Ooh Hamantaschen!

Last week was Purim. There were plenty of misloach manot exchanged. Eagerly peeked at the various little hampers. Not interested in the rest of the candy and alcohol. But I wanted the hamantaschen. Those, along with the chocolates have been kept in the fridge.

However, the parentals saved me a few pieces of hamantaschen. Wheeeee. Got back to town and gobbled them up. Not all at once lah. There were the usual ones with filled chocolate, dried apricot and fruit jams. What excited me this year- were the hamantaschen with poppy seed filling, OMG. Hurhurhur. Nope, there's no way you'll get a kick out of it or have a false positive in blood or urine tests.

Poppy seeds aren't that illegal in Singapore. Of course a baking business can't simply import poppy seeds at will. Samples need to be cleared with Central Narcotics Bureau. They're looking at morphine content and such before deciding if a batch of poppy seeds is permitted for import. Many poppy seeds sold at supermarkets overseas aren't that sort anymore. Cultivars have been encouraged to produce poppy seeds suitable for consumption without the narcotic effects.

Less exciting to bake with poppy seeds now huh? I really don't suggest you randomly cart bottles of poppy seeds from overseas back home or sell them or even pass them to friends. In case you forget, there's a whole lot of responsibility to bear for a one seemingly innocent choice to get a bottle for personal use. You won't know if the procured batch will bust prohibited levels of opiates. Remember, our enforcement agencies have no sense of humor.