Fresh chives from the garden are simply unsurpassed - but unfortunately it's not always summer, which is why you should make sure you have a sufficient supply of herbs for autumn or winter at an early stage. Here are some ways to preserve chives.
It is best to freeze chives
Not every form of preservation is suitable for every herb. Chives, for example, can be dried, but they lose a large part of their characteristic aroma - instead, dried chives are very similar to hay. For this reason, you should better refrain from drying the fleshy stalks. It would be more advisable to cut them into small rolls with the help of scissors and freeze them immediately after harvesting. The aroma is largely retained by freezing, but the chive rolls lose their firmness and become quite soft.
methods of freezing
- Fill in rolls in a sealable container (freezer bag or Tupperware).
- You can also fill portions of the rolls into small ice cube trays and freeze them. Add some water or oil.
- Prepare a chive sauce (e.g. for fish) and freeze it.
Homemade chive butter, which is frozen in portions, is also very tasty: stir good butter until it is soft. Now add plenty of fresh chives and a little salt and stir them in. Now divide the chive butter into ice cube trays or other small portion containers. The portions can be used wonderfully for grilling or for making sauces.
Otherwise preserve the chives
You can also preserve fresh chives by pickling them in oil or salt. For chive salt, the salt concentration should be at least 15 percent-that means one part salt for every six parts chives. Coarse sea salt is particularly suitable for this purpose. The ingredients are layered in an airtight container (e.g. with a screw cap) - with salt being the top layer - and kept in a dark place.
tips and tricks
Most people simply cut off flowering chives and throw them away. Instead, try plucking the flowers carefully into individual leaves and scattering them over a salad - a poem! But be careful, because chive flowers are very hot.
IJA
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
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