Growing Chives- Harvesting & Cooking

Learn about growing chives, including how to harvest and cook with them. This hardy herb is very easy to grow and is enjoyed by most everyone in the family.

Chives are one of the easiest herbs to grow in the garden and perhaps the most loved. They are perennial, which means they come back year after year. You can preserve them, but they are best eaten fresh-picked from the garden.

Recipes Using Chives: Cheddar and Chive Biscuits .....Puff Pastry Pinwheels.....Chive Breadsticks.....Loaded Potato Bites

Growing Chives

• Latin Name: Allium schoenoprasum
• Type: Perennial
• Hardiness: Zones 3 through 9
• Sun: Full Sun to Part Shade
• Water: Average
• Bloom Time: Spring
• Height: 18 inches
• Width: 10 - 14 inches

Part of the allium family, chives are akin to garlic, onions, and leeks. They are one of the easiest herbs to grow.  Chive plants show up very early in the garden (May or June) and can be used all season long.

Chives are easily grown from seed, but should also be readily available at any nursery. They grow just about anywhere as long as they get a few hours of sun and some water.

Chives grow in large clumps, which you can divide and share with family and friends. Chives sometimes self-seed, giving you more plants to love. Not only do they have edible leaves, but they also produce beautiful edible flowers. If nothing else, the blossoms make a pretty garnish.

Harvesting Chives

Harvest chives by snipping with scissors at the base, leaving one to two inches of the plant above the ground.

Preserving Chives

The best way to keep your chives is to freeze them. Dried chive leaves turn color and lose their flavor however, the chive blossoms will retain their shape and can be used to decorate wreaths or other projects. After you cut and wash them, dry the chives thoroughly with paper towels, place them in zip plastic bags, and then put them into the freezer.

Alternatively, you can cut them up and place them in some olive oil in ice cube trays (above). Also, if you have a sunny window, you can dig some up, plant them in a small pot, and grow them there over the winter.

Cooking with Chives

Chives have a delicate onion flavor similar to green onions or scallions, but are not as strong. Typically, the leaves are chopped finely for flavoring savory dishes. They are great to add to egg dishes like omelets and quiche. One of my favorites is sprinkling chives over corn on the cob during the summer.

Chives also work well with vegetables, especially potatoes. You can add them to your mashed potatoes or home fries, and of course, they are a well-known topping for baked potatoes with sour cream. Try them in your salads, soups, or treat chives as a topping for your next pot of chili.

One thing to remember is- and this is true for most herbs- try to add your chives at the very end, or after you are done cooking. This will help retain the most flavor from the plant.

Chive Butter

This "compound butter" is easy to make from spring well into the fall. We use it on baked potatoes, corn on the cob, veggies and steaks.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Appetizers and Snacks

Cuisine American

Servings 16 tablespoons

Calories 102 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup butter softened 2 sticks
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh chive leaves
• pinch of salt

Instructions

 

• Use a pair of kitchen scissors or any scissors just make sure they are clean and snip the chives.
• Add to the butter and salt, and mix together well.
• Place in a small bowl like a ramekin and refrigerate until needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 102kcalCarbohydrates: 0.1gProtein: 0.2gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 91mgPotassium: 7mgFiber: 0.03gSugar: 0.03gVitamin A: 409IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.02mg

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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