Buttered popcorn, United States

Corn -- the workhorse of the industrial world -- is best when its sweet variety is fried up with lashings of butter till it bursts and then snarfed in greasy fistfuls while watching “Commando” late at night.

Mouth-Watering Facts About . . .

Popcorn

Americans eat around 17 billion quarts of popcorn every year. This amount would fill the Empire State Building 18 times.
Nebraska produces an estimated 250 million pounds of popcorn per year—more than any other state. This is equivalent to a quarter of all the popcorn the United States produces every year.
Popcorn is the official snack of Illinois. Since 1958, there has been an annual “Popcorn Day.”
Both the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association say that popcorn can be exchanged for bread for people on weight control diets.
Unpopped popcorn should not be stored in the refrigerator. The refrigerator will dry out the moisture in the kernels. Without the moisture, popcorn will not pop. The ideal place to store popcorn is in a cool, dry cupboard.
Popcorn kernels can pop up to 3 feet in the air.
Popcorn has more protein than any other cereal grain. It also has more iron than eggs or roast beef. It has more fiber than pretzels or potato chips.
The world’s largest popcorn ball was 12 feet in diameter and weighed 5,000 pounds. It required 2,000 pounds of corn, 40,000 pounds of sugar, 280 gallons of corn syrup, and 400 gallons of water.
Two tablespoons of unpopped kernels produce a quart of popcorn for about 25 cents.
There are about 1,600 popcorn kernels in 1 cup.
Popped popcorn comes in two shapes: “snowflake” or “mushroom.” Because “snowflake” shaped popcorn is bigger, movie theaters typically sell that shape.
Orville Redenbacher is the #1 best-selling popcorn in the world. Its inventor, Orville, began to grow popping corn in 1919, when he was just 12 years old.
By volume, popcorn is America’s favorite snack food.
In ancient times, people would make popcorn by heating sand in a fire and then stirring kernels of popcorn in the hot sand.
When explorer Felix de Azara visited Paraguay in the 18th century, he noted that the people would place kernels on a tassel and then when it was boiled in fat or oil, the grains would burst. Women would adorn their hair at night with the popcorn.
Approximately 70% of popcorn sold in America is eaten in the home. The other 30% is eaten in theaters, stadiums, school, etc.
Unpopped popcorn makes up about 90% of sales for home consumption.
Autumn is the peak time for popcorn consumption, followed by the winter months. Popcorn sales taper off during the spring and summer.
Americans eat more popcorn than any other country. Most of the popcorn eaten around the world is grown in the United States.
Unpopped popcorn kernels are called “spinsters” or “old maids.” Quality popcorn should produce 98% popped kernels with under 2% being spinsters.
While it is a popular story, there is no evidence that Native Americans brought the Pilgrims popcorn at the Thanksgiving dinner. While Native Americans in South America, Central America, and the southwestern region of the U.S ate popcorn, there is no evidence that Native Americans in Massachusetts or Virginia did.
There are six major maize types: pod corn, sweet corn, flour corn, dent corn, flint corn, and popcorn. Popcorn kernels come in three shapes: rice, pearl, and South American. Most commercial popcorn is the pearl type. The major trait shared by all types of popcorn kernels is their ability to explode and create a flake when kernels are exposed to heat.
Contrary to popular belief, popcorn is not the only corn able to pop. Many flint and dent corns also pop, but their flakes are smaller. Additionally, some varieties of rice, milo, millet, and sorghum also pop. Some varieties of quinoa, a sacred Incan food, also pops like popcorn, as does amaranth.
A kernel of popcorn contains just a small amount of water. When these kernels are heated, the water turns to steam and the kernels “pop.” Popcorn is different than many other grains because its shell is not water permeable, making it possible for pressure to build up until the kernel finally explodes.
An American electronics expert, Perry Spencer, invented microwave popcorn. When he paused in front of a power tube called a magnetron in 1945, he felt a “weird” feeling and noticed that the tube had melted a chocolate candy bar he had in his pocket. He decided to see if it would pop popcorn, which it did.

Milan Tomic

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