For as long as I can remember I have seen bread and rolls with poppy seeds sprinkled on top. They provide a crunchy texture and nutty flavour to those and many other baked products. Sometimes they are added to salad dressings, nowadays they are baked into crackers, in fact they seem to be becoming quite popular and used in a variety of ways. They are usually added in their “whole” form and baked with the product but occasionally they are roasted then crushed before they are used.

However, in Hungarian cooking they are used quite differently. The first time I was given a piece of kalács* (poppy seed roll) I had not the slightest idea what the filling was. I could see that it was yeast pastry rolled around a filling that was nearly black. I tasted it and discovered it was sweet and delicious. It was like nothing I had ever tasted before, in fact I cannot compare it with anything else I have had, but, I knew it would not be the last time.

The seeds are ground before they are used. The modern fast way is to use an electric coffee grinder to process the seeds but a Hungarian will tell you that although it is reasonably efficient it doesn’t really do the job properly. I have been using a coffee grinder for years and for all those years my husband has always said they were not ground properly. Apparently, the only way to grind them is to use a special hand grinder that is made for the purpose. The first thing he did when we got to Hungary was to go to a local hardware shop and purchase one (shelves were searched and we bought the last dust covered one in the shop).
Poppy seeds have quite high oil content so if they are not stored properly they go rancid and taste bitter. Fresh seeds are a deep shade of metallic blue so make sure you purchase them from a retailer who will not try to sell you old seed. Fresh un-ground seeds can be stored for up to 6 months in the fridge in an airtight container and I have kept ground seeds successfully in the freezer for 3 months.
Apart from the poppy seed rolls the Hungarians use them in a variety of ways – they can be used as filling for pancakes, stirred into noodles & baked into cakes to name but a few.

Although opium is obtained from the unripe seed pod of the poppy, once the pod has dried the seeds contain no intoxicants.

Also, an important point I nearly forgot to mention. If you have any intention of eating anything made with poppy seeds make sure you have a toothbrush available as it is the only way to remove the poppy seed from your teeth – take my word, it is not a pretty sight.