Astonishing Popcorn Facts!
Posted on Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 12:21 pmThe American consumer eats over 16 billion quarts of popcorn. It is a whole grain snack that is good for you too! Every man, woman and child eat over 65 quarts of popcorn. With only 55 calories per cup, Popcorn is very low in calories. With 31 calories per cup if you air pop it.
Popcorn’s scientific name is Zea mays Everta. It’s a member of the grass family. There are 5 types of corn or maize. They are popcorn, flour, dent or field, flint and sweet. Only popcorn pops. Popcorn pops due to moisture in the kernals. The moisture level is 13-15 percent.
Popcorn comes in two different types. One type is Mushroom and the other is Snowflake. Most concession poppers use the Snowflake. The Snowflake pops out fluffier and looks better. Most candy makers use the Mushroom variety. This type holds the candy coating better. Popcorn comes in 700 varieties.
Kettle corn was first introduced in the early 1700’s. The Settlers would pop the popcorn in large cast iron kettles. They would use rendered lard and whatever sweetner they had on hand. Many times it was molasses, honey or sugar cane.
Kettle corn that you see being popped at county fairs and farmers market is one of the hottest ways around to make money using popcorn. It has a very low overhead and an extremely high profit margin. Sometimes you can recover your initial investment in a few shows.
Microwave popcorn was discovered in 1945 by Percy Spencer. Mr. Spencer discovered that popcorn would pop when energized by microwaves.This development led to the first microwaves.
Some of the oldest known popcorn was found in Bat cave in west New mexico in 1948. The ears of popcorn were as small as a penny to over 2 inches long.
Popcorn became very popular during the great depression in the 1890’s. Popcorn was sold in bags for 5 to 10 cents each. Some street vendors would push their gas and steam powered poppers around following the crowds selling popcorn. Very few peole could afford this luxury. People would start their own popcorn business to help their families during the lean years.
Popcorn sales dropped off when the T.V. became popular in the 1950’s. Movie theater attendance dropped off too. The consupmtion of popcorn dropped too when the public started making popcorn at home. Home poppers were introduced in 1925.
January 19 is National Popcorn Day! April 7th is Caramel Popcorn Day! October is National Popcorn Popping Month!
Native Americans would pop their popcorn right on the cob. They would insert a spear through the cob and roast it over an open fire. The kernals would pop and stick right on the cob.
The English colonists were the first to eat popcorn as a breakfast cereal. They ate it with milk and sugar. Popcorn was brought to the first Thanksgiving day feast as a gift from the chief’s brother.
Popcorn is low in calories along with apples,pears, cheese, nuts and plain yougurt. It is listed as a sugar free snack by the American Dental Association.
The American Diabetes Association uses popcorn as a bread exchange for weight control. Popcorn aids in digestion and provides the necessary roughage and fiber. This helps the overall health of the body. It is listed third on the 11 things that don’t cause cancer. One cup of popcorn provides the 1.3 grams of dietary fiber needed.
Popcorn kernals will start popping at the temperature of 347 degrees. Poporn can pop as high as 3 feet. The unpopped kernals are called “spinsters” or “old maids”.Good popcorn should produce less than 2 percent of “old maids”.
Popcorn contains more protein, iron and phosphorus than potato chips, an ice crean cone, pretzels or soda crackers.
Popcorn is enjoyed in many different flavors in different parts of the world. Sweet popcorn is loved by Germany,Luxemburg, Switzerland and Belgium. The rest of Europe prefers salty popcorn. Americans enjoy it with salt and butter and a host of sweet coatings. The japanese eat their popcorn with seaweed or shrimp flavorings. The rest of Europe prefers salty popcorn.
