Poppy seeds are a popular baking ingredient that serve different purposes and are processed differently depending on the region. Austrian poppy seed strudel, simple poppy seed rolls or Saxon poppy seed stollen are just a few examples. But which poppy seeds do you use in the kitchen?
Poppy seeds can be harvested from the dried pods
The poppy, also called wild poppy or corn poppy, can certainly be used for cooking, but other varieties are used as baking ingredients, such as blue poppy or gray poppy. The names indicate the color of the seeds. A well-known growing region for poppy seeds is Austria. Various types of poppy are grown there, which only have a low morphine content.
When do you harvest poppies?
If you want to harvest poppies for next year's sowing, then it is best to do so on a dry day. The capsules should already be dry, then the seeds are ripe and can be shaken out of the capsules. Store the seeds in a dry and cool place until sowing.
About four to six weeks after flowering, the seed pods are mature and can be harvested. Industrially grown poppies are mostly harvested in August or September. However, the exact harvest time always determines the degree of ripeness of the capsules. This can be recognized by the brown color and the rattling of the loosened seeds when shaken.
How do you harvest poppies?
If the poppies are to be harvested by hand, this is a very time-consuming undertaking. The stalks are cut individually and gathered in bundles. The bundles are then shaken upside down to loosen the seeds. These fall into a container where they are collected.
Mechanical harvesting is now widespread. The ripe capsules are harvested with converted combine harvesters and collected in a storage facility. Capsules that end up on the field rather than in storage serve as fertilizer. Mechanical harvesting is much faster because the combine harvester can harvest around one hectare in three hours.
The most important harvest information:
- Main supplier for baking poppy seeds: Austria
- Harvesting by hand is very time consuming
- mostly mechanical harvest
tips and tricks
If you want to bake or cook with poppy seeds, use German or Austrian poppy seeds, the cultivation of which is approved. Other types of poppy may contain more morphine.