Name: Syrup of Poppies
Ingredients: 3.5 pounds dried white poppy heads; 6 pounds double-refined sugar; 8 gallons water

Syrup of Poppies

This recipe contains poppy heads, which may have narcotic properties. Use caution and consult a healthcare professional before use.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription

From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients

Syrup of Poppies

Ingredients

3.5 pounds dried white poppy heads
6 pounds double-refined sugar
8 gallons water

Directions

Slice and bruise the dried poppy heads.
Boil the poppy heads in 8 gallons of water until reduced to 3 gallons, then press out the liquid.
Boil the liquid until it reduces to about 4 pints, then strain it through a sieve and a thin woolen cloth.
Let it sit for 12 hours to allow the grounds to settle.
Pour off the clear liquid and boil it down to 3 pints.
Dissolve the sugar in the reduced liquid to create the syrup.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.