Under the Choko Tree By Nevin Sweeney

Making Those Dried Chive Thingies (Sort of)

You know those little jars of dried chives that cost dollars for a few grams? Well, you can make your own for almost nothing and you don’t even have to go to the extra effort of growing chives, this is how.....

Every year around April I plant up a number of polystyrene veggies boxes with onion seed, first a layer of weeds and grass clippings, half the depth of the box followed by a layer of potting mix up to the top of the box. Liberally sprinkle with onion seed, cover the seed with a few millimetres of potting mix or better yet seed raising mixture and water everything in. This sits in my greenhouse over winter and thin in spring (September around here) I remove them from the box and plant them out. To reduce transpiration and give them a chance to recover from the transplanting shock I cut off the top of the onion seedlings (also called sets) just before I plant them out.

A box 'o onion bits

This gives me a box full of onion tops that resemble chives, but there are so many that it would be impossible to use a small amount before they go blechh (a technical word) so to stop the blechhification (there’s another new word you’ve learned today!) I dry them.

The process is a pretty simple one; I pick up a handful of onion seedling tops and make sure that they are all facing the same way with the cut end out. Using a pair of scissors I cut the onion tops into 5-6mm long sections, letting them drop into a container, then shake them out so they are well separated from each other. The little bits of feathery ends go in the compost and the cut ends get shaken out onto one of the screens of my solar drier. If you don’t have a solar drier then build one! Or you could use a commercial electric drier or even put them in your oven on low to dry them out. In a pinch you could put them on trays on the back parcel shelf of your car on a hot day and dry them out that way, if the smell of onions doesn’t make you crazy while you are diving that is.....

Cutting 'em up

In a few hours they have shrunk to less than 50% of their original volume, are somewhat crunchy and are ready to be packed off into a glass jar. Store them in a cool, dark and dry place for the best shelf life.

You can use them as is for a garnish when sprinkled on eggs, baked potatoes, soups or stews  or  but if you want to rehydrate them for salads etc soak them in water for 10 to 15 minutes, they should double in volume.

Fresh

The same amount, dried

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