2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Wild onions (Allium schoenoprasum) with its fine green feathers is the smallest type of edible onion. Wild onion is a perennial plant, reaching a height of 50 cm, and its homeland is considered to be Asia and Europe, as well as North America. In fact, the wild onion is the only member of the genus Allium, which originates from both the Old and New Worlds.
Chives are a popular crop used mainly as a spice in various dishes. It can be found easily in shops and markets, as well as easily grown in pots or in the garden. Also known in Bulgaria as noodles, shives, and also salad onions, Siberian onions, wild onions are a perennial bulbous plant that has been known since [antiquity.
This fragrant onion with an unobtrusive taste forms dense tufts of thin leaves and flowering stems with delicate beautiful purple inflorescences. Chives grow and grow continuously until late autumn. Its height reaches between 30-50 cm expressed in dark green cylindrical leaves with a specific aroma of onions. The leaves reach 2-3 mm in diameter, while the bulbs are drained conical, 2-3 cm long and 1 cm wide. They grow densely in groups of roots.
Pale purple colors of wild onions are stellate with six petals, reaching 1-2 cm in width and grow in dense inflorescences of 10-30 together. Before it dissolves and blooms, the inflorescence is wrapped in a paper-like bract. Wild onion seeds are formed in a small seed box with 3 compartments and ripen in summer.
And while its leaves are mainly used in cooking for salads, soups and for decoration, the flowers during flowering are not only beautiful but also have a pleasant aroma, which makes them very suitable for decoration in the garden or in pots on the ledges.
Siberian onion, unlike the cultivated forms of onion, does not form the characteristic bulb, as its accent are the delicate green and thin leaves. In our country it can be found wild, mainly in the high parts of our mountains.
In the culinary tradition of France and Sweden, wild onions have deep roots. Data on its use can be found in a cookbook from 1806, where the author describes in detail its consumption with pancakes, soups, fish and sandwiches.
Growing wild onions
You can grow it yourself at home by cutting the bulb in the spring wild onion and plant it in a pot. Chives are not a whimsical plant and are very easy to grow. Propagated by seeds or by dividing the old tufts, as mentioned. In the first year of the seed you will see how a small plant grows from a few to 30-40 leaves.
In the second year, the noodles begin to branch, and new ones are formed from each branch, as a result of which a dense tuft with a common bottom is formed. Wild onion leaves develop in early spring and are densely arranged, ending in a globular light purple inflorescence. The crop can remain in one place for up to 2-3 years, and several harvests are obtained during the growing season. Gradually, the onion begins to decrease.
Shives do not bloom with regular cutting of leaf feathers. It is best to grow it in a pot or box on the balcony, because it loves sunny places. Its soil should be well drained and although it is a drought tolerant plant, wild onions should be watered regularly to develop beautiful and succulent leaves, which are so valued in culinary arts around the world. Siberian onion rarely suffers from diseases and pests and moreover - its unique and specific aroma is even able to drive away unpleasant insects from your garden.
Composition of wild onions
Wild onions is a pretty good source of some vitamins like C and A. Delicate peppers contain traces of sulfur and are also rich in iron and calcium. Potassium levels and more significant doses of vitamin K and others are found in the plant. Its taste is complemented by its high content of many more vitamins, minerals and essential oils.
100 g of chives contain:
Calories 30
Protein 3.27 g
Carbohydrates 4.35 g
Fat 0.73 g
Calcium 92 mg
Iron 1.6 mg
Beta carotene 2612 mcg.
Selection and storage of chives
Wild onions sold both fresh and frozen or dried. If you have the opportunity, buy it fresh to enjoy its qualities to the fullest. If you want to store it for the winter, it is best to freeze it.
Cooking with chives
The fragile and delicate thin leaves of wild onions are highly valued in cooking. With their delicate taste, which is something between green garlic and onion, the small peppers of the shives find an interesting application. They easily lose their flavor after being cooked or dried. Therefore, you can fully enjoy the taste and aroma of Siberian onions, if you eat it fresh as a spice in salads and various dishes.
Wild onions can be added to almost all culinary specialties that are prepared with other types of onions, with the difference that it is good to add it at the end of cooking. Chives go well with dairy products, giving a specific and interesting flavor to milk sauces, cottage cheese and salads with cheese. It is very suitable for flavoring dishes with eggs, potatoes, and your potato salad or mashed potatoes will enchant anyone who has the honor to try your specialties.
Chives are successfully added as a spice in hot or cold soups - dried, freshly chopped or crushed. Also feel free to sprinkle it shredded on various local dishes, breaded bites and schnitzels, various casserole and savory pies, sausages, croquettes and more. Each cream sauce will get a unique taste if you finally add finely chopped chives.
In addition, the noodle is perfect for decorating culinary masterpieces, being widely used in the best restaurants in the world to give an appetizing or unique look to the dish. It goes quite well with the taste of turkey or fish. Even a baked slice of butter sprinkled with chives will delight your senses.
Wild onions used in various breads, oils and even to flavor vinegar. In Poland, wild onions are traditionally served with cheese and cottage cheese, and a typical summer Swedish dish is herring with wild onions. In fact, chives are one of the most important spices in French cuisine, along with tarragon, chervil and parsley. The symbiosis between these 4 flavors in equal amounts is actually a French combination of fresh spices Fines Herbes. In the markets you can find cute bundles of Siberian onions all year round, and its price is around 3-4 BGN.
Benefits of wild onions
As a source of vitamins and minerals, the regular presence of Siberian onions in your dishes is not superfluous. The healing properties of noodles are similar to those of garlic, but less pronounced. Maybe that's why chives are not so popular in traditional medicine. With its rich content of organic compounds, chives have a beneficial effect on the human circulatory system. Thin green onion leaves have a mild stimulating, diuretic and antiseptic effect.
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