In hindsight, my first attempt at poppy seed beigli was a little sad. Not really knowing what I was doing, I used a tinned poppy seed filling which, as June gently scolded, was spread too thin. (Actually, I think the word she used was “stingy”, but in the nicest possible way).
Yesterday, determined to try again, I dug out my beautiful new spice grinder, bought from Herbie’s Spices with my birthday money, and proceeded to grind the poppy seeds required to make the filling from scratch. I followed the recipe I’d posted earlier, but doubled the amount of filling (I’d hate to be thought of as stingy!). Poor June – I rang her frantically at 8.15am to ask her what consistency my filling needed to be and she explained that it had to cook until it was “crumbly”. If you do make this recipe, be aware that you need to watch the filling while it’s on the stove to ensure it doesn’t burn and stick – it’s a very thick paste before you even start.
The other difference was the addition of some homemade apricot jam, which lifted the sweetness a notch and made the rolls just that little bit richer.
I’m pretty happy with these now – as were all the friends whom I delivered rolls to yesterday afternoon!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Grinding your own poppy seeds to make the filling is up there with making your own butter…. a very Laura Ingalls activity.
… or sewing your own superhero capes.. :)
Gee, C….what’s lower than stingy? Coz that’s what I’ll be if I ever make this. Our poppy seeds come in tiny bird food packages. A friend gave me some poppy seed which she got from Melbourne, equivalent to 4 bird packs. My head aches to think how much more I have to get.
Your beigli looks soooooo GOOD!
Teep, I wonder if I could send you some poppy seeds?
Celia
Where do you purchase your poppy seeds. I read that most poppy seeds in the stores are already old and rancid, and that they should be ordered and purchased fresh .. but where?
Not sure where you’re based, Linda, but you can usually buy them at nut wholesalers or produce markets. I’m based in Australia, and the last batch I had I ordered from Santos Trading – http://www.santostrading.com.au/. If you keep them in the fridge or freezer when you get them, they should keep for ages.
Cheers, Celia
Thank you Celia for the info. I live outside San Francisco. I’ll have to ask around.
Linda,
Believe it or not, you can get poppy seeds at Amazon.com! I just got a 64oz box of 8 – 8oz packs. They look great and I will be using them tomorrow for some beigli. I ordered them very fresh from Bende.com before, but the Amazon price can’t be beat.