Chives – a soft, fresh herb similar to an onion
Chives are a perennial herb. Allium schoenoprasum, a member of the lily family, Liliaceae. Native to Europe, Asia, and North America, chives are used to season many foods with a mild onion flavor.
Related to onion, chives have a similar growth habit. A small white bulbous root underlies the tubular leaves that are used for cooking. The bulbs and leaves grow in groups. Chive plant propagation is most successful by dividing established clumps into smaller pieces. The small white bulbous roots can be planted individually.
The flowers rise on separate flower stalks and bloom in pretty pink, purple, or blue umbels. The flower heads have a distinctly round appearance, a trait shared by relatives Allium species that are grown in flower gardens for their unique spherical flower heads that can reach four to five inches in diameter. In the larger varieties, the flower stalks reach a meter in height with the showy compact flower head on top. Culinary chives flowers are about a foot tall. The flowers rarely produce seeds, so propagation is properly done through root division.
Chives are used to season many foods with a mild onion flavor. Chives go well with eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, sauces and spreads, soups, salads, vegetable dishes, and fish. The leaves are used fresh or added at the last minute to hot dishes to preserve the onion flavor. For example, instead of adding chives to a spicy pasta sauce, mix the chopped chives with the pasta the moment the sauce is added to the noodles and serve immediately.
Chives are best eaten raw and are available in stores throughout the year. Frozen cut chives or freeze dried chives may also be commercially available. They do not need to be thawed or reconstituted before use. Just sprinkle a little on the plate you are going to serve. Chives are one of the ingredients in the herbal mixture called Fine herbs used in French cuisine.
Herb gardens and kitchen herb pots are well suited to chives. When kept in a sunny window, a continuous supply of leaves is ready to season many foods. Cut the long, thin, green hollow leaves at the base and snip over the food to be seasoned.
Fresh chives are rich in vitamin C and iron. The strong, crunchy flavor of chives can excite the palate enough that no salt is added to the dish. That makes it a great substitute for salt. If used regularly as a substitute for salt, chives could help salt-sensitive people reduce their sodium intake in an effort to lower their blood pressure.
Like other members of the Allium genus, chives contain allicin, a natural chemical that can confer health benefits on its followers. This may be of interest to anyone with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or a predisposition to heart disease. Allicin has been shown to lower cholesterol and lower high blood pressure. Evidence suggests that it can even prevent some types of cancer.