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If you admire chive flowers but didn’t realize the plant is a type of onion, you’re not alone! Chives (Allium schoenoprasum), part of the Amaryllidaceae family, are a popular herb with a mild onion flavor. They add fresh, subtle flavor to dishes and are easy to grow year after year, a bonus since they’re best eaten fresh. In this article, we’re going to talk about how to grow and use chives, a plant with a mild flavor and multiple uses.
Common ChivesÂ
What are Chives?
Chives grow in clumps, reaching about 12 inches tall. Their leaves are round, hollow, and tubular in shape, producing a milder flavor than regular bulb onions or green onions. Chives have a delicate onion flavor that complements many dishes without overpowering them. In warmer months, chives produce beautiful purple flowers, which are edible and have a flavor similar to the leaves. These flowers also attract pollinators like bees, which absolutely love them!
While regular white or yellow onions hold up to cooking and other, more robust flavors, chives are more delicate. The leaves are most commonly used in dishes like creamy sauces and soups, usually added at the end of cooking to preserve flavor. Chives pair well with flavors like milk, cheese, eggs, poultry, potatoes, parsley, and dill.
This makes it a great addition to dips, sauces, casseroles, and even salads. (The flowers make a pretty splash of color and flavor for salads.)
How to Preserve Chives
Because they’re so delicate, chives aren’t as easy to preserve as other herbs like basil or dill. But just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible!
- To freeze chives, wash and dry the leaves, then chop them in fine pieces, and freeze. Prepared chives can be frozen plain in airtight containers or covered in water or oil in ice cube trays.
- To preserve the flowers for later, use vinegar to create a delicious, pretty chive vinegar.
- Unlike many other herbs, chives are extremely difficult to dry. They usually turn brown (almost “woody,” as one author called it) and lose their flavor. If you have a lot of fresh chives, however, it wouldn’t hurt to try dehydrating them slowly using sunshine or a very low dehydrator setting. That said, freezing is the best method.
How to Grow Chives
Plant chives in loose, well-drained soil that is rich in organic matter and in a place where they will get full to partial sunshine and even, moderate water. You can start chive seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost or direct sow when soil temperature reaches at least 55°F (13°C). They don’t grow very fast at first, and you may not get a harvest the first season. But once the chives establish themselves, as long as they’re tended properly, these perennial plants will last for years to come!
As the plant grows, snip leaves regularly to encourage new growth but avoid cutting more than one-third of the plant at once, as that can disturb your plant beyond what it can recover. If you want to make the most out of the season, remove flower stalks as they appear. But you can also leave flowers for seed collection and attracting pollinators.
At the end of the season, you may want to bring your potted chives indoors or mulch outdoor plants if it’s going to be really cold. That said, chives are known to like USDA zones 3-10 (may depend on the variety). In fact, if you don’t have cold winters where you live, you may be able to harvest your chives year around!
As for chive’s relationship with other crops, you should plant chives next to carrots and tomatoes. Because they’re an onion-like plant, chives also deter pests like Japanese beetles, cucumber beetles, aphids, and slugs, as well as plant diseases like black spot on roses. (Realize that growing chives next to peas and beans isn’t recommended, due to their antagonistic relationship.) The tea is also used on plants that have mildew.
Conclusion
They have a delicate onion flavor, but common chives are delicious in the right meals. They’re also one of the best kitchen herbs, since they grow throughout the season, producing prolifically once established. Now that you know how to grow and use chives, go plant some!
