Poppy Seed

Poppy seeds are tiny, kidney-shaped oilseeds harvested from the dried pods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, a plant grown legally and commercially for its seeds chiefly in Central Europe and South Asia. They are used whole as a topping and spice in baked goods, ground into a paste for pastry fillings, or pressed into edible poppyseed oil. Their use goes back thousands of years: the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus of about 1550 BCE lists them as a sedative, Minoan civilization used poppy-based mixtures to calm infants, and the Sumerians also cultivated the plant. In 2024, Turkey produced 8,441 tonnes and Serbia 1,079 tonnes, while the Czech Republic was the leading exporter that year at 23,600 tonnes.