fish and eggs as well as with the traditional Italian dishes already mentioned. When the holiday madness eases off, I intend to try the antipasto in this way too.

Next, I thought I would see how it would go as a dip. The never-ending get-togethers at holiday times invariably involve bringing a plate, and this often involves last minute panics as food has to prepared and then stored for a long journey in the sun: nobody wants food poisoning, so planning is vital as is the organisation of chilly bins. Chicken and fish nuggets are the favourite convenience food of the 10-14 age group; they are easy to prepare, filling, and relatively ok in terms of nutritional value - although they are enclosed in batter, they can be baked rather than deep fried. The only issue with them is that they lack flavour!

I cooked two kilograms of nuggets, one each of chicken and fish, before we set out for our friends' home three hours' drive north. The plan was that we would reheat the nuggets in the microwave and serve them with the tomato and caper dip. The best plans don't always work out as intended; the youngsters insisted that they did not need reheating. It was a hot day, and they would be fine served just as they were. Besides, they were hungry! I gave up trying to organise them; I just handed them the container of bites and told them to put them on some plates for serving.

The other adults and I were not too sure about all this, but watching the young ones demolishing the lot at top speed made us realise we had better grab a couple apiece before they were all gone. To our amazement, they were just fine eaten cold. Because the nuggets had been oven baked, they were not greasy, and the antipasto added a welcome piquancy to them so that they no longer tasted boring. I think I could get used to them prepared like that, and I have just solved the perennial problem of bring-a-plate panics. My one problem with the antipasto? It needs to come in a bigger pottle!