Annual and biennial poppies are used to cultivate from seed as they are not difficult to propagate, and can be put directly in the ground during winter.

[5] The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), for example, is a striking orange wildflower that grows in the Western and Northwestern United States.

In 2023, world production of poppy seeds was 10,578 tonnes, led by Turkey with 75% of the total, followed by Palestine and Serbia as other producers (table).

[8] In a 100 gram amount, poppy seeds provide 525 calories and are a rich source of thiamin, folate, and several essential minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc (table).

The ground filling is used in poppy seed rolls and some croissants and may be flavored with lemon or orange zest, rum and vanilla with raisins, heavy cream, cinnamon, and chopped blanched almonds or walnuts added.

The seeds of the Czech blue poppy (food safety cultivars Papaver somniferum) are widely consumed in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe.

The sugared, milled mature seeds are eaten with pasta, or they are boiled with milk and used as filling or topping on various kinds of sweet pastry.

Blue poppy seeds are widely used in Austrian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, German, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish and Ukrainian cuisines.

In Poland, Hungary, Lithuania and Eastern Slovakia, a traditional dessert is prepared for the Christmas Eve dinner from poppy seeds.

In Germany, Poland and countries belonging to the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, poppy seed pastries called Mohnkuchen are often eaten around Christmas time.

A recipe for Ukrainian poppyseed cake recommends preparing the seeds by immersing in boiling water, straining and soaking in milk overnight.

Commonly used in the preparation of korma, ground poppy seeds, along with coconut and other spices, are combined into a paste added during cooking.

Chadachadi is another dish from Bengali cuisine and includes long strips of vegetables, sometimes with the stalks of leafy greens added, all lightly seasoned with spices like mustard or poppy seeds and flavored with a phoron.

Another dish involves simply mixing uncooked ground poppy seeds (kancha posto) with mustard oil, chopped green chili peppers, fresh onions and rice.

Kacha posto bata (uncooked poppy seeds paste) with mustard oil is a very popular dish in West Bengal as well as Bangladesh.

[20] To minimize the problems caused by false positives, the USADA recommends that athletes refrain from eating foods containing poppy seeds several days prior to a competitive event.

[22][23] Despite its present use in Arab cuisine as a bread spice, poppy seeds are also banned in Saudi Arabia for drug control reasons.