I bought 2 cups of Whole Blue Dutch poppyseeds about 6 months ago, hoping to bake Markus Farbinger's Poppyseed Torte, an espresso-flavored, poppyseed and meringue-filled Viennese torte.
I didn't get around to baking the torte, but am thinking about doing so today.
I just realized that poppyseeds are supposed to be refrigerated; but, I've held them at room temperature. The bags have never been opened, however.
Question: Are my poppyseeds still "good"? Is there some way to test them before using them? It's a rather involved process to make this torte and I don't want to spend 4+ hours making it if my poppyseeds have lost their mojo.
Only one way to find out.
Shove a teaspoon of seeds into your mouth and chew on them awhile. If you can't discern rancidity, they're ok. Wait for any after-tastes before starting the torte. (and brush teeth before smiling :)
Mini
but make sure you don't have a drug test at work tomorrow -- yup, poppy seeds trigger positive opium responses for a couple days afterwards.
It wasn't smoking opium, I ate a Viennese torte that had 2 cups of poppy seeds! :D
The old-fashioned way!
Thanks, Mini.
I am still using juniper berries bought in Germany in 1991 for my venison roasts. Haven't died yet ;)
Your poppy seeds are probably fine unless you see mold.