Chives

Chives ( Allium schoenoprasum)

Chives ( Allium schoenoprasum), also called grass leek, leek bins, Brislauch, Grusenich, Jacob onion or chives, is a species of the genus Leeks (Allium ). Chives is widely used as a spice.

Features

Chives are a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches the heights of growth of 5 to 50 cm. To form a thin-skinned, oval to cylindrical bulb with a diameter of 0.5 to 1 cm. This drive one to two green or gray-green, round in cross-section, tubular leaves with a diameter of 2 to 6 mm. As a result of underground vegetative propagation by daughter bulbs chives often appears in the form of vielblättriger clumps.

Between May and August, terminal, dense, Vielblütige ( 30-50 petals ), globular to ovoid, scheindoldige inflorescences develop. Their bracts never extend beyond the inflorescence. The Blütenstandsschäfte similar to the foliage leaves, but are a bit firmer and higher. Unlike the vineyard and leek (Allium vineale ) or the vegetable leek (Allium oleraceum ) forms the inflorescence from the chives no bulbils.

The short flower stalks are one and a half to three times as long as the flowers. The hermaphrodite, bell-shaped flowers have a diameter of about 5 mm. The six equally diverse, gradually tapering bracts are about 0.7 to 1.1 (rarely to 1.7 ) cm long and 3-4 mm wide. Your violet- purple, rarely white, sometimes bluish coloration varies from light to dark red; striking is a dark highlighted median nerve. There are two circles, each with three edentulous stamens present. The stamens are usually one-third to half (rarely up to two thirds ) times as long as the bracts; they are fused at their base and a length of 1 to 1.5 mm with the bloom cladding. The inner stamens are only half as wide as the outer. The anthers are purple. Three carpels are fused to an above -earth, almost spherical ovary. The style ends in a capitate stigma.

The almost spherical capsule fruit is surrounded by the balloon-like bloom cladding. The seeds are black.

Occurrence

Natural stocks the chives come in high mountain areas of the warm, alpine and arctic Europe, Asia and North America before on damp stone rubble corridors, wetlands and snow soils at altitudes up to 2600 meters. Also you meet him along rivers on fine earthy and muddy sand and gravel banks. The Chive needs loose, nutrient-rich and moist soils.

The original distribution is not quite clear. Is considered possible that the species is native to the Alps and the European low mountain ranges, but also that he comes from Central Asia or the Mediterranean and immigrated to Europe. But today he is virtually everywhere in the temperate latitudes of North America and throughout Europe wild before.

Use

Chives are in culture since the early Middle Ages. There are numerous varieties, these are very different in terms of plant height and leaf thickness. Even white-flowered forms occur.

According to other sources, chives had since about 3000 BC by the Chinese in use and located since then in culture.

The English pharmacist Nicholas Culpeper (17th century) has taken up the chives only at the request of a country gentleman in his herbal book because the leek disturb sleep in his view, and also affects the eyesight.

Chives is fresh or frozen, dried rare because of the low aroma or used freeze-dried and is part of the fines herbes of French cuisine. Be harvested as a culinary herb only the above-ground tubular leaves. He is fine cut added salads, soups, Eiger layers or mayonnaise. The Chive bread - bread and butter, topped with plenty of chopped chives - is in Bavaria and Austria a popular component of the snack plate. Chives is also a part of the Green sauce. Both after the Frankfurt and Kassel recipe, a typical dish of the German regional cuisine, which enjoys great popularity especially in the Hessen region

Occasionally chives is also cultivated as an ornamental plant for borders and for roof greening. A use as a medicinal plant is not known.

Cultivation

Commercial chives is usually, rarely grown as Würzkraut in greenhouses and in field culture. In commercial cultivation today include the varieties ' Dominant ', ' Kirdo ', ' Fitlau ', ' Wilan ' and ' Polyvert ' spread. For 1991, the cultivated area in Germany was estimated at about 390 acres, but figures for 1995 showed only 52 acres of a field culture.

The long leaves are cut deeply and drive throughout the year after, in commercial cultivation is in the first year once harvested later three to five times.

Nutrients - vitamins, trace elements and ingredients

Source ( in English language ) United States Department of Agriculture

The taste is caused by the decay products of the enzymatic degradation of Cysteinsulfoxide as dipropyl Methylpentyldisulfid, Pentylhydrosulfid and cis-/trans-3 ,5 -diethyl-1 ,2,4- trithiolan.

Etymology

The name schoenoprasum is composed of the Greek words for schoinos Rush and prason for leeks, directly translated thus " rushes Leek ", and refers to the shape of the leaves.

More in part only regional common names for the chives are or were: Beeslook ( Lower Weser ), Beestlock ( Middle Low German ), Mountain onion (Silesia ), Bestlók ( Middle Low German ), Brisslauch, Grass Look ( Ostfriesland), Jacob Leek (Leipzig), Jacob onions, Look ( Pomerania ), Piplook ( Altmark), Schnedlach (St. Gallen), Schniddleeg ( Transylvania), Schniedling ( Augsburg), Schnirrleng ( Transylvania ), cut Laughs (St. Gallen), Schnitloch ( middle High German ), Snedelók ( middle Low German ), Snidlak ( Göttingen), Sniteloc ( Old High German ), Snitelouch ( Old High German), Snitilouch ( Old High German ), Snitlöcher, Snitloich ( Old High German ), Snitlook (Bremen), Snitlouch ( middle Low German ) and Snittelauch ( middle Low German ).

Evidence

• Xu Jiemei, Rudolf V. camel: Allium. In: Flora of China. Volume 24, p 195: Allium schoenoprasum - Online.
• Dale W. McNeal Jr., T. D. Jacobsen: Allium. In: Flora of North America. Volume 26, p 240: Allium schoenoprasum - Online.
• Gunter Steinbach (ed.): Alpine flowers. ( Steinbach nature guide ). Mosaik Verlag, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-576-10558-1.
• Eckhart J. Hunter, Friedrich Ebel, Peter Hanelt, Gerd Müller, K. (ed.): Rothmaler Exkursionsflora of Germany. Volume 5: Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-0918-8.
• K.U. Heyland, H. Hanus, E. R. Basement: oil crops, fiber crops, medicinal plants and special crops In: Handbook of plant cultivation. Vol 4, ISBN 3-8001-3203-6, pp. 492-495.
• Portrait of chives as a listed in the Capitulare de Villis plant
• Rothmaler: Excursion Flora of Germany. Vascular plants. Baseband, Spectrum Publishing, ISBN 3-8274-1359-1.
• Avril Rodway: Herbs and spices. Tessloff, Hamburg 1980, ISBN 3-7886-9910-8.