Chives

What is Chives?

Chives are a mild onion-family herb, eaten fresh as a food. The thin green leaves are snipped over eggs, soup, potatoes and soft cheese. In German they are called Schnittlauch.

The plant is Allium schoenoprasum, the smallest cultivated member of the onion group. It grows in clumps across Europe, Asia and North America. The pink-purple flowers are also edible.

European folk use treated chives as a gentle spring herb for appetite and digestion. Traditional use is not proof that something works, and it is not proof that it is safe. That caution applies to everything on this page.

Here is the honest verdict. There is almost no human research on chives as a medicine. They are a pleasant, nutritious food, and that is the strongest thing that can be said.

How does Chives work?

No mechanism for chives has been shown to work in people. What follows comes from the laboratory, not the clinic.

Chives contain sulfur compounds, the same family that gives onion and garlic their smell. In test tubes, these compounds slow the growth of some bacteria and fungi. Whether that happens in your gut or on your skin is not known.

Chives also carry flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol. In cell studies these appear to mop up reactive molecules and damp down markers of swelling. Food amounts are small, and no trial has shown this changes health in a person.

The onion smell may lift appetite and prompt saliva and stomach juices. That is the old folk idea behind serving chives with heavy food. It is plausible but untested.

What forms does Chives come in?

Chives are sold as food far more often than as a remedy. Common forms:

- Fresh cut leaves, in a bunch or a growing pot. - Freeze-dried or air-dried flakes in a spice jar.

- Frozen chopped leaves. - Fresh flowers, used in salads or steeped in vinegar. - Chive butter, oil or soft cheese blends.

Capsules and extracts of chives alone are rare. Most "allium" supplements on shelves are garlic or onion, which are not the same plant.

Where it comes from:

Chives have been eaten in Europe for centuries and grown in cottage gardens as a kitchen herb. Written records of their use go back to the Middle Ages, and they were widely planted by the sixteenth century.

Folk writers in German- and English-speaking Europe described chives as a spring herb. They were said to wake up the appetite after winter and to settle a heavy meal. Some gardeners planted them near roses and fruit trees in the belief they kept pests away.

These records describe custom, not trials. They are reported here as history, and they are not a reason to use chives in place of care.

What does Chives help with?

• Appetite and enjoyment of food: This is the use with the most sense behind it, though it is still untested. Strong savoury flavours can prompt saliva and make food more appealing. No trial has measured this with chives.
• Mild digestive upset after a heavy meal: Folk use served chives with fatty food to help it sit better. There is no human study to support this. In some people, onion-family plants make reflux and bloating worse rather than better.
• Spring tonic use: Old European custom treated the first green shoots as a tonic after a winter of stored food. The fresh vitamin C would have been real and welcome. That logic does not carry over to a modern diet with fruit and vegetables all year.
• A small source of vitamin K and carotenoids: Chives are genuinely nutrient-dense by weight. The catch is the portion size. A sprinkle of chives gives far less than a serving of spinach or kale, so treat it as flavour, not nutrition.
• Folk use for coughs and colds: Some folk sources recommended onion-family plants for chest complaints. In test tubes, allium sulfur compounds slow some bacteria. No study shows that eating chives shortens or eases a cold.

Which foods are rich in Chives?

Chives are themselves a food. Related plants in the same family include onion, garlic, leek, shallot and spring onion. If you react to one of these, you may react to chives.

What are the side effects of Chives?

• Onion breath
• Wind and bloating
• Heartburn or reflux, especially in people prone to it
• Loose stools after large amounts
• Skin or eye irritation when chopping a lot of them
• Allergic reaction, rare, in people sensitive to the onion family

Good to know:

Side effects are uncommon and mild at food amounts. Most people eat chives with no trouble at all.

The main exception is allergy to onion-family plants, which is rare but can be serious. Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or trouble breathing, is a medical emergency.

How much Chives should you take?

• Recommended daily: There is no established dose, because chives are a food and not a tested medicine. Jars of dried chives carry no dose at all. In cooking, a typical garnish is one to two tablespoons of fresh chopped leaves. This is a description of normal kitchen use, not advice for you. No amount has been shown to produce a health effect.
• Best time of day: Timing does not matter. Chives are used whenever the meal calls for them.
• With or without food: Chives are eaten as part of food. Heat destroys the delicate flavour, so they are usually added at the end of cooking or raw.
• Time to effect: Expect nothing to happen. Chives are a flavour, and no health effect has been proven in people. If they do lift your appetite, you would notice that at the meal itself. If you are waiting for a bigger change, it may never come.
• How long to take it: Chives can be part of food for as long as you like, as any vegetable can. No safe or useful length of time has been studied for medicinal use. If you are eating large amounts hoping to treat something, stop and talk to a doctor instead.