Chives is one of my favourite herbs because of its fresh flavour, and because it's so easy to use. I like foodstuffs which don't require cooking.
HOW TO EAT IT
I simply pick some chives from my herb garden or my window sill, chop it up with a knive, and sprinkle it generously on top ... Read review
Advantages: Easy to grow, easy to use, fresh and tasty Disadvantages: Doesn't cook or dry well
Chives is one of my favourite herbs because of its fresh flavour, and because it's so easy to use. I like foodstuffs which don't require cooking.
HOW TO EAT IT
I simply pick some chives from my herb garden or my window sill, chop it up with a knive, and sprinkle it generously on top of just about anything (except on chocolate mousse).
Fresh chives tastes great with tomato salad, potato salad, mixed salad ... ...in Germany, my mother made chives sandwiches, and I quickly learned to make them too: Spread a slice of bread with butter, half it, put lots of chopped chive on one half, put the other half on top, ready. This tastes particularly nice if the sandwich is served cool from the fridge.
Dilute a stock cube in boiling water, add a handful of chopped chives, and you have a delicious simple soup. For something more filling with extra protein, ... more
Chives is one of my favourite herbs because of its fresh flavour, and because it's so easy to use. I like foodstuffs which don't require cooking.
HOW TO EAT IT
I simply pick some chives from my herb garden or my window sill, chop it up with a knive, and sprinkle it generously on top of just about anything (except on chocolate mousse).
Fresh chives tastes great with tomato salad, potato salad, mixed salad - well, any salad, really - and it adds a certain something to sandwiches. When I was a child in Germany, my mother made chives sandwiches, and I quickly learned to make them too: Spread a slice of bread with butter, half it, put lots of chopped chive on one half, put the other half on top, ready. This tastes particularly nice if the sandwich is served cool from the fridge.
Dilute a stock cube in boiling water, add a handful of chopped chives, and you have a delicious simple soup. For something more filling with extra protein, stir an egg into the soup.
It is best, however, not to cook the chives, or it will lose much of its flavour and consistency. Instead, sprinkle it on top of whatever you've cooked, just before you take remove the saucepan from the heat, or just before serving.
I remember that my mother often placed a small bowl of chopped chives on the table, so that everyone could help themselves to however much they wanted with their food.
Another popular southern German use of chives is Kraeuterquark, that is, quark blended with herbs (usually finely chopped parsley and chives). This is served with boiled young potatoes in their skin, and the traditional drink to go with it is a glass of ice cold milk. Delicious! Unfortunately, quark (a dairy dish) is virtually unknown here, but you can use natural yoghurt or sour cream instead.
Chives can be dried for storage, but I don't recommend it, because dried chives doesn't look or taste good. However, it freezes well.
HOW TO GROW IT
Although I'm a keen gardener and love growing plants from seeds, I find chives (Allium Schoenoprasum) tricky to grow. It's much easier to buy the plants. But I don't purchase them from a garden centre or plant nursery, where I've seen them priced £2.50 for a measly plant.
This is my secret how to buy chives plants really cheap:
I buy my plants from the fresh produce section of a big supermarket! You may not believe that the plants stored under the fluorescent lights there are healthy, but in my experience, they're better than those from the specialist shops. Much cheaper, too - I've bought them for as little as 50pence a pot on special offer.
However, supermarket herbs are grown in very little soil, because they're meant for quick consumption rather than for a long life, so it is important that you give them nourishment. Put the plant pot in a bowl full of water, and let the soil soak up the water. Then slap the bottom of the pot to get the plant out. What looks like one plant is really several... perhaps dozens.
Divide them carefully, putting them into flowerpots with multi-purpose compost, one or several per pot. Firm the soil, and place them on a windowsill. Many of the plants will die (that's normal, they're exhausted from the move), but some will survive, and these will grow into rich, full plants.
Chives also grows well in the garden, especially if you give it a place in the sun. If it likes the spot you've chosen, it will come up year after year, for decades.
In my former garden, a number of chives plants grew between paving slates and a greenhouse. They had barely any space to grow, and hardly any soil to feed from. Very little rain ever reached the spot, and on top of it all, people trod on the plant. Guess what? It thrived. It (or its grandparents) had thrived in that spot for decades, although at least one owner of the garden had tried to eradicate it with weedkiller.
By comparison, the plants that I had put into the choice spot in the garden, nurtured and cared for, following all the textbook instructions about compost, mulch, watering, the right amount of everything... they struggled on through the summer, died down in autumn, and were never seen again.
Currently, I'm growing chives (from supermarket-bought plants) in wall baskets placed at a convenient harvesting height, and they're doing well. I pick them even now in winter.
Once the chives plants are established, they can be harvested. Simply take a pair of scissors or a sharp knife and cut the stalks. The more often you cut them, the quicker they will re-grow.
Some books claim that you have to cut the purple flowerheads before they develop, or the stalks will turn bitter. In my experience, this is simply not true. Besides, the flowers are edible as well. They make a juicy addition to a tossed salad, or a pretty edible garnish.
A related plant worth growing is Garlic Chives, which has the combined flavours of (mild) garlic and chives.
A footnote for the linguists among you: Chives in German is 'Schnittlauch' (cut leeks) - try to pronounce that :-D
...herbs when I cook and chives are one I wouldn't be without. Chives are easy to grow, taste delicious and look attractive in the garden too.
A bit about chives.
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Allium Schoenoprasum to give Chives its Latin name, have been cultivated for thousands of years. The ancient Chinese are documented as using chives from 300B.C. Marco Polo is said to have brought Chives to Europe from China.
There is evidence to show that the Romans believed ... ...throats.
Bunches of dried Chives hung around the home are reported to ward off evil spirits and disease.
Chives are part of the onion family and are the only species to grow in Europe, Asia and North America.
Growing Chives.
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Growing Chives is very easy. The best time to sow the seeds is in March. Simply sow in some compost and place the pots in a warm spot and keep well watered. The seedlings should immerge within about ...
anwar 07.11.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chives
.... I still love chives for various reasons - I still love eating them, and I like growing them too, they're so easy to care for and the purple flower heads are attractive. And the fact that chives have some insect repelling properties doesn't hurt either . Chives are actually the smallest varity of the onion family, and can grow from small onion like bulbs . They can also easily be grown from seed, and have a handy habit of self-pollinating, so once ... ...the first documented usage of chives in 3000 B.C, and Marco Polo is credited with bringing chives to Europe from China. Romanian Gypsies have used chives in fortune telling, and some people believe hanging bunches of dried chives in and around your home wards off disease and evil spirits. Chives can be purchased as plants from garden centres, and with very little care except fot the occasional watering, will thrive and spread in any kind of soil. ...
Thehonesttruth 19.03.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chives
Advantages: really easy to grow Disadvantages: may be a bit too easy!
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are also really easy perennial to grow and if you leave it to flower (which looks really nice in a flower border) it will re-seed readily, mind you, you'll be finding new chive plants sprouting in the most unlikely places all over the garden (you may wish to watch that!). Usually though, you’ll have to resort to planting them from small bulbs called sets in the earliest ... ...‘weedy’. In otherwords, give your chives a "haircut" frequently! They can be prone to aphids, caterpillars and mildew root, so do watch out.
As with all members of the Allium genus chives contain sulfur, some iron and Vitamins, but is especially high in Vitamins A and C. They also contain allicin, which may help lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol and may even help prevent certain types of cancer. Because you can start harvesting ...
loulou6 17.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chives
Advantages: pretty plant with many uses in the kichen and garden. Disadvantages: none
Chives are another indispensable herb which should be grown in all gardens. Related to the onion, chives have aromatic, hollow, grass like leaves growing to 6 –8” high and beautiful purple pom pom flower heads in summer.
Chives grow virtually anywhere and are very easy to propagate. The plants quickly produce offsets which can be divided easily. One small pot from a garden centre could provide enough plants to edge a border within a ... ...herbs in special areas but chives deserve to spread around a bit. Apart from being a perfect edging plant to almost any kind of flowerbed they have special properties which make them particularly suited to growing under roses.
Chives are perfect companion plants to roses because they accumulate sulphur which has a natural fungicidal effect and helps to give protection from blackspot and other fungal diseases. They are also a natural insecticide ...
Freespirit 06.02.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chives
Advantages: easily grown, pretty and useful Disadvantages: can't think of any
...makes a diference with the chives that I have got. Usually, the long green stems are snipped and used in salad, garnishes and whatever other dishes you would normally use onion/garlic in.
Chives can be grown anywhere in the garden, they don't have to be confined to the herb garden. They don't really spread too far, and benefit from the bulbs being lifted and split every 3 years or so. They are not particulalry fussy where they are grown, as long ... ...have had my chives for about 9 years. They have been dug up twice when we moved houses. The more you pick them, then the more they grow and the flavour seems to become stronger every year. I don't do anything to them after the summer, they just die off and re-appear in the springtime the next year.
Did try some garlic chives once, but the flavour not as good and they completely died off after the first year. ...
anjib 12.05.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Chives
Advantages: love the smell and taste Disadvantages: have to wait so long for them
blight , Vertically wilt , Greenback, Blotchy ripening, Stem rot, Blossom end rot, Virus .
Marigolds help to ripen whiteflies and one of the most common of tomatoes pests and some commercial growers have marigolds in their tomato greenhouses.
RECEPY
Salad
You will need: Beijing Cole, 1 cucumber, 3 tomatoes, onion and apple and sweet corn and chives.
You will have to chop everything in small peaces and mix everything in the bowl with sweet corn. Then add chives and season well with salt and pepper.
Enjoyed!
aggy ...
redeyes22 21.06.2009
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Do you know your onions?
I think I must use onions in cooking 2 or 3 times a week I often buy them from the supermarket but I always grow a few of my own. It will soon be time for a spring sowing. I was looking at seeds and thought I would tell you most of what I know about onions.
The onion is a member of the Alliums family. Leeks, chives, garlic are all members of this family. There are also some non-edible alliums that are grown for the flowers.
Now onto my onions, growing onions is easy. In spring I could plant sets or seeds . Onions are an annual flowering and seeding in a year.
If I were to be planting sets I could plant them February to April and I would be harvesting July, August when the leaves are dying back if I were storing them they can of course be pulled and used before then. Sets are immature bulbs that ...
mumsymary 08.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Onions
Advantages: Wonderful smell, taste and goes perfectly with tomatoes for a divine salad sensation! Disadvantages: It's an annual that likes a but of sun. And I live in The Dark North!!!
, ripped to tiny shreds and sprinkled over the top. Sensational!
Basil is a wonderfully versatile herb, so very easy to grow on your windowsill, or even outside if you live in the sunny south. I have to admit to never acheiving success with basil outside, as it tends to either grow stunted and pale from lack of sun, or sprout away happily only to be devoured by hungry greenfly. So I keep mine on the kitchen windowsill, in the sunshine, safe from every hungry mouth but mine!
My favourite way to use this pungent, sweet smelling herb is with tomatoes, but not just salad - try adding a teaspoon of sugar and a handful of basil leaves to a tin of heinz tomato soup, and serve with some garlic crutons and a sprinkling of parmazan cheese. Divine!!! Basil is also great in quiche and scrambled eggs, along with finely chopped chives. It's even good ...
phoenixgreen 26.05.2007 (25.05.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Basil
