Poppy seed
Encyclopedia
Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy
(Papaver somniferum). The tiny kidney
-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. The seeds are used, whole or ground, as an ingredient in many foods, and they are pressed to yield poppyseed oil
.
, written ca. 1550 BC
, lists poppy seed as a sedative. The Minoan civilization
(approximately 2700 to 1450 BC), a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete
, cultivated poppies for their seed. Poppy seeds have long been used as a folk remedy to aid sleeping, promote fertility and wealth, and even to provide supposed magical powers of invisibility.
Poppy seeds are less than a millimeter in length, and minute: it takes 3,300 poppy seeds to make up a gram, and a pound contains between 1 and 2 million seeds. The primary flavor compound is 2-pentylfuran.
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. The California poppy
(Eschscholzia californica), for example, is a striking orange wildflower
that grows in the Western and Northwestern, United States.
The poppy seed harvest can be a by-product
of opium poppy cultivation for opium
, poppy straw, or both opium and poppy straw. Conversely, poppy straw can be a by-product of cultivation of poppy seeds.
Poppy seeds have primarily culinary uses, as intact seeds and as a paste of ground seeds. The seeds are used as a spice
, a condiment
, 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.
Compared to the seed pod and straw, the seeds contain very low levels of opiates. 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." 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.
they are used in and on many food items such as rusk
, bagel
s (like the Montreal-style bagel
), bialy
s, muffin
s 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 bun
s 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
).
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
.
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.
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 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.
Poppy seed paste delicacies include:
s.
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.
. 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 Austrian cuisine, Czech cuisine
, German cuisine
, Hungarian cuisine, Polish cuisine
, Romanian cuisine
, Russian cuisine
, Slovak cuisine
, Turkish cuisine
and Ukrainian cuisine
.
, pastries filled with poppy seed paste are traditional during Purim
, which occurs at approximately a month before 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. This filling is referred to as "munn," a Yiddish variation on the German word for moon. Munn pastries are common in Jewish bakeries and delicatessens throughout the United States
.
, white poppy seeds are added for thickness, texture and also give added flavor to the recipe. Commonly used in the preparation of korma
, 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 खस खस.
Poppy seeds are widely used in Andhra cuisine, Bengali cuisine
, Oriya cuisine
, and Malabar cuisine (Northern Kerala).
In Bengal
(West Bengal
and Bangladesh
) white poppy seeds are called পোস্তো. 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. 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. 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.
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. 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, 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. 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.
), soaked poppy seeds are ground into a fine paste with milk and applied on the skin as a moisturizer.
Poppy seeds are pressed to form poppyseed oil
, a valuable commercial oil that has multiple culinary, industrial, and medicinal uses.
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.
(type 1 hypersensitivity
) to poppy seeds is very rare, but has been reported and can cause anaphylaxis
.
Poppy seeds are a potential source of anti-cancer drugs.
is produced by "milking" latex from the unripe fruits ("seed pods") rather than from the seeds, all parts of the plant can contain or carry the opium alkaloids, especially morphine
and codeine
. This means that eating foods (e.g., muffins) that contain poppy seeds can result in a false positive for opiates in a drug test. The test is true positive in that it indicates the presence of the drug correctly; it is false only in the sense that the drug was not taken in the typical manner of abuse.
This was considered "confirmed" by the hosts of the television program MythBusters
. One participant, Adam Savage
, who ate an entire loaf
of poppy seed cake
, tested positive for opiates just half an hour later. A second participant, Jamie Hyneman
, who ate three poppy seed bagels, first tested positive two hours after eating. Both tested positive for the remainder of the day, but tested negative seventy-two hours later. The show Brainiac: Science Abuse
also did experiments where a priest ate several poppy seed bagels and gave a sample, which also resulted in a false positive.
The results of this experiment are inconclusive, because a test was used with an opiate cutoff level of 300 ng/mL instead of the current SAMHSA recommended cutoff level used in the NIDA 5 test, which was raised from 300 ng/mL to 2,000 ng/mL in 1998 in order to avoid false positives from poppy seeds. However, according to an article published in the Medical Science Law Journal, after ingesting "a curry meal or two containing various amounts of washed seeds" where total morphine levels were in the range 58.4 to 62.2 µg/g seeds, the urinary morphine levels were found to range as high as 1.27 µg/mL (1,270 ng/mL) urine. Another article in the Journal of Forensic Science reports that concentration of morphine in some batches of seeds may be as high as 251 µg/g. In both studies codeine was also present in the seeds in smaller concentrations. Therefore it is possible to cross the current standard 2,000 ng/mL limit of detection, depending on seed potency and quantity ingested. Some toxicology labs still continue to use a cutoff level of 300 ng/mL.
A fictional example of such a false positive test in popular culture was in the Seinfeld
episode "The Shower Head
", where the character Elaine Benes
was fired after testing positive for opium from the consumption of poppy seed muffins.
The sale of poppy seeds from Papaver somniferum is banned in Singapore
because of the morphine content. Poppy seeds are also banned in Saudi Arabia
for various religious and drug control reasons. In one extreme case in the United Arab Emirates
, poppy seeds found on a traveler's clothes led to imprisonment.
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
(Papaver somniferum). The tiny kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. The seeds are used, whole or ground, as an ingredient in many foods, and they are pressed to yield poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil is an edible oil from poppy seeds . The oil has culinary and pharmaceutical uses, as well as long established uses in the making of paints, varnishes, and soaps.Poppy seeds yield 45–50% oil...
.
History
The Sumerians already grew them; and the seed is mentioned in ancient medical texts from many civilizations. For instance, the Egyptian papyrus scroll named Ebers PapyrusEbers papyrus
The Ebers Papyrus, also known as Papyrus Ebers, is an Egyptian medical papyrus dating to circa 1550 BC. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt, it was purchased at Luxor, in the winter of 1873–74 by Georg Ebers...
, written ca. 1550 BC
16th century BC
The 16th century BC is a century which lasted from 1600 BC to 1501 BC.-Events:* 1700 BC – 1500 BC: Hurrian conquests.* 1595 BC: Sack of Babylon by the Hittite king Mursilis I....
, lists poppy seed as a sedative. The Minoan civilization
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
(approximately 2700 to 1450 BC), a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, cultivated poppies for their seed. Poppy seeds have long been used as a folk remedy to aid sleeping, promote fertility and wealth, and even to provide supposed magical powers of invisibility.
Natural history
The seeds of other poppy
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
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
Plant propagation
Plant propagation is the process of creating new plants from a variety of sources: seeds, cuttings, bulbs and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the artificial or natural dispersal of plants.-Sexual propagation :...
by this method, and can be put directly in the ground in January. The California poppy
California poppy
The California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.- Description :...
(Eschscholzia californica), for example, is a striking orange wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
that grows in the Western and Northwestern, United States.
World production
| Poppy seed production in tonne Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... s (2008) Source: FAOSTAT |
||
|---|---|---|
| 34,194 | 34.59 % | |
| 32,692 | 33.07 % | |
| 7,000 | 7.08 % | |
| 6,500 | 6.57 % | |
| 3,458 | 3.49 % | |
| 3,349 | 3.38 % | |
| 3,294 | 3.33 % | |
| 2,200 | 2.22 % | |
| 1,956 | 1.97 % | |
| 1,504 | 1.52 % | |
| 859 | 0.86 % | |
| 832 | 0.84 % | |
| 504 | 0.50 % | |
| 493 | 0.49 % | |
| World total | 98,835 | 100 % |
| The sum does not equal 100 % due to rounding | ||
The poppy seed harvest can be a by-product
By-product
A by-product is a secondary product derived from a manufacturing process or chemical reaction. It is not the primary product or service being produced.A by-product can be useful and marketable or it can be considered waste....
of opium poppy cultivation for opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
, poppy straw, or both opium and poppy straw. Conversely, poppy straw can be a by-product of cultivation of poppy seeds.
Poppy seeds have primarily culinary uses, as intact seeds and as a paste of ground seeds. The seeds are used as a spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
, a condiment
Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...
, a decorative garnish
Garnish
A garnish is an item or substance used as a decoration or embellishment and often a flavor component on a prepared food dish or drink. In many cases, it may give added or contrasting flavor, some garnishes are selected first to augment the visual impact of the plate, while others are selected...
, a thickener, and a main ingredient. They are used in many baked goods, main course
Main course
A main dish is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée course, and the salad course. In North American usage it may in fact be called the "entree"....
dishes, and desserts.
They are also the source of poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil is an edible oil from poppy seeds . The oil has culinary and pharmaceutical uses, as well as long established uses in the making of paints, varnishes, and soaps.Poppy seeds yield 45–50% 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.
Compared to the seed pod and straw, the seeds contain very low levels of opiates. The seeds may be washed to obtain poppy tea
Poppy tea
Poppy tea is an infusion brewed from poppy straw or seeds of several species of poppy. The species most commonly used for this purpose is Papaver somniferum, which contains opium....
.
According to The Joy of Cooking
The Joy of Cooking
Joy of Cooking, often known as "The Joy of Cooking" is one of the United States' most-published cookbooks, and has been in print continuously since 1936 and with more than 18 million copies sold. It was privately published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker in St. Louis, Missouri, who was...
, "the most desirable come from Holland and are a slate-blue color." 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
Amaranth
Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold...
, which closely resemble poppy seeds.
Intact seeds
Whole poppy seeds are widely used as a spice and decoration in and on top of many baked goods. In North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
they are used in and on many food items such as rusk
Rusk
A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a baby teething food. In the United Kingdom, the name also refers to a wheat-based food additive.- Germany :The zwieback A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a baby teething food....
, bagel
Bagel
A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
s (like the Montreal-style bagel
Montreal-style bagel
The Montreal bagel, , is a distinctive variety of hand-made and wood-fired baked bagel. In contrast to the New York-style bagel, the Montreal bagel is smaller, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and is always baked in a wood-fired oven...
), bialy
Bialy
Bialy, a Yiddish word short for bialystoker kuchen, from Białystok, a city in Poland, is a small roll that is a traditional dish in Polish Ashkenazi cuisine. A traditional bialy has a diameter of up to 15 cm and is a chewy yeast roll similar to a bagel...
s, muffin
Muffin
A muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins, also exist...
s and cakes, for example, sponge cake
Sponge cake
Sponge cake is a cake based on flour , sugar, and eggs, sometimes leavened with baking powder which has a firm, yet well aerated structure, similar to a sea sponge. A sponge cake may be produced by either the batter method, or the foam method. Typicially the batter method in the U.S. is known as a...
. Across Europe, buns and soft white bread pastries are often sprinkled on top with black and white poppy seeds (for example Cozonac
Cozonac
Cozonac or Kozunak is a traditional Bulgarian, Romanian and Albanian sweet bread. It is usually prepared for Easter in Bulgaria and Albania, and mostly for every major holiday in Romania....
, Kalach
Kalach (food)
Kalach , also known in Ukrainian as kolach), is a traditional East Slavic bread used at various ritual meals. It name came from the Old Slavonic word kolo meaning "circle", "wheel"....
Kolache
Kolache
Kolache is a type of pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough. Originating as a semisweet wedding dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States...
and, Kołacz).
Poppy seeds are used in various German breads and desserts as well as in Polish cuisine
Polish cuisine
Polish cuisine is a style of cooking and food preparation originating from Poland. It has evolved over the centuries due to historical circumstances. Polish national cuisine shares some similarities with other Central European and Eastern European traditions as well as French and Italian...
. Like sesame seeds, poppy seeds are often added to hamburger buns and make hot dog bun
Hot dog bun
A hot dog bun is a type of soft bun shaped specifically to contain a hot dog. The original purpose of this bun was to make it possible to eat hot dogs without burning ones hands....
s extra crunchy. Le Snak
Le Snak
Le Snak is a food product made by Uncle Tobys and sold in Australia and New Zealand. It consists of three savoury biscuits and a portion of cream cheese for dipping, in flavours such as tasty cheese, Cheddar cheese, and french onion...
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
Vesicointestinal fistula
A vesicointestinal fistula is a form of fistula between the bladder and the bowel.-Types:A fistula involving the bladder can have one of many specific names, describing the specific location of its outlet:...
(see Poppy seed test
Poppy seed test (medical sign)
In medicine, the poppy seed test is a diagnostic test used before surgery to predict if surgery will find a colovesical fistula or other type of vesicointestinal fistula....
).
Paste
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Eastern Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
a traditional meal is prepared for the Kūčios
Kucios
Kūčios is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Lithuania, held on the twenty fourth of December. The meal is a family occasion which includes many traditions of both pagan and Christian origin...
(Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
) dinner from the poppy seeds. They are ground and mixed with water; round yeast biscuits (kūčiukai; bobalky in Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
) are soaked in the resulting poppy seed 'milk' (poppy milk
Poppy milk
Poppy milk is a traditional Lithuanian drink or soup, one of the 12-dishes Christmas Eve Supper Kūčios. Usually it is eaten together with kūčiukai, another traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve dish.-The drink:...
) and served cold.
In Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
poppy strudel
Strudel
A strudel is a type of layered pastry with a — most often sweet — filling inside, often served with cream. It became well known and gained popularity in the 18th century through the Habsburg Empire....
is very popular, especially during Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
.
Poppy seeds can also be used like sesame
Sesame
Sesame is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods....
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.
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
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
and vanilla
Vanilla
Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids of the genus Vanilla, primarily from the Mexican species, Flat-leaved Vanilla . The word vanilla derives from the Spanish word "", little pod...
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 or boiled in milk. A recipe for Ukrainian
Ukrainian cuisine
Ukrainian cuisine has significant diversity, historical traditions. "Cuisine - Flavors and Colors of Ukrainian Culture."] . Accessed July 2011. Common foods used include meats, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, berries and herbs...
poppyseed cake recommends preparing the seeds by immersing in boiling water, straining and soaking in milk overnight.
Poppy seed paste delicacies include:
- KutiaKutiaKutia is a sweet grain pudding, traditionally served in Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Belarusian and Polish cultures. Kutia is often the first dish in the traditional twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper...
, a sweet grain and poppy seed pudding from Ukraine - Makowiec, Polish poppy seed roll
- MakovníkSlovak cuisineSlovak cuisine varies slightly, though sometimes dramatically, from region to region. It was influenced by the traditional cuisine of its neighbours and it influenced these as well...
, Slovak poppy seed roll - Štrudla s makom, SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n poppy seed roll - Makovnjača, CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n poppy seed roll - Колач со афион, MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
n poppy seed roll - Mákos bejgliBejgliThe poppy seed roll is pastry consisting of a roll of sweet yeast bread with a dense, rich, bittersweet filling of poppy seed. An alternative filling is a paste of minced walnuts....
, Hungarian poppyseed roll, also known as "Christmas bread" - Makový závin, Czech poppy seed roll.
- Mohnstrudel, poppyseed strudelStrudelA strudel is a type of layered pastry with a — most often sweet — filling inside, often served with cream. It became well known and gained popularity in the 18th century through the Habsburg Empire....
popular in Germany and Austria - Mohnstriezel, German poppyseed cake
- MakówkiMakówkiMakówki, in is a traditional poppy seed-based dessert, most notably in Silesia where it is served almost exclusively on Christmas Eve .-Outside Silesia:Makówki is also well known in Brandenburg and Berlin under the name Mohnpilen...
, a traditional SilesianSilesianSilesian or Upper Silesian is considered either a dialect of the Polish language , or a separate Slavic language of the Lechitic group spoken in the region of Silesia...
Christmas dessert - Poppy seed kolacheKolacheKolache is a type of pastry that holds a dollop of fruit rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough. Originating as a semisweet wedding dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States...
(or kolachy) - Mákos kifliKifliKifli is a traditional Hungarian, Serbian , Bulgarian Czech , Slovak and Polish yeast roll made into a crescent shape.-Method:...
, 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 PurimPurimPurim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
Unsorted
- Hungarian poppyseed pastaPastaPasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
- Poppy seed bagelBagelA bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
s - Lemon poppyseed muffinMuffinA muffin is an American English name for a type of quick bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as cornbread muffins, also exist...
s or cake - Kluski z makiem, Polish noodles with poppy seeds
- Various rice puddingPuddingPudding most often refers to a dessert, but it can also be a savory dish.In the United States, pudding characteristically denotes a sweet milk-based dessert similar in consistency to egg-based custards, though it may also refer to other types such as bread and rice pudding.In the United Kingdom and...
s (esp. with black poppy seeds), such as "Mohnpielen," a SilesiaSilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n chilled bread and poppy seed pudding, and a SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
ese-influenced lime-scented poppy-seed rice pudding by Marcus SamuelssonMarcus SamuelssonMarcus Samuelsson is a Swedish chef and co-owner of Aquavit restaurant in New York City and C-House Restaurant, located in the Affinia Hotel in Chicago.-Early life and career:... - Prekmurska gibanicaPrekmurska gibanicaPrekmurska gibanica or Međimurska gibanica is a layered cake, originating in the region of Prekmurje, Slovenia and neighbouring Međimurje . It contains poppy seeds, walnuts, apples, raisins, and cottage cheese fillings. Although native to Prekmurje, it has achieved the status of a national...
, a cake made with poppy seeds, cottage cheese, walnuts, and apples from SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of... - Mákos guba, a Hungarian bread pudding dessert made from crescent rolls, poppy seeds, and milk
- GermknödelGermknödelGermknödel is a fluffy yeast dough dumpling with a mix of poppy seeds and sugar, filled with spicy plum jam and melted butter on top, often eaten with vanilla cream sauce....
, a yeast dumpling with a mix of poppy seeds and sugar - KalachKalach (food)Kalach , also known in Ukrainian as kolach), is a traditional East Slavic bread used at various ritual meals. It name came from the Old Slavonic word kolo meaning "circle", "wheel"....
, a traditional East Slavic bread used at various ritual meals
Use by cuisine
Poppy seeds are used around the world in various cuisineCuisine
Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...
s.
In India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
poppy seeds are known as khaskhas or haşhaş and are considered highly nutritious, mostly added in dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
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 EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The sugared, milled mature seeds are eaten with pasta
Pasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
, or they are boiled with milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
and used as filling or topping on various kinds of sweet pastry
Pastry
Pastry is the name given to various kinds of baked products made from ingredients such as flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, baking powder and/or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked products are called "pastries."...
. 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 Austrian cuisine, Czech cuisine
Czech cuisine
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries. Many of the fine cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated in the Czech lands. Czech cuisine is marked by a strong emphasis on meat dishes. Pork is quite common, and beef and...
, German cuisine
German cuisine
German cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of Germany. It has evolved as a national cuisine through centuries of social and political change with variations from region to region. The southern regions of Germany, including Bavaria and neighbouring Swabia, share many dishes....
, Hungarian cuisine, Polish cuisine
Polish cuisine
Polish cuisine is a style of cooking and food preparation originating from Poland. It has evolved over the centuries due to historical circumstances. Polish national cuisine shares some similarities with other Central European and Eastern European traditions as well as French and Italian...
, Romanian cuisine
Romanian cuisine
Romanian cuisine is a diverse blend of different dishes from several traditions with which it has come into contact, but it also maintains its own character...
, Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine
Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia. Its foundations were laid by the peasant food of the rural population in an often harsh climate, with a combination of...
, Slovak cuisine
Slovak cuisine
Slovak cuisine varies slightly, though sometimes dramatically, from region to region. It was influenced by the traditional cuisine of its neighbours and it influenced these as well...
, Turkish cuisine
Turkish cuisine
Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. Turkish cuisine has in turn influenced those and other neighbouring cuisines, including that of western Europe...
and Ukrainian cuisine
Ukrainian cuisine
Ukrainian cuisine has significant diversity, historical traditions. "Cuisine - Flavors and Colors of Ukrainian Culture."] . Accessed July 2011. Common foods used include meats, vegetables, mushrooms, fruits, berries and herbs...
.
Jewish cuisine
In Jewish cuisineJewish cuisine
Jewish Cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Jewish people worldwide. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
, pastries filled with poppy seed paste are traditional during Purim
Purim
Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther .Purim is celebrated annually according to the Hebrew calendar on the 14th...
, which occurs at approximately a month before Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. Traditional pastries include poppy seed kalács
Kalács
Kalács is a Hungarian sweet bread very similar to brioche, usually baked in a braided form, and traditionally considered an Easter food. The word comes from the Slavic languages and refers to the original rounded form of the bread...
and hamantash, both sometimes known as beigli (also spelled bejgli). In Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine
Israeli cuisine comprises local dishes by Jews native to Israel and dishes brought to Israel by Jews from the Diaspora. Since before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, and particularly since the late 1970s, an Israeli Jewish fusion cuisine has developed.Israeli cuisine has adopted,...
, poppy seed hamantash is the main traditional food eaten at Purim. This filling is referred to as "munn," a Yiddish variation on the German word for moon. Munn pastries are common in Jewish bakeries and delicatessens throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Indian cuisine
In Indian cuisineIndian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
, white poppy seeds are added for thickness, texture and also give added flavor to the recipe. Commonly used in the preparation of korma
Korma
Korma is a dish originating in South Asia or Central Asia which can be made with yoghurt, cream, nut and seed pastes or coconut milk; it is usually considered a type of curry...
, 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 खस खस.
Poppy seeds are widely used in Andhra cuisine, Bengali cuisine
Bengali cuisine
Bengali cuisine is a culinary style originating in Bengal, a region in the eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Indian state of West Bengal and the independent country of Bangladesh. Other regions, such as Tripura, and Barak Valley region of Assam also have large native Bengali...
, Oriya cuisine
Oriya cuisine
Oriya cuisine refers to the cooking of the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Foods from this area are rich and varied, while relying heavily on local ingredients. The flavors are usually subtle and delicately spiced, quite unlike the fiery curries typically associated with Indian cuisine. Fish and...
, and Malabar cuisine (Northern Kerala).
In Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
(West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) white poppy seeds are called পোস্তো. 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
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
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
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
. 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
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
(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. Chachchari is a dish from Bengali cuisine
Bengali cuisine
Bengali cuisine is a culinary style originating in Bengal, a region in the eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Indian state of West Bengal and the independent country of Bangladesh. Other regions, such as Tripura, and Barak Valley region of Assam also have large native Bengali...
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. 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
Mustard oil
The term mustard oil is used for three different oils that are made from mustard seeds:*A fatty vegetable oil resulting from pressing the seeds,...
, chopped green chili peppers, fresh onions and rice.
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. 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
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, in various recipes.
In Maharashtra, poppy seeds are used to garnish anarsa
Anarsa
Anarsa is a pastry like snack commonly associated with the Hindu festival of Diwali in Central & Northern India. Its ingredients include jaggery, rice, poppy seed and ghee.Recipe :...
, a special sweet prepared during the festival of Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
.
The seeds themselves do not contain significant amounts of opiates. But a poppy tea
Poppy tea
Poppy tea is an infusion brewed from poppy straw or seeds of several species of poppy. The species most commonly used for this purpose is Papaver somniferum, which contains opium....
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. 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.
Other uses
In Indian traditional medicine (AyurvedaAyurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
), soaked poppy seeds are ground into a fine paste with milk and applied on the skin as a moisturizer.
Poppy seeds are pressed to form poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil
Poppyseed oil is an edible oil from poppy seeds . The oil has culinary and pharmaceutical uses, as well as long established uses in the making of paints, varnishes, and soaps.Poppy seeds yield 45–50% oil...
, a valuable commercial oil that has multiple culinary, industrial, and medicinal uses.
Poppy seed paste
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
Mortar and pestle
A mortar and pestle is a tool used to crush, grind, and mix solid substances . The pestle is a heavy bat-shaped object, the end of which is used for crushing and grinding. The mortar is a bowl, typically made of hard wood, ceramic or stone...
or a small domestic type electric blade grinder
Blade grinder
A blade grinder is a machine that chops material while mixing it, by means of a high-speed spinning blade. Applications of blade grinders for preparing foods include numerous electric kitchen appliances such as blenders , food processors, some garbage disposals, and some coffee grinders...
, 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
Solo Foods
Solo Foods, Inc. is a manufacturer of food ingredients, makers of Solo and Baker dessert fruit and nut fillings, marshmallow creme and toasted marshmallow creme, Simon Fischer nut butters, marzipan, almond paste and Chun’s Asian cooking sauces based in Countryside, IL...
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. AllergyAllergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
(type 1 hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity refers to undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. These reactions may be damaging, uncomfortable, or occasionally fatal. Hypersensitivity reactions require a pre-sensitized state of the host. The four-group classification...
) to poppy seeds is very rare, but has been reported and can cause anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis is defined as "a serious allergic reaction that is rapid in onset and may cause death". It typically results in a number of symptoms including throat swelling, an itchy rash, and low blood pressure...
.
Poppy seeds are a potential source of anti-cancer drugs.
False positive drug tests
Although the drug opiumOpium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
is produced by "milking" latex from the unripe fruits ("seed pods") rather than from the seeds, all parts of the plant can contain or carry the opium alkaloids, especially morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
and codeine
Codeine
Codeine or 3-methylmorphine is an opiate used for its analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal properties...
. This means that eating foods (e.g., muffins) that contain poppy seeds can result in a false positive for opiates in a drug test. The test is true positive in that it indicates the presence of the drug correctly; it is false only in the sense that the drug was not taken in the typical manner of abuse.
This was considered "confirmed" by the hosts of the television program MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
. One participant, Adam Savage
Adam Savage
Adam Whitney Savage is an American industrial design and special effects designer/fabricator, actor, educator, and co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters. His model work has appeared in major films, including Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and The Matrix...
, who ate an entire loaf
Loaf
A loaf is a shape, usually rounded or oblong, mass of food. It may refer to a bread, or meatloaf.The term "loaf" sometimes refers to "head" from the rhyming slang "loaf of bread" ....
of poppy seed cake
Cake
Cake is a form of bread or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet and enriched baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape...
, tested positive for opiates just half an hour later. A second participant, Jamie Hyneman
Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin "Jamie" Hyneman is an American special effects expert, best known for being the co-host of the television series MythBusters. He is also the owner of M5 Industries, the special effects workshop where MythBusters is filmed...
, who ate three poppy seed bagels, first tested positive two hours after eating. Both tested positive for the remainder of the day, but tested negative seventy-two hours later. The show Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse
Brainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...
also did experiments where a priest ate several poppy seed bagels and gave a sample, which also resulted in a false positive.
The results of this experiment are inconclusive, because a test was used with an opiate cutoff level of 300 ng/mL instead of the current SAMHSA recommended cutoff level used in the NIDA 5 test, which was raised from 300 ng/mL to 2,000 ng/mL in 1998 in order to avoid false positives from poppy seeds. However, according to an article published in the Medical Science Law Journal, after ingesting "a curry meal or two containing various amounts of washed seeds" where total morphine levels were in the range 58.4 to 62.2 µg/g seeds, the urinary morphine levels were found to range as high as 1.27 µg/mL (1,270 ng/mL) urine. Another article in the Journal of Forensic Science reports that concentration of morphine in some batches of seeds may be as high as 251 µg/g. In both studies codeine was also present in the seeds in smaller concentrations. Therefore it is possible to cross the current standard 2,000 ng/mL limit of detection, depending on seed potency and quantity ingested. Some toxicology labs still continue to use a cutoff level of 300 ng/mL.
A fictional example of such a false positive test in popular culture was in the Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
episode "The Shower Head
The Shower Head
"The Shower Head" is the 126th episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. This was the 16th episode for the 7th season. It aired on February 15, 1996.-Plot:...
", where the character Elaine Benes
Elaine Benes
Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer...
was fired after testing positive for opium from the consumption of poppy seed muffins.
The sale of poppy seeds from Papaver somniferum is banned in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
because of the morphine content. Poppy seeds are also banned in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
for various religious and drug control reasons. In one extreme case in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, poppy seeds found on a traveler's clothes led to imprisonment.
Further reading
- Jenő Bernáth. Poppy: The Genus Papaver. CRC Press, 1998. ISBN 9789057022715.