How to cook Chives

Chives stir-fried with tofu

• • Chives are grown for their leaves, which are used for culinary purposes as a flavouring herb, and provide a somewhat milder flavour than those of its neighbouring Allium species.

  • Chives have a wide variety of culinary uses, such as in traditional dishes in France and Sweden, among others.

  • In his 1806 book Attempt at a Flora (Försök til en flora), Retzius describes how chives are used with pancakes, soups, fish and sandwiches.

  • It is also an ingredient of the gräddfil sauce served with the traditional herring dish served at Swedish midsummer celebrations.

  • The flowers may also be used to garnish dishes.

  • In Poland chives are served with quark cheese.

  • Chives are one of the "fines herbes" of French cuisine, which also include tarragon, chervil and/or parsley.

  • Chives can be found fresh at most markets year-round, making it a readily available herb; it can also be dry-frozen without much impairment to its taste, giving home growers the opportunity to store large quantities harvested from their own garden.