Allium schoenoprasum, the smallest and the most delicate member of the onion family, are the cultivated descendant of a wild plant of C. Europe, which is still found, mostly in rocky and mountainous regions. Wild chives and closely related species are found throughout the northern temperate zone of the Old and New World.
The leaves of chives, which are thin, hollow, and round in cross-section, are the part used. When cut they re-grow, so that a clump of chives can provide leaves from spring to autumn. It dies down in winter but reappears next spring. During its dormant period the clump can be spread by division of the small bulbs.
Chives must have been used in the wild form since early times but the first mention of them seems to be by Gerard (1633), by which time they were being cultivated.
The name ‘chive’ comes from the Latin cepa (onion). The German name, meaning ‘cut leek’, probably reflects their early use as a treatment for wounds. They have antiseptic qualities.
Chopped chive leaves make a pretty green garnish, and provide a discreet onion-like flavour. They are used mainly in the cooking of C. and N. Europe, and are at their best in mild, creamy sauces and egg dishes, or as a garnish for soups and salads.
The purple-blue blossoms of common chives, pulled apart, were used by American Shakers in their Blue-flower omelette.
Chives of the European type have long been known and cultivated in China, but more use is made there, and in Japan and E. Asia generally, of the so-called Chinese chives, A. tuberosum (syn A. odorum). This is also available in the West, sometimes called ‘kuchai’; this name, spelled in various ways, is a corruption via Malay of its Cantonese name, gau choi. Others will know it as garlic chives.
The leaves of Chinese chives are bigger, flat and solid in cross-section, with a stronger and more garlic-like flavour than European chives. Indeed, the plant is more closely related to garlic, but the name ‘chives’ has stuck because they are often used like European chives. Two main kinds are grown: a large one which is used as cooked vegetable (in mixtures and with discretion); and a small one which is grown for its flowering stems, used as a seasoning and garnish. (The white flowers of the latter, gau choi fa, have a delicate flavour. In contrast the flowers of European chives, which are purple, are never used, and the buds are picked off to stop the plant from going to seed.)
Gau wong are blanched Chinese chives, lacking colour and limp, but appreciated for certain purposes because they are tender. They are frequently added to noodles or noodle soups.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Gerard, John (1633), The Herbal, New York: Dover.
