The flavor of the leaves of A. tuberosum is subtle, like very mild garlic, while the narrow bulbs are strong and sharp when eaten raw. The leaves are used similarly to the way chives or green onions are used. They can be added to salads, egg dishes, soups, or stews.
The chive plant will flower in late spring or early summer. The flowers are edible and taste best just after they have opened—they should look full and bright.
The entire part of the plant can be eaten. Even the lilac flowers of wild chives are edible as well as beautiful when garnished atop a salad or soup. Wild chives look similar to wild garlic in that they both have hollow leaves while wild onion foliage does not.
Garlic chives can be chopped and used as a garnish just like regular chives are; try using them in compound butter or sprinkling on soup as Andrea Nguyen does. They can also be treated more like a vegetable -- try stir-frying garlic chives or stuffing them into dumplings.
Transplanting to the garden: Transplant seedlings into the garden from late spring to late summer. Outdoor planting time: Chives are a hardy plant. Sow chives in the garden or set out divisions as early as 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost in spring. The seed will germinate in 2 to 3 weeks at 60°F.
You can freeze garlic chives the same way you would the regular ones. In fact, you can use these methods for any type that you have on hand. Freezing chives won't take long, and you will have the benefit of their delicious flavor all year round.
Sow chives seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before the average last frost date in spring using a seed starting kit. Sow seeds ¼ inch deep in seed starting formula. Keep the soil moist at 70 degrees F. Seedlings will emerge in 7-14 days.
Plants grow to about 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide and should be trimmed regularly to encourage a new flush of growth. Fresh chives can be dried or frozen for later use. Cut all the scapes in the chive plant down to 1 or 2 inches above ground level, using a pair of sharp scissors or a knife.
Health Benefits
- Prevent Cancer. Several studies have been produced which suggest that alliums, including chives, could help prevent or fight against cancer.
- Prevent Osteoporosis. Chives are packed with Vitamin K, a critical component in bone density.
- Improve Memory. Chives contain both choline and folate.
That's not surprising since both are members of the onion family. However, while the standard chive has a mild flavor similar to onions, Chinese garlic chives are known for their strong “garlicky” flavor. Besides finding them in the supermarket, you can grow garlic chives in your garden or a container herb garden.
Herb Substitutions
| Basil | Oregano or thyme |
|---|
| Chervil | Tarragon or parsley |
| Chives | Green onions (scallions), onion, or leek |
| Cilantro | Parsley |
| Italian Seasoning | Blend any of these: basil, oregano, rosemary, and ground red pepper |
The primary edible part of the chives, though, are the long stalks, which are great snipped into salads and other dishes. They shouldn't be cooked; they're too delicate for that.
Onions, garlic, chives, and leeks are in the Allium family, and are poisonous to both dogs and cats if the dose is right (if they eat a single large serving or repeatedly nibble on small amounts over time).
After qualifying which plants are ready for harvest, you could start cutting the chives two inches away from the soil. Never cut it from the top. Take the scissors and remove the top from the stalks you just harvested. Chop as many as you need with a knife or a special herb scissors, and use it however you want.
They can be dried and ground to be used as a spice. The seeds produced by the flowers can be sprinkled on food. The plant produces a small bulb underground that is edible, but it is tough. If you are harvesting garlic chives for their bulbs, do so before the flowers open.
What's A Good Chives Substitute?
- Your best bet: Scallions. This chive relative provides a mild onion flavor that is comparable to chives.
- A decent second choice: Leeks. The leek is another member of the onion family.
- In a pinch: Garlic scapes. Garlic scapes are the stalks that grow from garlic bulbs.
- Other alternatives.
There's really no substitute for garlic, which has a very distinctive flavor. If you don't like garlic, you may choose to leave it out altogether or enhance the recipe with other herbs. In most cases, onion or chives add nice flavor to dishes that call for garlic.
Green onions and scallions come from the same onion species, while chives are considered an herb and come from a different species of plant.
Scallions work really well as a replacement onions and garlic, yes they flavor will be milder but scallions have flavor components of both in my humble opinion. Green onions/spring onions add a nice onionly flavor and chives are also good sprinkled on top of burgers, and even steak for a nice, yet mild onion flavor.
Green onion (scallion) greens.Scallion is also called green onion, and the dark green part tastes a lot like the fresh flavor of chives. You can substitute it one-for-one.
If the person you're cooking for is not allergic to all vegetables belonging to the genus Allium, you can try using leeks, chives, or shallots. Scallions (also known as green onions or spring onions) are milder than common onions. Scallions have thicker leaves, you can use both bulbs and stalks of scallions.
First, crush a clove of garlic. Then, give it a rough chop. Next, hold your knife and lay the other hand flat across the tip. Use a rocking motion to chop the garlic until finely minced.
A great shallot substitute is to use green onions, or scallions in place of shallots. To get the flavor closest to the shallot, use only the white base of the scallion, which is actually a tiny unformed onion bulb. (you can use the top green portion as a garnish, or as a replacement for chives in another recipe.)
Chives taste very similar to onions and garlic, and they resemble small green onion sprigs. Fresh or dried chives can be used as a substitute for parsley in all types of dishes, as they have a flavor that lends itself well to many types of food.
Every part of the garlic chive plant is edible, from its small bulb to its flat (not hollow, like other chives') stems to its white blooms and even its tiny black seeds. Use both stalk and leaves of this mild garlicky-flavored vegetable as you would onions, chives, or green onions.
This pretty, light purple, edible flower has a light onion flavor. Chive blossoms can be tossed in a salad or, more commonly, used to garnish a dish. Chinese chives (or garlic chives) produce edible white flowers with a garlic flavor that is stronger than the leaf itself.
Since chives have a milder flavor, they're perfect to add to soups, dips, mashed or baked potatoes, fish, seafood dishes and omelets. Heat destroys their delicate flavor, so add chives to dishes at the last minute. To maximize their taste, thinly slice, chop or snip with kitchen shears before using.
The green tops of garlic are called 'garlic scapes' (or sometimes, just 'scapes'). They are edible (a kind of garlic/chive mix) and there are plenty of recipes available online that use them. One reason I love to plant garlic (In October in the NE US), is that I can use it 3 times during its life-cycle.
