How to Cook With Chives

Chives are perhaps best known as a topping for baked potatoes, but they have other uses, too. Chives often are used raw to make a dish "greener" or to give it a more herbal flavor.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. For using chives from the plant, cut an inch or two from the ground.

2. Wash chives thoroughly, either by soaking them in a bowl, or by spraying them with high pressure water flow to make sure dirt particles are rinsed off.

3. For most recipes, you'll want to chop up the chives into half-inch pieces.

4. Measure the minced chives with a teaspoon to see how much you want in your recipe.

5. Add chives at the end of the cooking process to make sure they don't lose their flavor or their texture. Chives are at their best in their raw state, with water held in the delicate green stems.

Tips & Warnings

• One popular use of chives is in the French "fines herbes," a mixture of parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil. This and other herbal mixtures are served cold or on top of hot dishes, but not cooked.
• Use chives in mashed potatoes or sauces, or as a garnish.
• In some cases, scallions can be substituted for chives, but the flavor will be less mild, more of an onion taste, and the texture won't be quite the same as when using the slender, hollow stemmed herb.
• Use chives fresh, or store in a cool, dark place. Chives can quickly lose their freshness if exposed to heat and light.

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Resources

• Information on using chives for health.