Today is National Popcorn Day!

This innovation that is indigenous North America has come a long way in its 5,000 year history.

Did you know?...

• Popcorn is the only type of corn that will pop.
• Popcorn has been consumed for thousands of years.
• Native American tribes flavored popcorn and even made soups and beer with popcorn.
• Some Native American tribes believed that spirits lived inside kernels of popcorn.
•  The first commercial popcorn popper was engineered in 1885.
• A single kernel of popcorn can reach up to 347 degrees Fahrenheit before it pops.
• Americans eat enough popcorn each year to fill the Empire State Building 18 times. That's 17 billion quarts of popcorn!
• Popcorn needs to contain about 13-14% moisture to pop. 
• Unpopped corn kernels are called "old maids."
• Popcorn comes in two different types: Snowflake and Mushroom
• In 1945 Perry Spencer (credited for engineering the first microwave) was working on an active radar set and noticed that his chocolate bar in his pocket had melted from the microwaves. His first experiment to cook using microwaves was popcorn!
• A kernel reaches approx. 135psi (pounds per square inch) of pressure at the time it pops.

The Science of Popcorn!

A kernel of popcorn, or zea mays everta is full of SCIENCE! The hull, or hard exterior shell of a kernel contains a soft, starchy endosperm and water.  A single kernel of popcorn is made up of 13-15 percent water. As the kernel heats up the water inside turns to steam which exerts lots of pressure onto the hull (the outer covering of the seed). The hull is impermeable because its cellulose molecules are arranged in a highly ordered pattern.  As the pressure inside the hull builds up the starch molecules begin to unwind. Once the kernel pops the drop in pressure and release of steam cause the starch and proteins in the endosperm to expand. Air from the outside of the kernel allows it to cool and 'viola' you have a delicious, fluffy treat!