Popcorn Experiment Preheating Results

Popcorn preheating produces a mixed bag of results.

Popcorn experiments are commonly found in classrooms and laboratories alike because they allow people an easy introduction into the scientific method. Rumors of improved cooking methods sometimes have a kernel of truth, while some are simply full of hot air.

Battling the Bullets

Popcorn experiments have been undertaken by groups from households to professional labs, and there are a number of criteria that are considered important. From the inexact "taste" measurements to the more precise ones such as final volume, none is more important than bullet weight. This basically refers to the weighed amount of kernels that never pop during the cooking process. The big battle for better corn usually starts by trying to lower the number of bullets.

Preheating Rationale

There is a perfectly understandable rationale behind thinking that preheating the kernels would result in more popped corn. Warm foods tend to cook faster than cold or frozen ones, and it seems sensible to expect similar results when preheating popcorn kernels before popping them. However, the popping mechanism is different from conventional cooking, so tests are important to get to the truth.

Biting the Bullets

Multiple trials confirm that preheating is unnecessary to improve the quality of your popcorn experience. Preheating kernels has no effect on the number that pop, nor does it impact the flavor of the corn. The only significant way to get more corn to pop is to cook it longer, which is to the detriment of the flavor.

References

• Applying DOE to Microwave Popcorn

Resources

• EXPERIMENTS WITH POPCORN