Ingredient: Chives
Category: Herbs, Spices & Seasoning
Season: April - October
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are the smallest species of the onion family Alliaceae; native to Europe, Asia and North America. They are referred to only in the plural, because they grow in clumps rather than as individual plants. Allium schoenoprasum is also the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old World.
Chives are grown for their leaves, which are used for culinary purposes as condiment, which provide a somewhat milder flavour than 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.
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 spice 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
Don’t chop chives – keep them in bunches and use scissors to snip them into small pieces.
They can be deep-frozen for the winter by placing them in a sieve, pouring boiling water over to blanch them, then cooling them under a cold tap. Dry them as thoroughly as possible and freeze in sealed polythene bags.
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