Spice Collection
Old Plant of Pleasure and Pain
A nutty history
Poppy’s story started in Sumer, 3400 BCE. Its ripe seeds are pressed or ground for food, and its fruits are picked green to produce opium for medicine. The British incited The Opium Wars with China by smuggling it, addicting them, and coercing their trade of silver for tea.
Bayer first marketed heroin for pain relief in 1898 — a later treatment for withdrawal from the original Coca-Cola recipe. Culinary poppyseed contains little opium. Instead, the seeds are ground for baking, made into a paste, or pressed for oil. Its species acclimated across the globe.
Nomenclature: Papaver somniferum Tastes: Nutty, Spicy, Sweet Uses: Baked goods, fillings, porridge, soaps, paints, varnish, medicine Origin: Mediterranean
Recipe: Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Ingredients: Flour, sugar, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, yogurt, lemon, eggs, butter. See link.