Allium tuberosum

Chinese chive • garlic chive

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Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Sprengel (Alliaceae); Chinese grasui, knoffel-grasui (Afrikaans); jiu cai (Chinese); ciboule de chine à feuilles larges (French); Chinesischer Schnittlauch (German); nira (Japanese); bawang kuchai (Malay); cive chino (Spanish); kui chaai (Thai)

DESCRIPTION The leaves are grass-like, thin and flat (neither tubular and hollow as in chive and onion, nor folded lengthwise as in garlic and leek). Chopped leaves have a more pungent taste than spring onions or chives. The young inflorescences (flowering buds) may be green but are often blanched to produce white or yellow chives. These characteristic bunches are a common sight on oriental markets and may be presented as “oriental garlic”, “Chinese leeks” or “flowering chives”. They should not be confused with suan tai or garlic scapes, distinguished by their club-shaped and elongated (acuminate) buds.

THE PLANT The plant forms dense clumps of grass-like, flat, somewhat drooping leaves and erect clusters of white flowers.

ORIGIN East Asia and northeastern India. It is an ancient crop but the exact origin or site of domestication is not clear.1,2 It has become naturalized in many parts of the world.

CULTIVATION Propagation is achieved by seeds or by dividing the mature clumps. Both methods can yield more than 50 tons of green leaves per hectare per annum. The plant tolerates a wide range of climates and soils and has become popular for use in home herb gardens. Leaves or flowering stalks are harvested just before the flowers open. White or yellow chives are produced by growing the plants in darkness, using clay pots, plastic sheeting or straw to cut out sunlight and reduce photosynthesis. In commercial plantations, the production of blanched chives weakens the plants so that it is alternated with green chive production.3

HARVESTING Leaves (or the small, narrow bulbs) can be harvested at any time during the growing season. The most prized part is the flowering stalk, harvested before the buds emerge from the sheaths. Green chives can be stored in a cold room for more than two weeks but blanched chives have a shelf life of less than five days.

CULINARY USES Green or blanched leaves are used as a culinary herb for garnishing and flavouring soups and rice or noodle dishes. They are also enjoyed as a vegetable and an ingredient of stir-fries. Prolonged cooking should be avoided as it results in a bitter taste. The distinctive, usually blanched flower buds are a popular (but expensive) vegetable dish with an onion-like taste.4

FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS The flavour is due to sulphur-containing compounds that are released enzymatically when the plants are bruised or cooked. The mild garlic-like flavour originates from rather low levels of thiosulphinates (ca. 2 μmol per g wet weight).5 A complex mixture of volatile compounds is produced, of which dimethyl disulphide and dimethyl trisulphide are the main compounds.

NOTES Chinese chive is a remedy for fatigue in traditional Chinese medicine. The leaves and the bulbs are applied to insect bites, cuts and wounds. The whole plant is said to repel insects and moles.

1. Fritsch, R.M., Friesen, N. 2002. Evolution, domestication and taxonomy. In: Rabinowitch, H.D., Currah, L. (Eds), Allium crop science: recent advances, pp. 5–30. CABI Publishing, New York.

2. Block, E. 2010. Garlic and other alliums. The lore and the science. The Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge.

3. Van Wyk, B.-E. 2005. Food plants of the world. Briza Publications, Pretoria.

4. Hu, S.-Y. 2005. Food plants of China. The Chinese University Press, Hong Kong.

5. Benkeblia, N., Lanzotti, V. 2007. Allium thiosulfinates: chemistry, biological properties and their potential utilization in food preservation. Food 1(2): 193–201.