I confess I’m a poppy seed addict. As a child I couldn’t even bear its sight, now if it was possible, I would dose it “intravenously”. Beigli, strudel, noodles, dumplings, rolls, pies, cakes – there are hundreds of recipes that call for poppy seeds. I don’t know official data about the world’s poppy seed consumption, but it’s likely that Hungary takes the cake on this matter.

Poppy seeds as well as opium are derived from the opium poppy. Opium contains about 25 alkaloids (among others morphine, papaverine, thebaine, codeine) that are sources of important medicines. The Latin botanical name of the plant, papaver somniferum means the “sleep-bringing poppy”, referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates. The white flower subspecies of the opium poppy has been considered a drug since 1 January 2006 in Hungary, the cultivation of the purple-pink flower subtype is solely legal, it’s free to grow in private gardens.

The seeds contain very low levels of opiate, so they can be used safely in foods, whole or ground, or they can be also pressed to yield poppyseed oil, which helps prevent osteoporosis. Poppy seeds are a rich source of fibre and essential fatty acids, which balance the chloseterol levels. The seeds contain iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and magnesium, furthermore, the amount of B vitamins is also not negligible.
One of the most popular ways to use poppy seeds in Hungary is to make poppy seed roll. It’s made of a yeast dough and filled with ground and sweetened poppy seeds scalded with milk.