Chives 343
nitrites in 100 g of edible part. Blanching of the raw material before freezing reduced
the level of dry by 22%, vitamin C 29%, beta carotene 20%, chlorophylls 21%, and
nitrates 26%, while the nitrites increased three times. A further enhancement of
losses was observed with a storage temperature at –20 ∞C, After 12 months storage
of frozen chive, the preserved content of vitamin C ranged from 11 to 66%, beta
carotene 37 to 65%, chlorophylls 65 to 75% and the nitrates 58 to 81% (Kmiecik and
Lisiewska, 1999). The development of the catering business and industrial preparation
of ready-to-cook food, most frequently pizza and au gratin dishes, has increased the
demand for chives throughout the year. This demand can be met by preserving the
vegetable as a dried or frozen product.
Chives can be used as seasoning for many dishes, or as garnish. Chives especially
enhance the flavour of fish. There is a very delicious Chinese dish known simply as
fish with chives. Chives can be included in many food items such as pancakes, buns,
dumplings, and cookies. It can also be used in many dairy and meat products.
19.4 Varieties..........................................................................................
There are many differences between the Allium species. The volatile sulphur content
of different species ranges from 15 to 155 mg/10g–1 fresh weight (Ermakov and
Arasimovich, 1961). It is easy to test the pyruvate of Allium’s sulphur precursors,
to determine the difference between the species. The difference ranges from
1–22 mmolg–1 fresh weight, while difficult to select through genetic breeding, are
perhaps the key to improving flavours (Randle and Lancaster, 2002). The volatile
sulphur content in Alliums is closely related to the soil and usable sulphur in the soil.
Experiments have shown that in peat soil, where sulphur content is as high as
470 mg/10g–1, the volatile sulphur content in the chives reaches 157 mg/10g–1, while
in clay soils with a sulphur content of 58 mg/10g–1 , the volatile sulphur content in the
chives is only 42.8 mg/10g–1. At the temperature range of 10–30 ∞C, volatile sulphur
content increases from 42.8 mg/10g–1 to 130.9 mg/10g–1 (Ermakov and Arasinovich
1961). Also, improving cultivar, fertilization and cultivation techniques, shows that
chive is feasible for commercial production. In summary, the flavour of chives is
closely tied to its genetic traits, growing environment and as cultivation techniques.
Chives are mildly flavoured. Chives have the highest beta-carotene and vitamin C
content among all Allium species, and contain many antioxidants. These characteristics
make Chives a superior and well appreciated vegetable and seasoning. However,
there has not been much research done on chives. The understanding and improvement
of chives has a lot of potential.
The formal name of Chives is A. schoenoprasum L. Syn. A. sibiricum (Kamenetsky
and Fritsch, 2002), there are some other related species, including:
- A. schoenoprasum L. var. schoenoprasum, also known as A. raddeanum Regel;
A. sibiricum L. Leaves, leaf sheaths, and scape smooth. Fl. and fr. Jul–Sep.
leaves 1 or 2, shorter than scape. Widely distributed in meadows, valleys, damp
slopes; 2000–3000 m, in Xinjiang in China, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea,
Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, SW Asia, Europe, and North America (Xu and Kamelin,
2000). Fl. May–June, second bloom in late summer possible (Kamenetsky and
Fritsch, 2002).