Poppy seed

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Poppy seed is used as an ingredient in many foods and to make poppyseed oil. The tiny kidney-shaped seeds are harvested from seed pods of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), and have been cultivated by various civilizations for thousands of years. They are used whole or ground, often as a topping or filling in various baked goods.

History

The Sumerians already grew them;^[1] and the seed is mentioned in ancient medical texts from many civilizations. For instance, the Egyptian papyrus scroll named Ebers Papyrus, written ca. 1550 BC, lists poppy seed as a sedative.^[2] The Minoan civilization (approximately 2700 to 1450 BC), a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete, cultivated poppies for their seed.^{[citation needed]} Poppy seeds have long been used as a folk remedy to aid sleeping, promote fertility and wealth, and even to provide magical powers of invisibility.^[3]

Natural history

Poppy seeds; scale bar 1 mm

Poppy seeds are less than a millimeter in length,^[4] and minute: it takes 3,300 poppy seeds to make up a gram, and a pound contains between 1 and 2 million seeds.^[1] The primary flavor compound is 2-pentylfuran.^[5]

Green seed pod, oozing fresh latex from a cut

Dry poppy seed pods, the source of ripe poppy seeds

To some extent harvesting for poppy seeds is in conflict with harvesting for opium. Poppy seeds of superior quality are harvested when they are ripe, after the seed pod has dried. Traditionally, opium is harvested while the seed pods are green and their latex is abundant, but the seeds have just begun to grow.

The seeds of other poppy types are not eaten, but they are cultivated for the flowers they produce. Annual and biennial poppies are considered a good choice to cultivate from seed as they are not difficult to propagate by this method, and can be put directly in the ground in January.^[6] The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), for example, is a striking orange wildflower that grows in the Western and Northwestern, United States.

World production

Dried poppy seed pods next to glass jars of blue, gray, and white poppy seeds used for pastries in Germany

Bulk poppy seeds, black

White poppy seeds, closeup

Uses

Poppy seeds have primarily culinary uses, as intact seeds and as a paste of ground seeds. The seeds are used as a spice, a decorative garnish, a thickener, and a main ingredient. They are used in many baked goods, main course dishes, and desserts.

They are also the source of poppyseed oil, and the solids that remain after the oil is expressed are a valuable animal feed. Poppy seeds are often a component of bird seed mixtures for both wild and domestic birds as they are very nutritious and can also be given separately in higher amounts to treat gastrointestinal distress, diarrhoea, and similar afflictions as well as pain and discomfort in many types of birds.^{[citation needed]}

Dried poppy seed pods and straw (plate), and seeds (bowl)

Compared to the seed pod and straw, the seeds contain very low levels of opiates.^[8] The seeds may be washed to obtain poppy tea.

According to The Joy of Cooking, "the most desirable come from Holland and are a slate-blue color."^[9] The color of poppy seeds is important in some uses. When used as a thickener in some dishes, white poppy seeds are preferred, having less impact on the color of the food. In other dishes, black poppy seeds are preferred, for maximum impact.

Since poppy seeds are relatively expensive, they are sometimes mixed with the seeds of Amaranthus paniculatus, which closely resemble poppy seeds.^[10]

Intact seeds

Whole poppy seeds are widely used as a spice and decoration in and on top of many baked goods. In North America they are used in and on many food items such as rusk, bagels (like the Montreal-style bagel), bialys, muffins and cakes, for example, sponge cake. Across Europe, buns and soft white bread pastries are often sprinkled on top with black and white poppy seeds (for example Cozonac, Kalach Kolache and, Kołacz).

Poppy seeds are used in various German breads and desserts as well as in Polish cuisine. Like sesame seeds, poppy seeds are often added to hamburger buns and make hot dog buns extra crunchy. Le Snak is a food product made by Uncle Toby's of New Zealand, consisting of three poppy-seed crackers and a portion of semi-solid cheese.

Whole poppy seeds also have a medical use: in a simple, accurate, and inexpensive test for vesicointestinal fistula (see Poppy seed test).

Paste

Polish makowiec, a nut roll filled with poppy seed paste

In Lithuania and Eastern Slovakia a traditional meal is prepared for the Kūčios (Christmas Eve) dinner from the poppy seeds. They are ground and mixed with water; round yeast biscuits (kūčiukai; bobalky in Slovak) are soaked in the resulting poppy seed 'milk' (poppy milk) and served cold.

In Central Europe poppy strudel is very popular, especially during Christmas.

In the countries belonging to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, poppy seed pastries called Mond Kuchen are popular. These pastries predate Christianity; the poppy was dedicated to Diana, the goddess of the moon.^[11] In German, the seeds are still called mohn, "moon seeds." Recipes are handed down from generation to generation by women. "Moon cakes" are now usually made around Christmas time.^[12]

Poppy seeds can also be used like sesame seeds to make a bar of candy. The bars are made from boiled seeds mixed with sugar or with honey. This is especially common in the Balkans, Greece and even in the cuisines of former Austro-Hungarian countries. Poppy seeds are also used as an ingredient in Clif Bar's lemon poppyseed bar.^[13]

Fillings in pastries are usually made of finely ground poppy seeds mixed with butter or milk and sugar. The ground filling is used in poppy seed rolls and some croissants and may be flavored with lemon or orange zest, rum and vanilla with raisins, heavy cream, cinnamon, and chopped blanched almonds or walnuts added. For sweet baked goods, sometimes instead of sugar a tablespoon of jam, or other sweet binding agent, like syrup is substituted. The poppy seed for fillings are best when they are finely and freshly ground because this will make a big difference in the pastry fillings texture and taste. Some recipes for Mohnstriezel use poppy seed soaked in water for two hours^[14] or boiled in milk. A recipe for Ukrainian poppyseed cake recommends preparing the seeds by immersing in boiling water, straining and soaking in milk overnight.^[15]

Poppy seed paste delicacies include:

• Kutia, a sweet grain and poppy seed pudding from Ukraine^[16]
• Makowiec, Polish poppy seed roll
• Makovnjača, Croatian poppy seed roll
• Mákos bejgli, Hungarian poppyseed roll, also known as "Christmas bread"^[17]
• Mohnstrudel, poppyseed strudel popular in Germany, Austria, and Czech^[18][19][20]
• Mohnstriezel, German poppyseed cake^[21][22]
• Makówki, a traditional Silesian Christmas dessert
• Poppy seed kolache (or kolachy)^[23][24]
• Mákos kifli, a Hungarian crescent roll filled with poppy seed
• Hamantashen, a triangular cookie filled with fruit preserves or honey and black poppy seed paste, eaten during Purim

Unsorted

Germknödel with vanilla sauce

• Hungarian poppyseed pasta
• Poppy seed bagels
• Lemon poppyseed muffins or cake
• Kluski z makiem, Polish noodles with poppy seeds^[25]
• Various rice puddings (esp. with black poppy seeds), such as "Mohnpielen," a Silesian chilled bread and poppy seed pudding,^[26] and a Senegalese-influenced lime-scented poppy-seed rice pudding by Marcus Samuelsson^[27]
• Prekmurska gibanica, a cake made with poppy seeds, cottage cheese, walnuts, and apples from Slovenia^[28]
• Mákos guba, a Hungarian bread pudding dessert made from crescent rolls, poppy seeds, and milk^[29][30]
• Germknödel, a yeast dumpling with a mix of poppy seeds and sugar
• Kalach, a traditional East Slavic bread used at various ritual meals^[31]

Use by cuisine

Poppy seeds are used around the world in various cuisines.

In India, Iran and Turkey poppy seeds are known as khaskhas or haşhaş and are considered highly nutritious, mostly added in dough while baking bread, and recommended for pregnant women and new mothers.

European cuisine

The seeds of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) are widely consumed in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The sugared, milled mature seeds are eaten with pasta, or they are boiled with milk and used as filling or topping on various kinds of sweet pastry. Milling of mature seeds is carried out either industrially or at home, where it is generally done with a manual poppy seed mill.

Poppy seeds are widely used in Turkish cuisine, German cuisine, Slovak cuisine, Czech cuisine, Russian and Ukrainian cuisine, Romanian cuisine, Hungarian cuisine and the Austrian cuisine.

Jewish cuisine

In Jewish cuisine, pastries filled with poppy seed paste are traditional during Purim, which occurs at approximately the same time of year as Easter. Traditional pastries include poppy seed kalács and hamantash, both sometimes known as beigli (also spelled bejgli). In Israeli cuisine, poppy seed hamantash is the main traditional food eaten at Purim.

Indian cuisine

In Indian cuisine, the white poppy seeds form part of the Indian spices. They are added for thickness, texture and also give added flavor to the recipe. Commonly used in the preparation of Kurma, ground poppy seed, along with coconut and other spices, are combined as the masala to be added at the end of the cooking step. It is quite hard to grind them when raw, so they are normally dry fried, and then mixed with a little water to get the right paste consistency.

Words for poppy seed paste include Tamil Kasa kasaa கசகச Kannada - Gasagase (ಗಸಗಸೆ) or Telugu gasagasa గసగస or gasagasaalu or Hindi - Khas Khas खास खास.

Poppy seeds are widely used in Andhra cuisine, Bengali cuisine, Oriya cuisine, and Malabar cuisine (Northern Kerala).

In Karnataka cuisine, Gasagase Payasa (Kannada: ಗಸಗಸೆ ಪಾಯಸ) is very popular in southern part of the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is a liquid dessert made out of white poppy seeds, jaggery, coconut and milk.

In Bengali cuisine, poppy seeds (called posto) are a popular ingredient in food from both West Bengal and Bangladesh. There are many ways to use poppy seeds, usually as the main ingredient of a dish.

One of the most popular dishes is aloo posto (potato and poppy seeds) which consists of a large amount of ground poppy seeds cooked together with potatoes to produce a smooth rich texture, easily eaten with rice. There are many variants to this basic dish, replacing or complementing the potatoes with such ingredients as onions (pnyaj posto), ridge gourd (jhinge posto), chicken (murgi posto), and possibly the most popular prawns (chingri posto). The cooked poppy seeds are sometimes served without any accompanying ingredients at all. The consistency of the dish may vary depending on local or household traditions.

There are many other posto dishes. One dish involves grilling patties made from posto, sometimes frying them {posto-r bora). Another dish involves simply mixing uncooked ground poppy seeds with mustard oil, chopped green chili peppers, and rice.

In Bengal (West Bengal and Bangladesh) white poppy seeds are called posto. They are very popular and are used as the main ingredient in a variety of dishes. One of the most popular dishes is aloo posto (potato and poppy seeds) which consists of a large amount of ground poppy seeds cooked together with potatoes and made into a smooth, rich product, which is sometimes eaten with rice. There are many variants to this basic dish, replacing or complementing the potatoes with such ingredients as onions (pnyaj posto), Ridged Luffa (jhinge posto), chicken (murgi posto), and possibly the most popular prawns (chingri posto). The cooked poppy seeds are sometimes served without any accompanying ingredients at all. The consistency of the dish may vary depending on local or household traditions. There are many other posto dishes. One dish involves grilling patties made from posto, sometimes frying them (posto-r bora). Another dish involves simply mixing uncooked ground poppy seeds(kancha posto) with mustard oil, chopped green chili peppers, fresh onions and rice.

Indian cuisine

In Indian cuisine, poppy seeds are used in many main dishes. Chachchari is a dish from Bengali cuisine and includes long strips of vegetables, sometimes with the stalks of leafy greens added, all lightly seasoned with spices like mustard or poppy seeds and flavored with a phoron. Oriya cuisine and Bengali cuisine includes posto, a poppy seed paste cooked with assorted vegetables and/or potatoes. In the cuisine of Karnataka, saaru is a gravy prepared with onions, coconut, tamarind, cilantro, and a combination of various spices (garlic, ginger, clove, cinnamon, poppy seeds, star anise, fennel, chillies and coriander). Andhra cuisine also uses white poppy seeds, called Gasaalu (గసాలు) in Telugu, in various recipes.

In Maharashtra, India, poppy seeds are used to garnish anarsa, a special sweet prepared during the festival of Diwali.

The seeds themselves do not contain significant amounts of opiates. But a poppy tea consumed in some areas and often referred to as doda has been controversial for containing ground opium poppy plant, especially the seed head, and contains significant levels of opiates.^[32] Popular in some South Asian communities, doda is created by grinding dried poppy husks or poppy seeds into a fine powder and then ingesting the mix with hot water or tea. In Canada, doda is made from poppy plants brought in from Afghanistan and Arizona under the guise of legal purposes such as floral arrangements, but is sold illegally from some meat markets.^[33]

In American cuisine, a thick, sweet poppy seed vinaigrette is used for dressing fresh fruit or salad.

Other uses

In Indian traditional medicine (Ayurveda), soaked poppy seeds are ground into a fine paste with milk and applied on the skin as a moisturizer.^[34]

Poppy seeds are pressed to form poppyseed oil, a valuable commercial oil that has multiple culinary, industrial, and medicinal uses.

Poppy seed paste

Poppy seed grinder

For use as a filling in pastries, poppy seeds usually are ground to a paste. To the paste other ingredients are added: usually sugar or honey, milk and maybe butter, and lemon zest and maybe juice.

Poppy seeds can be ground using a generic tool such as a mortar and pestle or a small domestic type electric blade grinder, or a special purpose poppy seed grinder. A poppy seed grinder (mill) is a type of burr grinder with a set aperture that is too narrow for intact poppy seeds to pass through. A burr grinder produces a more uniform and less oily paste than these other tools.

Poppy seed paste is available commercially, in cans. Poppy seeds are very high in oil, so commercial pastes normally contain sugar, water, and an emulsifier such as soy lecithin to keep the paste from separating. Commercial pastes also contain food preservatives to keep them from becoming rancid.

In the United States, commercial pastes are marketed under brand names including Solo and American Almond. Per 30 gram serving, the American Almond poppy seed paste has 120 calories, 4.5 grams fat, and 2 grams protein.

Health effects

Poppy seeds are highly nutritious, and less allergenic than many other seeds and nuts. Allergy (type 1 hypersensitivity) to poppy seeds is very rare, but has been reported^[35][36] and can cause anaphylaxis.^[36]

Poppy seeds are a potential source of anti-cancer drugs.^[37]

See also

• Category:Poppy seeds
• Category:Pastry with poppy seeds

Notes

Further reading

• Jenő Bernáth. Poppy: The Genus Papaver. CRC Press, 1998. ISBN 9789057022715.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Poppy seeds