Many people believe that the chive flowers are poisonous and therefore cut off the flower-bearing stalks in good time. In fact, the hard and very bitter flower stalks are inedible, but their flowers and buds are even tastier. Try it!
Are chive flowers poisonous or edible?
Chive flowers are by no means poisonous, in fact they are tasty. You can harvest the purple flowers from spring to fall and use them in recipes such as green sauce, or pickle them in s alt, vinegar or oil.
Flowering and harvest
Chives have a very long flowering period: depending on the seasonal weather, the herb blooms from March until October. The flower looks very pretty and resembles a fluffy ball from a distance. For this reason, in addition to the common chive, there are also numerous types of ornamental onions that are grown solely because of their distinctive flowers. Chives usually bloom in a delicate shade of purple, but there are also white and pink blooming varieties. Cut the flowers that have just fully bloomed from the stalk with a sharp knife; you can leave this on the plant. The best time for harvesting is early in the morning, as that is when the essential oil content is highest - and there are not as many nectar-collecting insects around early in the morning.
Recipe ideas for chive flowers
Only use he althy, undamaged and clean chive flowers. They should never be washed, but rather cleaned by hand. It is also important to examine the flowers for possible insects and examine them if necessary - beetles, bees, etc. like to hide in the tubes of the stamens. You can use the chive flowers as well as the stalks, e.g. B. on buttered bread or sprinkled over a salad. They can also be marinated in s alt, vinegar or oil, frozen or even used for cooking.
Green sauce with chive flowers
Frankfurter Grüne Sauce is a well-known, cold herb sauce that is usually eaten with boiled or boiled potatoes. A refreshing, light and he althy meal for hot summer days! We have modified the original recipe a little:
- Put 300 grams of mixed and chopped herbs (curly parsley, chive flowers, cress and chervil, borage and sorrel and lemon balm) into a tall container.
- Mix the sour cream, sour cream and milk so that a total of 500 grams comes together.
- Stir the mixture until smooth and add to the herbs.
- Mash the whole thing until the mixture has a nice, green color.
- Add a tablespoon each of vinegar and oil and s alt and pepper to taste.
- Now stir in two hard-boiled and chopped eggs.
- Let the sauce steep in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Bon appetit!
By the way, you should cut the stalks down radically after harvesting the flowers so that they are only a maximum of two to three centimeters above the ground. This also works great with a lawnmower. The chives will quickly sprout again.
Tips & Tricks
The same thing as the chive flower applies to a whole range of herb, fruit and vegetable flowers. Numerous delicious ideas can be realized from these: The flowers can be filled (e.g. pumpkin and zucchini flowers), they can be preserved in vinegar, s alt or sugar (e.g. flower vinegar made from elderberry or apple blossoms, thyme s alt or lavender sugar) or processed into a sweet liqueur (e.g. elderflower liqueur), syrup (for making lemonades), jelly and much more.
