Poppy seed paste, also known as mák (Hungarian and

West Slavic languages The West Slavic languages are a subdivision of the Slavic language group. They include Polish, Czech, Slovak, Kashubian, Silesian, Upper Sorbian and Lower Sorbian. The languages have traditionally been spoken across a mostly continuous re ...

) or mohn (German and Yiddish), is a common ingredient in Central and Eastern European cuisine It is made from ground

poppy seeds Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the poppy plant (''Papaver somniferum''). The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countries ...

and additional sweeteners. Examples of pastries featuring the filling include mohn kichel,

babka A babka, or an Ugat Shmarim (Hebrew: עוגת שמרים) is a sweet braided bread that originated in the Jewish communities of Poland and Ukraine. It is popular in Israel where it is known as a yeast cake. It is also popular in the Jewish dias ...

, and hamantashen. Poppy seed-filled pastries are particularly associated with the Jewish holiday of

Purim Purim (; , ) is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Genocide, annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (u ...

and Christian holiday of

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

.Luard, Elisabeth. ''Seasonal European Dishes''. Grub Street Publishers, 2013.

Description

Poppy seed paste generally has a very thick, paste-like consistency similar to

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food Paste (food), paste or Spread (food), spread made from Grinding (abrasive cutting), ground, dry roasting, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, ...

or a thick

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

, which can grow hard during cooking. It is typically sweet but has been said to have a subtle bitterness and citrus notes due to the poppy seeds. Sometimes lemon or orange zest is added to further accentuate these notes. As the poppy seeds have been ground to a powdery consistency, they have less of a tendency to get stuck in people's teeth than whole poppy seeds. Poppy seed paste is widely used throughout Central and Eastern Europe. It is also eaten a savory filling in

pierogi Pierogi ( ; ) are filled dumplings made by wrapping Leavening, unleavened dough around a Stuffing, filling and cooked in boiling water. They are occasionally flavored with a savory or sweet garnish. Typical fillings include potato, cheese, ...

, or mixed with pasta and eaten for dinner. It is common to find in many pastries and bakeries all over Central Europe and the Balkans. In

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

cuisine, there are two main kinds of poppy seed filling used to accommodate kosher dietary laws. Dairy mohn, which may contain milk,

heavy cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, and/or

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

; and which is used in baked goods such as

hamantaschen A hamantash (: ''hamantashen''; also spelled ''hamantasch'', ''hamantaschen''; ''homentash'', : ''homentashn'', 'Haman pockets') is an Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, Ashkenazi Jewish triangular filled-pocket pastry associated with the Jewish holida ...

which are made with a dough containing dairy and which will be served with a

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

meal. And

pareve In ''kashrut'', the dietary laws of Judaism, pareve or parve (from for "neutral"; in Hebrew , ''parveh'', or , ''stami'') is a classification of food that contains neither dairy nor meat ingredients. Food in this category includes all items tha ...

(non-dairy) poppy seed filling, which typically replaces the milk with water and the butter with

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a Spread (food), spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The ...

or oil, and is used in pastries that are meant to be served with meat meals such as mohn rolls, pareve hamantaschen, etc. Pareve poppy seed filling is suitable for

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

recipes.

History

Poppy seeds were one of the most popular spices in medieval Central Europe. Traditionally, poppy seed filling was almost exclusively prepared at home. Immigrants brought poppy seeds to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with the first recipes for poppy seed cookies attested as early as 1889 in cookbooks published by German-Jewish immigrants. Beginning in the 20th century, various commercially-made canned varieties by brands such as "Solo" became available and are still sold online and in grocery stores in areas of the United States with significant

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

populations such as the Northeast,

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, and

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

. Homemade and premade renditions have significant differences in ingredients, and premade filling is generally dairy-free. Some assert that homemade filling is of superior quality as packaged poppy seed filling often contains ingredients such as

high fructose corn syrup High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose, and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzy ...

, and

preservatives A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or b ...

Association with religious festivals

Pastries featuring poppy seed filling are associated with holidays in several cultures. In Ashkenazi Jewish culture, poppy seed-filled ''hamantashen'' (translated as "

Haman Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian empire under King Ahasuerus#Book of Esther, Ahasuerus, comm ...

's ears" or "Haman's pockets") are a traditional pastry eaten during

, and are one of the most well-known uses of poppy seed filling. Poppy seed pastries also feature widely in Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian Christmas traditions.

Preparation

Poppy seed paste is prepared by grinding

in a

coffee grinder Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

, or

food processor A food processor is a kitchen appliance used to facilitate repetitive tasks in the preparation of food. Today, the term almost always refers to an electric-motor-driven appliance, although there are some manual devices also referred to as "food ...

for several minutes until they reach a powdery consistency but before they turn into a paste. Grinding the poppy seeds helps release their natural oils, which enhances the flavor of the final product, as well as their starches, which help thicken the filling, and it also helps the poppy seeds not get stuck in the eater's teeth. Depending on the recipe, milk (or water) and sugar (or sometimes honey or silan) are simmered in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is thoroughly heated. The ground poppy seeds, along with a flavoring such as lemon zest or vanilla extract, are added, and sometimes other ingredients such as chopped

walnuts A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an invo ...

are added. The mixture is stirred continuously until it thickens and reaches a jam-like consistency. At this point, it is typically removed from the heat, and sometimes apricot jam may be added for flavor, and cake crumbs or

matzo meal Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (leaven and five grains deemed by Jewi ...

may be added as a binder and to help ensure the paste does not leak out when used as a filling in baked goods. It is then allowed to cool and refrigerated before being used as a filling or spread. It has a shelf life of approximately 3 days.

Description

History

Association with religious festivals

Preparation

References

See also