Chives

Allium schoenoprasum

herb

Thin hollow leaves with a mild onion taste, of a small allium from the temperate zones of Europe and Asia; snipped raw over dishes, Charlemagne already recommended growing it. It provides quercetin and sulphur compounds.

Origin

Temperate zones of Europe and Asia

Season (United States)

April to October · grows in your region

Preparation

Snipped with scissors, raw, just before serving — over an omelette, a salad, a potato, fresh cheese; cooking makes it lose its flavour. It grows at ground level and catches the splashes of watering: washing it leaf by leaf, in plenty of water, beats a quick rinse of the whole bunch. Chop or crush it, then wait ten minutes before cooking: that is how long its sulfur compounds take to form.

Molecules

Flavonols (quercetin) · Allium sulfur compounds · ChlorophyllIn small amounts, not counted Fructans (inulin, FOS) · Vitamin K1

Did you know?

Its mauve flowers are edible too: in salads, or pickled in vinegar like gherkins, where they lose their colour.