What’s with all the POPPY -?

My big culinary surprise in Israel: poppy seeds are everywhere, disguised, in baked goods.

Now, I like poppy seeds plenty, in their place.

I like them generously sprinkled on bagels, pletzel and challahs. I will even tolerate them in mango dressing and lemon cake.

But I do not eat poppy-seed hamentaschen, and it is a very bad surprise indeed to bite into what you think is some sort of chocolate dessert bar, only to realize that the “chocolate” is poppy. Or, the next night, into a piece of “banana cake,” only to realize that the speckles are not banana, but poppy.

I think my issue is with dry, salty poppy seeds as a condiment (yum) vs wet, mushy poppy seeds as the main event (yuck!).

Why are they so wildly popular over there, anyway???

You will notice I refrained from – in the jolly Purim spirit – calling them “poppy”-lar?  ;-)

Comments

  1. PragmaticianFebruary 27, 2013 at 2:20 AM

    I like them, I ate different types of poppy filled hamataschen and truly you could've fooled me that is was chocolate (and I bet less calories).

    I thin I read somewhere that poppy seed has an element of painkiller in it, so good for thoise purim headaches as well :)

    ReplyDelete

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