What Makes Popcorn Pop?
Only one type of corn—popcorn—has that distinctive ability to pop, and the popping occurs when the kernel is heated to a temperature of nearly 350 degrees. The high temperature affects the starch and moisture inside the kernel, increasing the internal pressure until the hull of the kernel bursts open and voila! Popcorn! Just in time for National Popcorn Day on Jan. 19, we’ve collected some of the corniest facts about popcorn! Pop yourself a bag and celebrate!
Popcorn facts
2: the number of popcorn shapes, known as mushroom and snowflake 3: The height (in feet) a popcorn kernel can pop into the air 30: the number of calories per cup of air-popped popcorn 35: the number of calories per cup of oil-popped popcorn 352,028,160: the minimum number of popped kernels needed to make a trail of popcorn from New York City to Los Angeles. 995,774,706: the number of pounds of un-popped popcorn sold in 2012. 6,510: The weight (in pounds) of the world’s largest popcorn ball. According to Guinness World Records 2015, 8-foot ball was created in 2013 at the Indiana State Fair with the help of Pop Weaver, Snax in Pax and Indiana’s Family of Farmers
Popcorn Timeline:
1519 – Explorer Hernán Cortés is introduced to popcorn while exploring Mexico. 1893 - At the World’s Columbian Exposition, Charles Cretors introduces the world’s first mobile popcorn machine. 1914 - The American Pop Corn Company, maker of Jolly Time popcorn, is founded. 1930s – Depression-era families turn to popcorn as a budget-friendly treat. 1944 – Orville Redenbacher begins growing popcorn. 1945 – Percy Spencer and the Raytheon Manufacturing Company file a patent for the microwave cooking process. 1945 – Movie theater consumptions accounts for more than half of all popcorn eaten in the United States. 1959 – Frederick C. Mennen begins marketing Jiffy Pop in a convenient aluminum foil stove-top cooking pan. 1978 – The hot-air popcorn popper is invented and allows consumers to prepare low-calorie, low-fat popcorn at home. 1983 – Microwave popcorn bags become widely available and produce $53 million in retail sales. 2003 – Jolly Time produces its 1 billionth bag of microwave popcorn. 2014 – Americans annually consume 16 billion quarts of popcorn.
