If you've ever stood in the produce aisle holding a bundle that looks like extra-skinny green onions, you've probably asked yourself: what are chives? They're a hardy perennial herb (Allium schoenoprasum) in the onion family, grown for their slender, hollow leaves rather than for a bulb. The flavor is a gentle cross between onion and garlic, which makes chives a finishing herb more than a cooking vegetable.
Two Varieties You’ll Meet
Most grocery stores carry one or both of these close cousins. Common chives are the familiar bright green, pipe-shaped strands displayed next to parsley and dill. Garlic chives—sometimes labeled Chinese chives—look alike at first glance, but their leaves are flatter and darker, and they bring a stronger garlic-onion accent to food.
| Common chives | Garlic chives | |
|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Thin, hollow, bright green | Flat, wide, darker green |
| Flavor | Mild and delicate | Onion with a definite garlic note |
| Best in | Eggs, salads, potatoes, creamy dips | Stir-fries, dumplings, grilled meats |
Choosing and Storing Chives
Look for bunches that are uniformly green from tip to base, with no brown ends, wilting, or slimy patches. A standard bunch costs 1.50 to 3 and goes a long way, so there’s little reason to buy more than you need. At home, wrap the chives in a damp paper towel, slip them into a partially open plastic bag, and store them in the crisper drawer; they’ll stay fresh for about a week.
Chives are also one of the easiest herbs to grow. A single pot on a sunny kitchen windowsill regrows after each cutting and will supply you all season. When flower buds appear, snip them; the purple blossoms are edible and make a pretty garnish for salads.
How to Use Chives
Because heat quickly fades their flavor, add chives at the very end of cooking or use them raw. They’re especially good:
- Snipped over scrambled eggs, omelets, or frittatas
- Piled onto baked potatoes with sour cream
- Stirred into softened butter, cream cheese, or plain yogurt
- Sprinkled into green salads or over finished soups and roasts
✂️ Note: Snipping chives with clean kitchen scissors is easier than chopping with a knife. You’ll get fine, even rings without bruising the hollow leaves, which keeps their color and flavor bright.
Once you start finishing dishes with a few snips of chives, you’ll find it becomes second nature. It’s the smallest habit in the kitchen, and it turns an ordinary baked potato or bowl of soup into something that looks and tastes cared for.
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