Chives 337
19.1 Introduction
The plant known as chives is a perennial of the Liliaceae family, Allium species.
Chromosome number 2n = 16, 24, 32. Wild chives are widely distributed from the
Arctic regions to Asia, Europe and North America (Xu and Kamelin, 2001; McCollum,
1976). There were no written records of domesticated chives from the Mediterranean
region until the 16th century in Europe, whereas in East Asia chives have been
domesticated since ancient times (McCollum, 1976). At present chives are cultivated
as vegetables or seasoning herbs all around the world, especially in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Because chives are very adaptable, tolerant of cold and hot temperatures, and
grow rapidly, they can be cultivated and harvested many times throughout the year.
They are also easy to propagate, either from seeds or from division of clumps all year
round. Chives are grown mainly for their long, cylindrical leaves, used for culinary
purposes. Their flowers can also be used for salad dressings and sometimes for
decorative purposes.
Since ancient times, herbs of the Allium species have been considered a healthy
food for their special spicy flavour. Unlike the pungent flavour of garlic and onions,
the flavour of chives is milder and more delicate, and more easily acceptable to the
palate. Chives also contain many vitamins and mineral nutrients (Rubatzky and
Yamaguchi, 1997) as well as flavonoid compounds, which are antioxidants (Justesen,
2000). Among all Allium species, chives have the highest content of vitamin C and
beta-carotene. Chives have green leaves that are soft in texture and are easily kept
fresh and transported using drying and freezing techniques. Techniques are presently,
being developed to apply chives in the processing of dairy, meat, and snack products.
19.2 Chemical composition and nutritional value.................................
Chemically, chives are composed mainly of carbohydrates, proteins and amino acids,
19 Chives........................................................................................................
H. Chen, Beijing Vegetable Research Centre, China