What are Chives?

Chives, which are also known as scallions or green onions are the tiniest species Alliaceae – the onion family. The Alliaceae was native to Asia, North America and Europe. In referring to them, only the plurals are used since they cultivate in clumps and not in the form of individual plants. Allium schoenoprasum is additionally the lone species of the Allium, which is native to New and Old World equally.

The very old Chinese people have been using chives for many decades and seemingly, they were introduced to Europe by Marco Polo from China. The chives are not perennials and even though farmers could cultivate them from seeds, they will take quite some time before they are harvested, therefore it would be a good thing to partition the existing clumps. Chives are supposed to be deadheaded because they are harvested appropriately by cutting them so that they are close to level of the ground. Similarly, farmers are not supposed to uproot these plants. To aid in their growth, chives will require well-drained soils and the sun as well. When cooked for a long time, they will tend to lose their flavors. In this case, they will be used primarily when raw as garnishes, typically chopped, for instance on potatoes when baked using sour cream. Additionally, they are added to dishes like stir-fry during the last cooking minutes or for flavoring vinegar, butter and oil.