Information About Popcorn

Popcorn is a popular snack in front of the television and at the movies

Popcorn is a popular snack food, usually served hot in a bowl with butter and salt, and commonly eaten in front of the television or at the movie theater. The food consists of partially dried kernels of corn that have been heated so that the filling pops through the hard hull. Popcorn can be popped in bulk with industrial machines or at home in the microwave or on the stove.

Background

Corn is a foodstuff native to the Americas, and it was here that Spanish explorers first saw corn being popped. The Aztecs used it as decoration in traditional ceremonies and the Peruvian Indians ate it as a sweet. In the United States, the popularity of popcorn surged during the Great Depression, when street vendors sold it at 5 or 10 cents per bag. It was a sweet and affordable snack.

Composition

Kernels of corn before being stored and dried

Popcorn is a grain and consists of a germ or basic seed, starch and a hull, or outer shell. A small amount of water is surrounded by the soft starch inside the firm hull, and the pressure of the water against the starch when it is heated causes the kernel to pop. Corn kernels are stored to lower their moisture content before they are sold or popped so that enough pressure will build up inside the corn kernel later on.

Varieties

Vendors at fairgrounds and carnivals sell a variety of popcorn flavors, mainly created with sugar, such as caramel corn and kettle corn. In the U.S. popcorn is usually topped with butter and salt, but in some parts of Asia popcorn may be flavored with spices or nutritional yeast. Microwave popcorn has become a household staple--some of the most well-known brands are Orville Redenbacher, Pop Secret and Act II. Many of the popcorn brands also offer low calorie or zero trans-fat popcorn products to make at home.

Nutrition

Salt, oil and butter are some of the most common popcorn toppings.

The nutritional value of popcorn is hotly contested issue. Supporters of popcorn as a healthy snack point out that it is a whole grain and contains fiber, complex carbohydrates and no artificial additives. Detractors point to the amount of oil, butter and salt that popcorn is served with, both in the movie theater and from a microwave package at home. A study conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 2009 pointed to the large serving sizes and use of coconut oil at movie theaters as reasons for the high calorie and saturated fat amounts.

Uses Beyond Food

Popcorn is also used in crafts for children, such as making necklaces with string or sculptures with glue. Households in North America and the Balkan Peninsula thread strands of popcorn to hang on Christmas trees. Popcorn was the inspiration for the development of biodegradable packing popcorn, after the original became too attractive to pests during shipping.

References

• Popcorn: History of Popcorn
• Center for Science in the Public Interest: Two Thumbs Down for Movie Theater Popcorn
• AllBusiness: An American original: the popularity of microwave popcorn just keeps growing
• Martha Stewart: Popcorn Christmas Decorations
• Thrifty Fun: Saving Money on Shipping and Packing Material

Resources

• Wyandot Popcorn Museum