Chives
(Allium schoenoprasum)
Chives is a wild plant thought to have originated in Central Asia and now grown as a culinary herb in almost every country in the world. Chives is a word used to describe an herb, but is actually the smallest member of the Onion family. Like other green onions, chives bear hollow green shoots, but more tender and thinner, growing to a height of six inches to two feet. The tiny white bulb of the chive is never harvested for eating. Varieties are classified as fine, medium-fine, and coarse-leafed. Fine-leafed chives are often sold during the winter, planted in pots with their roots still attached. Chives are best fresh as almost all their flavour is lost when they are dried. The flowers are also edible and used in salads or as attractive and unusual garnishes. As with other onion green tops, chives contain a good amount of vitamins A and C, as well as potassium and calcium. A stronger variation is the garlic chives (A. tuberosum).
Chinese chives, Chinese leeks, flowering chives, garlic chives, gau choy fa, kuchai
(Allium tuberosum)
The Chinese chive is a relative newcomer to the West, but has been a popular cultivated plant in Southeast Asia and India for centuries. In contrast to garlic, this perennial plant develops a strong root, rather than a bulb. The grass-like leaves grow to a height of twenty inches. They may be cooked with or without the flowers. Unopened flower buds are young and, therefore, more tender. Chinese chives have a broader, flatter stalk that is grey-green in colour. The flavour is more garlicky than oniony, and they withstand cooking better than common chives. These are used in many Asian stir-fries. "Nira" is a Japanese variety of the Chinese chive which is used as an aromatic substitute for chives, garlic, and shallots. Blanched Chinese chives are milder in taste than their dark green counsins.
