raccolta dei semi di papavero / poppy seed harvest

harvest time

Besides garlic, in the last few days I have harvested poppy seed pods (capsules). To harvest the seeds, I turn each capsule upside down into a tall container and shake it so the seeds come out of the pores (which you can see beneath the stigma disk). I keep the empty seed pods in the vase for a while: they are decorative.

poppy seeds and capsule

The description becomes a bit more clear if you look at the photo above, which I published last year. I let one of the capsules fall on a napkin and got the trail of seeds to photograph.

I recently used the last seeds of last year's harvest to make these scones, so I am ready to use this year's harvest. I really love poppies: I watch them bloom then wilt and then dry. There is beauty in every stage of their life.

The photos above are my contribution to edition #45 of Black and White Wednesday - A Culinary Photography Event created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook and hosted this week by Claire of Chez Cayenne.

The top photo was shot in monochrome, while the bottom one was shot in color and then converted to black and white.

This post contains the gallery of images submitted to the event.

On this page, you can find out who is hosting the current and future editions of the event.

Comments

[Alicia (foodycat)]

Your photography is so beautiful!

[A Canadian Foodie]

I didn't know you could harvest enough poppy seeds in this manner until I discovered SUCH A BEAUTIFUL POPPY and went back to harvest seeds for replanting. That pod must have had 2 tablepoons of seed in it! Is there a particular variety of poppy to plant that provides the tastiest seeds?
:)
V

[Elizabeth]

What beautiful photos of poppy pods and seeds! Is the flavour of seeds from poppies from your garden more intense than store-bought poppyseeds?

[Paz]

Very cool about your poppy seeds. The pods look beautiful I never realized that they looked like that.

[Simona Carini]

Thank you for your kind words, Alicia :)

Hi Valerie. I confess I don't know the name of the variety I have. I bought a couple of seedlings 3 years ago at the farmers' market and forgot to ask. Some are deep red and some purple. I get enough seeds to decorate challah. I just love the colorful flowers.

Hi Elizabeth. That's an interesting question: I must admit that I have not make a comparison. Probably not: I suspect I could take better care of the plants to get better seeds. But for the use I make of poppy seeds, mostly to decorate challah, they are good enough. And there is the satisfaction of having harvested them.

Ciao Paz. They are pretty and that's why I keep them in a vase after I empty the seeds. They remain nice and crisp for months.

[Lori Lynn]

This is so interesting Simona. And the photo is fabulous. We've got loads of poppies in the neighborhood here, but I never recognized the pods. Cool. Will keep an eye out.
LL

[Simona Carini]

Thanks, Lori Lynn. I am not an expert on poppies. I only know that the California poppies belong to a different genus from the ones I have in the garden. But even within the Papaver genus there are a lot of species and that's where my knowledge becomes insufficient. I just love the big, colorful flowers and also to see them grow from seeds. The seeds are an added bonus.

[Katie]

Never even stopped to think about where poppy seeds come from, and that you could harvest them yourself... so cool! Can't wait to try next year.

[Simona Carini]

Katie, the first year I planted poppies, I didn't harvest the seed either. Then it dawned on my that I should find out whether I could do that and that's when I realized that it was possible and easy.