What is a Poppy Seed Bagel?

Poppy seeds hold a strange place in the bakery. Outside of a few classics—like lemon poppy seed muffins—these small black bits aren’t the most common addition to American recipes. This makes the poppy bagel all the more special.

What are poppy seeds?

Poppy seeds come from the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, which originates in Eurasia. These tiny dried blue- or black-colored seeds are widely used in Central European baking. There are hundreds of recipes for cakes, pastries, breads, and rolls baked according to German, Czech, Polish, Russian, Turkish, Yugoslav, and Jewish traditions all throughout the Old World. And it’s true that their earthy, subtle taste is something exotic. Immigrants from these parts of the world to the United States brought this addition with them and gave us the poppy-encrusted bagels, muffins, cakes, and even salad dressings that we love.

Makowiec, a traditional Polish poppy cake (aniagotuje.com)

Poppy-flavored bagels

What goes well with a poppy seed bagel? The sky's the limit! The crunch and earthiness of poppy seeds combine well with everything from plain cream cheese to a full-on breakfast sandwich replete with egg and bacon. It forms a hearty and delicious base for creation… However, there is one (only one!) situation in which you should skip this excellent choice of bagel. See below.

Will I fail a drug test? 

We knew you were wondering! It’s likely you’ve heard the rumor that consuming poppy seeds might give you a false positive for opioid use on a drug test. This myth is actually true—sorry! Studies have shown that eating as little as one poppy bagel can make you fail a urine drug test. This is because poppies contain the substance that heroin, morphine, and codeine are made from. Although the poppy seeds sold in the grocery store are treated to remove most of the morphine, there’s still an up to 48-hour window of time when it could show up in your system.