Poppyseed Milk

Poppyseed milk is a Lithuanian Christmas Drink. It is much like almond milk in texture and theory. It is my favorite Lithuanian recipe.

1 cup Poppy seeds

Honey

1-2 quarts Water

We start by scorching the poppy seeds. Scorching makes the seeds soften and swell so the milky insides can come out. I put the poppy seeds in my mini crock pot and cover them with water and let them sit in the hot crock pot overnight. If you would rather have poppyseed milk today, you can boil them for about 10 minutes.

Drain the poppy seeds through a tight wire strainer or kitchen hosiery. Pour the poppy seeds into a food processor and grind out their milky insides. The poppy seeds will become lighter in color and more paste like in texture.

You may skip this next part, but it makes a slight difference in taste. Most recipes for poppyseed milk say you must use water that has been boiled and cooled. My culinary resources say this decreases the oxygen content in the water. So, if you want to be all traditional and have the slightly better tasting version, boil and cool your 1-2 quarts of water.

Put your processed poppy seed paste in a kitchen hosiery lined sieve which has been placed securely over your pitcher. Pour the 1-2 quarts of water through the poppy mixture. The milky white insides will pass through into the pitcher while the black hulls will be left. Carefully lift the kitchen hose off the strainer and squeeze it to get the remaining milk out.

Add honey to sweeten it to your liking. You may use sugar, but I severely discourage it. The honey is an integral part of the awesome flavor.

Pictures to come!