The subtle and pleasant taste of chives make them an extremely popular food addition in Central and Western Europe. Boiling, frying or baking will, though, destroy most of chives' fine aroma. Fines herbs can also effectively be enhanced by addition of some cress , cicely or lemon balm . Another field of application for chives is cheese, especially cottage cheese and other very mild varieties. Cottage cheese flavoured with chives and optionally other fresh herbs is a popular spring dish in Central Europe.
Chives make a good substitute and are often asked for in cookbooks without any further comment.
The spice is nearly always used fresh, because it loses all its flavour by drying.