What is Chives?
Garlic is native to the steppes of the Djungar and Kirghiz region of central Asia, from where the Mongols soon introduced it to China. It was also cultivated on a large scale in ancient Egypt.
Garlic was even considered to be a sacred plant and ancient Greeks and Romans, believing it to have invigorating properties, fed it to their armies during military campaigns. Patricians, however, disdained garlic, giving it instead to their slaves. Since time immemorial garlic has been a favourite food of the Jews. As the Old Testament tells us the Jews cried to Moses: ‘We remember the fish, which we did cat in Egypt freely … and the leeks and onions and garlic’.
Chives should be freshly cut before serving. They have a very mild onion flavour without the biting quality and are used not only as a herb but also as a garnish on many cold and hot dishes. They should never be cooked – when used as a garnish for hot dishes chives should be sprinkled on top just before serving.
They are popular in cheese spreads, on bread and butter, in scrambled eggs, salad dressings and cold sauces, sprinkled on buttered boiled potatoes and as a garnish for assorted cold meat platters. In winter they arc a welcome source of Vitamin C.
In order to have fresh dill in the garden the whole year round it should be sown in succession from March till late July. The leaves will be ready for picking within six weeks of sowing. Dill is an annual herb and plants sown in spring produce seeds in the autumn of the same year.
Wild chives occur in several forms: with leaves rounded to greatly flattened and flowers ranging in colour from white to dark pink. Unlike the leaves, the flowering stems are not hollow. Cultivated varieties are generally larger and more robust but wild chives make an equally good seasoning.
