It tastes best fresh, but dried or frozen it loses its aroma. We're talking about chives. This plant, which requires little care, has many uses in the kitchen.
How to use chives?
Cut garlic can be used fresh for salads, soups, quark dishes, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, tarte flambée, fish dishes, herb butter and potatoes. The flower buds are suitable for deep-frying, stews, soups, smoothies, salads and cold plates.
Harvesting garlic: what, when and how?
You can harvest all parts of the plant. Both the small bulbs in the soil and the leaves that grow in clusters, the stems, the flower buds and the white flowers are edible. As a rule, mainly the leaves and flower buds are harvested.
Chive garlic can be harvested several times a year. If sown in spring, the soil starts from June and extends until late summer. If the hardy chives were planted last year, the harvest can, with luck, begin in March.
The garlic chives are cut off with scissors. Caution: Do not remove all the leaves at once to avoid shocking the plant. Cut the leaves at least 5 cm from the ground. This means that the new shoot tips are not accidentally injured. Also remember to only harvest as much as you really want to use.
Uses for the leaves
The leaves should be used fresh or added to the food at the end of the cooking process. In addition to Asian-inspired dishes, they are excellent for seasoning:
- Salads
- Soups
- Quark dishes
- sandwiches
- Scrambled eggs
- flambée
- Fish dishes
- Herb butter
- Potatoes
Uses for the flower buds and flowers
The buds of the flowers that appear in August are also edible and delicious. They taste best when closed, green and plump. The flowers are used more for decorative purposes such as decorating and serving sweet desserts and fruit plates. You can use the flower buds:
- for frying
- for stews and soups
- for smoothies
- for salads
- for cold plates
How does chives affect the body?
The garlic-like leaves have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, digestive, blood pressure balancing, anti-cancer and cholesterol-lowering effects on the body. They also strengthen the immune system. The pleasantly sweet-tasting flowers are less medicinal.
Tips & Tricks
Cut garlic does not last long after harvest. Place it in a glass of water at home. Then it lasts for up to 3 days.