Chives belong to the allium family, making them close relatives to scallions (green onions), onions, leeks, and garlic. Chives have a mild oniony flavour with a slight hint of garlic, and a little goes a very long way.
Chives come with mild onion- or garlic-like flavour. They are mainly snipped raw and added to dishes to give the dish an oniony flavour without having to add onion pieces to it. However, cooking them will destroy their flavour, which is why they are snipped raw.
When using chives in cooking, use dried chives.
There are some great nutritional benefits to chives. They have antioxidant properties, can aid in digestion and they contain a ton of nutrients including beta carotene, folic acid, Vitamin K, B vitamins, calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium.
The lilac flowers on top of chives are edible as well! What a great addition to a salad.