There is a store in town that sells the most delicious poppyseed roll, absolutely scrumptious at any time of year, but especially dear to my heart at Christmas. It reminds me of the wonderful poppyseed pampusky that Sweet Pea used to make; a Christmas tradition that I remember with special joy and, you know me, a few tears.
Mom was a wonderful cook, and a jar of poppyseeds was a staple in her kitchen. I remember on a cold winter afternoon, at this time of year, how warm and cozy and fragrant her kitchen would be as she made doughnuts and those poppyseed pampushky. Any child who was lucky enough to grow up with the flavors of Christmas as a firm part of their family tradition will know the breathtaking excitement of leaning against the kitchen cupboard and waiting for those golden little orbs to be cooked, put on paper towels, then dusted with sugar. Waiting a few minutes for them to cool was very difficult! But then, the flavor as we’d pop them into our mouths…ambrosia! I was so lucky to be able to savor moments like these, and I was blessed that there were so many. Food was love to my Mom, and she showered us with delicious food and boundless love every day.
For countries that use poppyseed in special holiday recipes, they symbolize wealth and the wish of prosperity in the coming year. Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Slovakia and many other countries have poppyseed recipes with special meaning for the holidays.
So what is the story behind these tiny little seeds that have had such a big impact on food? Poppyseeds come from the poppy papaver somniferum. They have been an important cooking staple for thousands of years, over thousands of miles. Many European countries grow this poppy and have made it part of their individual cuisines.
There are dozens of poppies, but this is the one grown for its seeds, not its flowers. Poppies of all kinds are easy to grow; they like full to partial sun, and because the seeds are so fine we can really just scatter them on top of the soil. Here’s a poppy factoid: did you know that there are approximately 3000 seeds in a gram of poppyseed? I don’t know if someone was sitting there counting each seed with a pair of tweezers, but imagine that!
While established poppies can self-seed, it is easy to pull out the unwanted plants. We should remember that if they are crowded, the plants and seed heads will be smaller. We should water them lightly if the weather would turn very hot and dry, but they don’t need any fertilizer. Harvest the seed heads when they are dry and we can hear the seeds rattling around inside.
Poppies are a wonderful plant to add a carefree, casual look to a garden. As their stems lean and sway in the breeze, they give a relaxed, informal air to our flowerbeds. We’ve already received a few seed catalogues, and they often have the “poppyseed” poppies listed under the herb section.
Poppyseed roll… kutia… pampushky… all made so delicious with the small but mighty poppyseed! And we can grow them in our gardens!
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will not be meeting until into the new year, but you can still find out what’s happening with the group by visiting our website at www.yorktonhort.ca
Wasn’t the frost beautiful last week, making our gardens magical? Take a daily tour of your garden and have a great week!
