The humble chive is such an easy herb to grow. It always amazes me when people say that they never use chives for cooking. They are, I feel, a much-underused herb in the kitchen. There are two forms of chives, your regular chives, and garlic chives – often referred to as Chinese chives. As part of the onion family, chives have a strong onion scent, and you can always tell when someone is picking them! They prefer a sunny position but can also cope with partial shade. This is another herb that looks great planted around the garden and, if left, will produce small pinky-purple pompom flowers or white flowers in the case of garlic chives. As with most herbs, make sure when you plant chives that they are given a good free-draining soil. chives are also a wonderful companion plant in deterring pests and a good friend to plant with carrots, celery, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes.
Culinary uses for chives are endless. They work brilliantly with tomato and egg dishes; try adding them to scrambled eggs in the morning, an omelette for lunch, or as a garnish for oven baked potatoes in the evening. If you have an abundance of chives, consider making a chive salt which you can then use over the winter when you don’t have access to fresh ones. Add to softened butter and mix in chopped chives and then put back into the fridge to make a lovely chive butter. The flowers are also edible and can be eaten raw in a salad or you can make chive vinegar by infusing the flowers with vinegar (we always use apple cider vinegar) for 3 days – superb with chips! They also make a delicious garnish for any seafood dish. Hungry yet?
Medically, chives are packed with vitamin K, vitamin C and vitamin A. They are rich in antioxidants and flavonoids and may help to reduce inflammation. They can also improve heart health, relieve digestive issues, detoxify the body and boost skin health. chives contain allicin which has its own medicinal benefits. All this from those delicate sword-like leaves.