The poppy seed is such an undervalued culinary ingredient in many countries, and disappointingly, in some regions of the world, these earthy balls of crunchiness are even banned. The history of poppy seeds and the plant they are derived from have an extremely coloured history of medical breakthroughs, war, and addiction.

Where is the poppy seed plant from?

Poppy seeds are only found in the opium poppy plant, known as Papaver Somniferum which originated in Anatolia dating back around 5000 BC.

The first known cultivation of this plant and its uses as a ‘joy plant’ was recorded in 3500 BC in cuneiform clay by Sumerians, the world’s first civilization. There is also evidence of opium poppy remnants found in ancient sites in northwestern Europe and the Alps. The opium poppy plant and its uses ranged from a food source or spice to a sedative, and pain suppressant as well as used for spiritual and religious rituals.

The Greek botanist and physician, Pedanius Dioscórides, who served in the Roman army mentions the use of the opium plant in De Materia Medica, a collection of works that cite around 600 plants and natural medicinal properties that could be derived from them.

The seeds of the opium poppy plant are usually cleaned and processed before being sold as a culinary ingredient, yet they may still contain a slight opiate residue which can show up as positive in a drug test. Poppy seeds should be available for all to enjoy as they are rich in antioxidants and minerals as well as other benefits.

What is Opium?

Opium is derived from the seed capsules of the opium poppy plant. It was first hand harvested by splitting the pod of the plant so the milky latex would seep out and dry. This dried liquid is then used as a base to make a variety of drugs and this was quite prevalent in the 1800s when it was used as a pain killer. The latex of opium contains around 12% morphine, codeine and other alkaloids.

The ancient societies of Greece and Egypt used opium as a sedative, pain reliever, anesthesia, and also recreationally. Opium became a highly sort after commodity that was traded in the 6th-7th Century BC by Arabs along the silk road, a network of trade routes connecting Europe, Asia, India, and China.

In the 1600s, tobacco smoking in China became popular and so too, did smoking opium which started a huge addiction for many throughout the country, causing a ban on the use and sale of it in the 16th Century. Despite the ban, opium and its uses still flourished.

Throughout the Western world, opium was used medicinally as a pain reliever and a cure for those afflicted by mental illness. Opium as a prescription began around the 1600s in the United States and it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that it was recognized as an addictive drug, despite its’ known recreational uses in the 14th Century.

The Opium War

By the 1700s, the British East India Company began trading with China for tea, porcelain, and silk in return for British silver. This trade wasn’t extremely profitable so with their connections with opium growers in India, they began smuggling opium into China which was sold for silver, and that silver was then used to pay for the tea.

The addiction to opium in China grew rapidly and had detrimental side effects on the country’s economy and social structure. The Chinese government intended to put an end to this trade that was affecting their country by destroying and confiscating over 1,000 tons of opium being held in Canton by British merchants. This forceful action by the Chinese government was the onset of a series of events that would lead to the Opium War of 1839 and the subsequent second war in 1856.

China’s reputation as the largest economy in the 1820s was reduced by half by the end of the two wars, with the first war leading to the British having access to five major trading ports and control over Hong Kong. The second Opium war saw Britain and France join forces to legalise the trade of Opium.

Growth and consumption of opium were banned in China in the early 1900s which led to its decline in trade in less than 20 years. The use of opium spread through the United States during the gold rush of the mid-1800s when the Chinese worked to seek money. Smoking dens of the drug heightened fears of encouraging prostitution and the increase in crimes, this in turn issued a discriminatory ban on Chinese immigrants from 1882-1892.

Early trade conventions of the 1900s led to the complete ban on opium and China’s defeat of Japan in WWII was the beginning of the People’s Republic of China and the total eradication of opium in 1949.

Opium is still used today in the medical world in the form of morphine or codeine, both derived from opiates, yet used in a heavily regulated manner in the medical world. Heroin was developed in the 1870s as a milder alternative to morphine to relieve pain and it was also used as a cough suppressant. The use of heroin grew into addiction among many in the United States.

How did we end up here?
From poppy seeds to opium poppy plants, to war to heroin……

Believe it or not, I was inspired to create a recipe after this research using poppy seeds as a paste filling for a wonderful traditional Jewish pastry known as Hamantaschen.