Chives Recipes and Cooking Information

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Chives

Part 1: The difference between chives and garlic chives

More of this Feature

• Part 1: Chive history; garlic chives
• Part 2: Chive selection, storage and usage
• Part 3: Chive Recipes

Related Resources

• Garlic
• Sweet Onions
• More Herb Articles
• Food Trivia Quiz
• A to Z Food

Recipes

• Baked Blue Flower Chive Omelet
• Caponata with Chives
• Tofu-Chive Potato Topping
• More Chives Recipes
• Main Recipe Index

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• Local Flavors : Cooking and Eating from America's Farmer's Markets
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A mention of chives will most likely bring to mind a baked potato with all the trimmings, but there is so much more to this thin, graceful herb. Chives are easy to grow indoors and out, and are also available freeze-dried, making them the perfect year-round herb to have on hand. Don't miss the chive recipes!

Chive history
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), a member of the onion family and native to Asia and Europe, have been around over 5,000 years. Yet, they were not actively cultivated until the Middle Ages. The botanical name is derived from the Greek meaning reed-like leek. The English name chive comes from the Latin cepa, meaning onion, which became cive in French. Prized for their flavor, this smallest member of the onion family has many wild cousins growing throughout the Northern hemisphere.

Shoots of flavor
(chives photo) Chives grow in clumps like grass, sending up graceful, hollow, thin leaves up to 12 inches. Unlike regular onions, no large bulb forms underground. Thus, it is the leaves that are the source of the onion flavor. A perennial plant, chives are perfect for the home gardener, even those with brown thumbs. If you grow your own, you will be blessed in the spring and summer with lovely lavender flowers shaped like a delicate puffball. These flowers are also edible, and make a strikingly colorful garnish for any dish. However, be aware that the flavor of chives becomes more harsh after flowering. To avoid flowering, simply keep snipping the leaves back.

Garlic chives
(chive flower photo) Also known as Chinese chives, garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), can be used and stored in the same manner as chives. They are distinguishable from chives by their flat, broader leaves and fragrant white flowers, otherwise, they look very similar in appearance. As you would expect, garlic chives have a delicate garlic flavor and are used extensively in oriental dishes. Garlic chives are a good choice for those who shy away from full-flavored garlic.