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*The average American (every man, woman and child) consumes 54 quarts of popcorn annually which means that the U.S. eats about 17 million quarts of popcorn each and every year. Americans consume more popcorn than the citizens of any other country in the world.
*If you wanted to create a line of popped popcorn from LA to NY city, you’d need more than 352,028,160 pieces of popcorn.
* 70% of popcorn consumed in America is consumed at home.  The other 30% of popcorn is consumed outside the home at places like baseball games and movie theaters.

*Fall and winter are the seasons when the most popcorn is consumed. This timing coincides perfectly with the annual popcorn harvest in the Midwest. In fact, October is officially National Popcorn Poppin’ Month.

*Not surprisingly, the U.S. is the largest agricultural grower of popcorn in the world – mostly in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio. There are many midwest cities that claim to be the popcorn capital of the world.

*According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s largest popcorn ball was unveiled in September 2006 in Lake Forest, Illinois. It weighed a whopping 3,423 pounds and measured 8 feet in diameter. The total circumference of the popcorn ball was 24.5 feet. It took employees of a local popcorn tin company 2 days to make the giant-sized snack.

*Popcorn is one of the healthiest snacks you can eat with only 31 calories per air-popped cup or only 55 calories per oil-popped cup. It contains no sodium and is naturally sugar free and high in fiber.

*Popcorn is a member of the maize/corn family, but it is the only one of the 6 types that pops. This is because it has a thicker hull than other types of corn. This hull allows pressure to build inside the kernel enabling it to pop.

*Want to do a fun little experiment the next time you are popping corn? Leave the lid off then just stand back and watch because popcorn is said to be able to pop up to 3 feet up in the air.

So how exactly does a small hard kernel transform into a big, fluffy delicious snack?

Each kernel of popcorn contains a small drop of water stored inside a circle of soft starch which is surrounded by the kernel’s hard outer surface. Unlike most other types of grain, this hard outer surface is resistant to moisture. For the corn to be ‘popcorn’, it needs to contain at 13.5 to 14% moisture inside the hard outer surface.

As the kernel heats up, the water begins to expand turning it into superheated pressurized steam. The pressure builds against the hard hull until it gives way, causing the popcorn to explode. The hull rupture usually occurs at about 135 psi and a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius.

As it explodes, the soft starch inside the popcorn becomes inflated and bursts into an airy foam, turning the kernel inside out. As the foam cools, the starch and protein polymers set yielding the crispy popcorn puff that we all know and love.

Those unpopped kernels of corn that are left at the bottom of popcorn bowls are generally the result of either kernels that don’t have the proper moisture content or they have a cracked outer hull which means that the expanding steam can’t build enough pressure to cause the kernel to pop.

The next few weeks I’ll be exploring the wonderful world of popcorn.  Who doesn’t love a good bowl of these delicious, crunchy kernels?  But how did Popcorn come to be?  Who would of thought of heating the kernels up to make them pop?

The History of Popcorn

Popcorn has been grown and eaten as a snack in the United States for thousands of years.  It is believed that the popping of corn was first discovered by Native Americans who threw the corn into the fire causing it to pop. They also used popped corn to make garlands that the women wore during wedding ceremonies and other celebration dances. Likely the native Americans introduced popcorn to the American colonists who actually ground it up mixing it with milk for breakfast.

Popping corn became quite popular as a recreational activity by the 1840s. In the 1870s popcorn was commonly sold at carnivals and circuses as well as in grocery stores.

With the introduction of the movies or ‘talking pictures’, popcorn solidified its place in America’s movie theaters. Although theater owners initially refused to sell popcorn because it was too messy, many theater patrons brought the popcorn to the theater with them by purchasing it from street vendors on the way in. Of course, theater owners finally caught on and introduced the snack selling it at their own concession counters. This introduction of popcorn to movie theaters enabled the popcorn industry to keep growing even during the great depression of the 1930s. In addition, popcorn was a relatively affordable luxury even for struggling families as they could buy it for just 5 to 10 cents a bag.

Because of the sugar shortage during World War II, candy was not readily available as a snack item. Thanks to the lack of candy snacks, Americans turned to popcorn to fill their snack needs, eating 3 times as much popcorn as usual. World War II also induced a baking flour shortage which the popcorn industry capitalized on. Bread makers were forced to substitute 25% ground popcorn for their wheat flour.

After many years riding the popcorn popularity wave, the industry actually had a slump in the 1950s when TV was introduced. People stopped going to the theaters in lieu of staying home watching TV. The lack of theater goers created a huge drop in popcorn consumption. Up to that point, people didn’t really eat popcorn at home. However, Americans missed their popcorn so they started popping it at home and the introduction of the microwave made home popping even easier. So the love affair has continued ever since. These days, popcorn is one of America’s most popular and enduring snacks.

Check out our Popcorn Gifts and fall in love with popcorn all over again!