Poppy milk (''aguonų pienas'') is a traditional

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n drink or soup, one of the 12-dish Christmas Eve supper

Kūčios Kūčios () or Kūtės (Samogitian Dialect) is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Lithuania, held on December 24. The meal is a family occasion which includes many traditions of both pagan and Christian origin. Some traditions are no longer w ...

. Usually it is eaten together with ''

kūčiukai ''Kūčiukai'' (''šližikai'', ''prėskutė'') also called Christmas cakes - is a traditional Lithuanian dish served on Kūčios, the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Lithuania. They are small, slightly sweet pastries made from leavened doug ...

'', another traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve dish. It is also an ingredient in

kutya Kutia or kutya is a ceremonial grain dish with sweet gravy traditionally served by Eastern Orthodox Christians and Byzantine Catholic Christians predominantly in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia during the Christmas - Feast of Jordan holiday season ...

, a meal served during a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve feast. This drink is considered a dessert.

Preparation

To make poppy milk, one or two glasses of

poppy seed Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum''). The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harvested from dried seed pods by various civilizations for thousands of years. It is still widely used in many countries, ...

s are needed. The poppy seeds are soaked in some hot water for a day or so, changing the water over time, until the seeds become soft. Then the poppy seeds are crushed in a food processor (or traditionally with a pestle in a mortar), until a white liquid comes out. Some cold water is added (preferably water that has been boiled, and cooled), and the poppy seeds are strained and crushed once more. This process is repeated several times in order to get a good poppy milk concentrate. Then, the poppy milk concentrate is diluted with some cold boiled water (the quantity of the water used, is a matter of taste, and certain family preferences, but the flavor of the poppy seeds should be pronounced). Finally, some sugar or honey is added to sweeten the poppy seed milk.

Additional usage

Although traditionally served during the Christmas holiday, in modern times poppy milk has additional uses. It has been suggested as a sleep aid. There is limited information on poppy milk's effects, but studies on poppy seeds have shown promise. Poppy milk has also been used as a

milk substitute A milk substitute is any substance that resembles milk and can be used in the same ways as milk. Such substances may be variously known as non-dairy beverage, nut milk, grain milk, legume milk, mock milk and alternative milk. For adults, milk ...

. Using poppy seed milk as a milk substitute is not a new application, but it is not frequently included in studies of milk alternatives.

References

Lithuanian cuisine Lithuanian drinks Lithuanian traditions Poppy seeds Christmas food {{Lithuania-stub