Inspirational Poppy Seed Madness !!!

The time has come to find all the facts you may ever need around the existence of Poppy seeds...

The earliest documentation of the poppy is around 3,000 years ago. To the Egyptians, poppies symbolised rebirth as they are able to be “reborn” after the harvest season.

After the poppy flowers start to dry up, the kidney-shaped seeds start developing in their pods. This is one of the products from the poppy plant that is legal to produce and buy. The opiate in the plant is said to disappear once the seeds develop, making it safe for consumption.

BUT poppy seeds and Heroin both derive from the opium poppy. Although it’s not a high enough concentration for someone to feel any morphine-like effects, it can be enough to give a positive result on a sensitive test so don’t eat too many poppy seed bagels!!

The way to tell whether the seeds are ready for harvest is by shaking the pods and seeing if they rattle, if they do, they’re ready.

Poppy seeds are rich in oil, carbohydrates, calcium and protein. They have a sweet, nutty flavour and can be used for flavouring in so many different things such as breads, rolls and cakes. Pressed seed cakes are also used for livestock feed.

This unique nutty, aromatic flavour is because of all fatty acids and essential oils in the seeds which make up about 50% of their net weight!

The seeds contain 40- 50% oil meaning they can be pressed and used to make poppy seed oil, which is used in cooking, artist's colours and soap.

There are around 1,800,000 poppy seeds to the kilogram!! That’s a lot of seeds…

Poppy seeds have a lot of health benefits and can help with the prevention of heart disorders, supports bone maintenance and development, enhances brain function, assists in red blood cell production, prevents constipation and other digestive problems. How awesome is that??

You can also use them as a topical solution for eczema and inflammation, a skin moisturizer or even for Dandruff treatment!

The botanical name for the poppy flower means 'sleep bearing' as they can help with sleeplessness. Poppies were even used in the Wizard of Oz to put Dorothy to sleep…