Chives Substitute – Know Your Food Better

When you are a perfectionist, your life and food are incomplete without the final touch. Chives serve as a great garnish. However, on a Sunday morning, who will grab you the fresh herbs when you are out of stock? I mean, I would not eat my salad without the dressings and garnish. There has got be another way!  Because your salads cannot go un-dressed on the dinner table. Worry not; we have your back. Here is the best chives substitute that can do the job!

Chives; A Hint of Freshness in Your Food

Chives are a part of the onion family. The can be used as dried herbs- easily available in local grocery stores or grown in your backyard to use fresh. Chives have a mild aroma and taste that adds finesse to your final dish.  Use them fresh as a garnish for salads and soups or dried form to make delicious dips- chives will never fail to impress. 

Chives can be traced back centuries. Originated in Greece, an edible herb that is used around the world to make food look impressive. However, chives also have medicinal properties that, in the first place, landed them in the kitchens. Anciently chives were called “rush leeks,” derived from the Greek language.

However, they have a mild, onion-y flavor that does not overpower your food, making it look good. Over time people have become fond of adding chives to the food because it is light on the stomach. Usually added at the end of the cooking period to preserve as much taste as possible, chives can be used alongside basil, oregano, and thyme.

Are Chives Important to Add to Food?

Well, to be honest, you can omit chives from your cooking if it is not available without altering the recipe.  However, people who love adding fresh herbs and greens to their salads and food can never bring themselves to leave out chives.

Chives can be easily grown in your home garden- in your backyard or even indoors- and you would not ever run out of it. When you grow them with your own hands, you cannot un-love chives.  Chives are an easy-to-grow plant that prefers full sunlight but can do exceptionally well in colder environments too.

When you do it rightly, you will witness those mesmerizing, purplish flowers blooming in your garden. Eat them, or just use them to décor your garden or home; chives are a versatile plant. If you are not a gardener or lazy like me who would never of running to the store to grab the herbs, here are some easily available chives substitutes for you.

Chives Substitute

This time, if you got a great harvest of chives from your home garden, cut, store, freeze them in vacuum bags before they dry, and lose their flavor. Storing some extra chives can help you in times of chive-y needs. And if you did not, you can still make impressive food using the following substitutes.

1.      Green Onions- Scallions

Scallions or spring onions, and chives are relatives. Therefore, they can fill in each other’s place perfectly without much hassle. The green part of scallions has the same visual impact as chives hence a perfect fit for garnishing. Albeit they are a great substitutea1, you would have to use them mindfully as they have a stronger onion-y taste, unlike chives.

2.      Leeks

Slight peppery in taste when used in raw form, leeks turn out to have a mildly sweet flavor on cooking. If you do not have chives in your kitchen, you can easily use leeks instead. The taste can be a little different, but the visual impact is the same, and nobody in your family will ever know. 

3.      Shallots

Shallots have a mild yet interesting sweet yet peppery onion taste that can make flavorful sauces. Shallots can also be used instead of fresh chives. However, the quantity has to be small, or their taste. Shallots will overpower the dish.

4.      Onions

When you have nothing available, no fresh herbs at your food’s disposal, the good old onions are the best substitute. Unlike chives, that chefs throw in the onions in the middle of your cooking period at the end of their cooking.

Conclusion

Herbs- fresh or dried- are an important part of the cuisines around the world. They make your food look complete. Even if you are not hungry, an appealing platter of food garnished with colorful dips and herbs can make you drool!

 So even if you are out of fresh chives, use the chives substitutes, present your dish like a master chef, and win hearts!

Here Are Other Recipes That You Can Try!

• Pan-Baked lemon Almond Tart
• Old Bay Salmon
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Salmon Croquette
• Salmon Loaf Recipe
• Olive Garden Salmon

And many more!