Poppy seed bagels are a popular breakfast food made from a heavy bread dough and coated with tiny black poppy seeds for a nutty flavor. Poppy seeds come from the opium poppy plant and are harvested when the seed pods are dry. Bagels are traditionally Jewish but can be found in many countries, with different styles and seasonings. Chefs add poppy seeds before baking to ensure they stick to the crust. Poppy seeds are safe to eat but can cause false-positive drug test results if consumed in excess.
A poppy seed bagel is a bread-like baked item that has a poppy seed coating on the surface. Shaped like a large donut, the bagel itself is made from a fairly heavy and thick bread dough. Usually, the outer crust is sprinkled liberally with poppy seeds. The seeds look like tiny black granules and give the bagel a unique nutty flavor.
Collected primarily from a plant known as the opium poppy, poppy seeds are very small oilseeds often used in cooking and baking. Opium poppies, also known by their more formal name, papaver somniferum, are flowering plants that have long stems and vibrant petals that bloom in different colors. The petals are attached to a prominent bud, or seed pod, which contains a myriad of tiny black seeds. Once the petals drop and the pod becomes dry and brittle, poppy growers consider the seeds ripe and ready for harvest.
Bagels, which are thick, chewy donut-shaped buns, are popular baked goods traditionally served for breakfast but are often eaten for other meals as well. Also known by its Yiddish name, beugal, bagels are considered to be of Jewish origin but can be found in various forms in many different countries. For example, in the United States, New York-style bagels, with soft chewy crusts and medium dense, are very popular. In Canada, however, Montreal-style bagels, which are smaller and sweeter with a crispier crust, are more common. Regardless of the bagel style, many bakers add seasonings, such as seeds, salt, or other spices, to give the bagel more flavor.
Poppy seeds are one of the most popular toppings for bagels. To make a poppy seed bagel properly, chefs must add the seeds before baking. For bagels that are boiled before baking, as is true of the New York style, bakers dip them in seeds after boiling but before placing them in the oven. If the bagels are not boiled in advance, the chefs sprinkle the kernels liberally on top immediately before baking. This way, a poppy seed bagel emerges from the oven with the tasty black balls baked on the crust so they’re less likely to fall over.
Once baked, a poppy seed bagel has a mild, nutty flavor. Many people find that the unique taste of a poppy seed bagel pairs well with cream cheese and smoked salmon cream. Others prefer the sweeter taste of honey or jam to complement the flavor. In some cases, poppy seeds are mixed with other seasonings, such as salt, garlic or sesame seeds.
Some people are concerned about the use of poppy seeds in cooking due to the relationship to the drug opium, a derivative of the poppy plant. Opium, however, comes from immature seeds harvested from green seed pods, as opposed to those used in cooking, which are only taken once the pod has dried and the seeds have fully ripened. As a caveat, however, there is some evidence that poppy seeds, especially when consumed in excess, can cause a false-positive reading on some types of drug screening tests. People who are concerned about it should therefore give up on indulging in poppy seed bagels or at least limit their intake to just one.
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