Submitted by Cara Cummings on Mon, 05/22/2017 – 9:14am
Chive Save the spring. It seems like I spend a lot of time willing spring to arrive. And then when it finally does, I want it to hurry up and slow down. The colors, flavors, and smells of spring are dizzying, and I love it so much that I want to bottle it. So this past weekend, I did.
Chive Flowers in the back, sage flowers (being used for another project) in the front
One of the first things to pop through the soil in the spring is the delicate, bright green tips of chives, followed soon after by the blooms of pale purple globes. I love them for their generous March burst of color, but also for their fresh spring onion favor–I put them on everything from poached eggs, to salads, to compound butter, and in bud vases. But within a matter of weeks, they begin to fade.
Chive flowers in vinegar
This past weekend when I noticed that chive blossom season was coming to an end, I decided to preserve some of the color and flavor I love so much. There are a few ways to save the flowers, including drying them. But I decided to make a chive infused vinegar. It is simple, and beautiful.
Ingredients:
20-30 chive flower heads
3 cups white wine vinegar
Instructions:
- Rinse flower heads in water, and dry in a salad spinner or colander
- Fill a Mason jar with the flowers, cover with vinegar
- Set in cool dark place for 2-3 weeks
- Remove flowers and strain the remaining (beautiful, pink!) vinegar into a clean jar
- Enjoy in salad dressings!
