View source for Popcorn

{{Short description|Type of corn kernel which expands and puffs upon heating}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-move}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Subspeciesbox
| image             = Popcorn - Studio - 2011.jpg
| image_caption     = Unpopped corn
| image2            = Popcorn up close salted and air popped.jpg
| image2_caption    = Popped corn
| genus             = Zea (plant)
| species           = mays
| subspecies        = everta
}}

'''Popcorn''' (also called '''popped corn''', '''popcorns''', or '''pop-corn''') is a variety of [[Maize|corn]] [[seed|kernel]] which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the [[snack]] food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of popcorn dating back thousands of years in the Americas.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Matsuoka |first1=Yoshihiro |last2=Vigouroux |first2=Yves |last3=Goodman |first3=Major M. |last4=Sanchez G. |first4=Jesus |last5=Buckler |first5=Edward |last6=Doebley |first6=John |date=2002-04-30 |title=A single domestication for maize shown by multilocus microsatellite genotyping |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=99 |issue=9 |pages=6080–6084 |doi=10.1073/pnas.052125199 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=122905 |pmid=11983901|bibcode=2002PNAS...99.6080M }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Citation |last=Gish Hill |first=Christina |title=Indigenous Foodways among Native Americans |date=2024-10-23 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Food Studies |url=https://oxfordre.com/foodstudies/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780197762530.001.0001/acrefore-9780197762530-e-47 |access-date=2025-05-17 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780197762530.013.47 |isbn=978-0-19-776253-0}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Grobman |first1=Alexander |last2=Bonavia |first2=Duccio |last3=Dillehay |first3=Tom D. |last4=Piperno |first4=Dolores R. |last5=Iriarte |first5=José |last6=Holst |first6=Irene |date=2012-01-31 |title=Preceramic maize from Paredones and Huaca Prieta, Peru |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=109 |issue=5 |pages=1755–1759 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1120270109 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3277113 |pmid=22307642|bibcode=2012PNAS..109.1755G }}</ref>It is commonly eaten salted, buttered, sweetened, or with artificial flavorings.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Smith |first1=C. Wayne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDJ3NjHh8H8C&pg=PA3 |title=Corn: Origin, History, Technology, and Production |last2=Betrán |first2=Javier |last3=Runge |first3=Edward C. A. |date=2004-03-08 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-471-41184-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rafferty |first=Sean |date=2024-07-04 |title=How popcorn was discovered nearly 7,000 years ago |url=https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/how-popcorn-was-discovered-nearly-7000-years-ago |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Live Science |language=en}}</ref> 

A popcorn kernel's strong [[Hull (botany)|hull]] contains the seed's hard, starchy shell [[endosperm]] with 14–20% moisture, which turns to steam as the kernel is heated. Pressure from the steam continues to build until the hull ruptures, allowing the kernel to forcefully expand, to 20 to 50 times its original size, and then cool.<ref name="ref5">{{cite web |title=How Popcorn Pops
|website=Thoughtco.com |author=Michelle Higgins |date=5 May 2017 |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/how-does-popcorn-pop-607429}}</ref>

Some [[strain (biology)|strains]] of corn ([[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomized]] as ''Zea mays'') are cultivated specifically as popping corns. The ''Zea mays'' variety ''everta'', a special kind of [[flint corn]], is the most common of these. Popcorn is one of six major types of corn, which includes [[dent corn]], [[flint corn]], [[pod corn]], [[flour corn]], and [[sweet corn]].<ref>Linda Campbell Franklin, "Corn", in Andrew F. Smith (ed.), ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013 (pp. 551–558), p. 553.</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Gish Hill |first=Christina |title=Indigenous Foodways among Native Americans |date=2024-10-23 |encyclopedia=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Food Studies |url=https://oxfordre.com/foodstudies/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780197762530.001.0001/acrefore-9780197762530-e-47 |access-date=2025-05-17 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780197762530.013.47 |isbn=978-0-19-776253-0}}</ref>

{{toclimit|3}}

== History ==
{{globalise|date=March 2023}}
[[Corn]] was domesticated about 9,000  years ago, in what is now the [[Balsas River]] Valley of Central [[Mexico]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ranere |first=Anthony J. |last2=Piperno |first2=Dolores R. |last3=Holst |first3=Irene |last4=Dickau |first4=Ruth |last5=Iriarte |first5=José |date=2009-03-31 |title=The cultural and chronological context of early Holocene maize and squash domestication in the Central Balsas River Valley, Mexico |url=https://pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0812590106 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=106 |issue=13 |pages=5014–5018 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0812590106 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=2664064 |pmid=19307573}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kennett |first1=Douglas J. |last2=Prufer |first2=Keith M. |last3=Culleton |first3=Brendan J. |last4=George |first4=Richard J. |last5=Robinson |first5=Mark |last6=Trask |first6=Willa R. |last7=Buckley |first7=Gina M. |last8=Moes |first8=Emily |last9=Kate |first9=Emily J. |last10=Harper |first10=Thomas K. |last11=O’Donnell |first11=Lexi |last12=Ray |first12=Erin E. |last13=Hill |first13=Ethan C. |last14=Alsgaard |first14=Asia |last15=Merriman |first15=Christopher |date=2020-06-03 |title=Early isotopic evidence for maize as a staple grain in the Americas |journal=Science Advances |volume=6 |issue=23 |pages=eaba3245 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aba3245 |pmc=7269666 |pmid=32537504}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/selection/corn/ |title=The Evolution of Corn |publisher=University of Utah Health Sciences  |access-date=2 January 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Histories of Maize in Mesoamerica {{!}} Multidisciplinary Approaches {{!}} Joh |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315427294/histories-maize-mesoamerica-robert-tykot-john-staller-bruce-benz |journal=Taylor & Francis |date=2016 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9781315427294 |isbn=978-1-315-42728-7 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240731065030/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315427294/histories-maize-mesoamerica-robert-tykot-john-staller-bruce-benz |archive-date=2024-07-31 |editor-last1=Staller |editor-last2=Tykot |editor-last3=Benz |editor-first1=John |editor-first2=Robert |editor-first3=Bruce }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Matsuoka |first1=Yoshihiro |last2=Vigouroux |first2=Yves |last3=Goodman |first3=Major M. |last4=Sanchez G. |first4=Jesus |last5=Buckler |first5=Edward |last6=Doebley |first6=John |date=2002-04-30 |title=A single domestication for maize shown by multilocus microsatellite genotyping |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=99 |issue=9 |pages=6080–6084 |doi=10.1073/pnas.052125199 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=122905 |pmid=11983901|bibcode=2002PNAS...99.6080M }}</ref> Archaeologists discovered that people have known about popcorn for millennia. Fossil evidence from [[Peru]] suggests that corn was present there as early as 4,700 [[Common Era|BCE]], and popped there over 1,000 years ago.<ref name="usda">{{cite web |title=Early History · Popcorn: Ingrained in America's Agricultural History · |url=https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/popcorn/early-history#:~:text=The%20oldest%20ears%20of%20popcorn,are%20about%205%2C600%20years%20old. |website=www.nal.usda.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture  |access-date=January 16, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title= Ancient Popcorn Unearthed in Peru |first= Joseph |last= Stromberg |work= [[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/ancient-popcorn-unearthed-in-peru-81304339/ |access-date= 2021-01-01}}</ref><ref name="GrobmanBonavia2012">{{cite journal|last1=Grobman|first1=A.|last2=Bonavia|first2=D.|last3=Dillehay|first3=T.D.|last4=Piperno|first4=D.R.|last5=Iriarte|first5=J.|last6=Holst|first6=I.|title=Preceramic maize from Paredones and Huaca Prieta, Peru|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=109|issue=5|year=2012|pages=1755–1759|issn=0027-8424|doi=10.1073/pnas.1120270109|pmid=22307642|pmc=3277113|bibcode=2012PNAS..109.1755G|doi-access=free}}</ref> Between 2007 and 2011, evidence as early as 4,700 BCE for popping corn were discovered as macrofossil cobs at the Paredones and [[Huaca Prieta]] archaeological sites on the northern coast of Peru.<ref name="Gwr/1stPop">{{cite web |title=Earliest popcorn |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/630494-earliest-popcorn |website=Guinness World Records |publisher=Guinness World Records Limited |access-date=9 October 2024 |quote=The first evidence of popcorn has been radiocarbon-dated dates to as old as 6,700 years (c. 4700 BCE), based on macrofossil cobs unearthed between 2007 and 2011 at the Paredones and Huaca Prieta archaeological sites on the northern coast of Peru.}}</ref> Corn cultivation was present in [[Amazon basin|Amazon Basin]]  farming practices as evidenced by cultivation of corn in the Amazon basin 6,000 years ago <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lombardo |first1=Umberto |last2=Hilbert |first2=Lautaro |last3=Bentley |first3=McKenzie |last4=Bronk Ramsey |first4=Christopher |last5=Dudgeon |first5=Kate |last6=Gaitan-Roca |first6=Albert |last7=Iriarte |first7=José |last8=Mejía Ramón |first8=Andrés G. |last9=Quezada |first9=Sergio |last10=Raczka |first10=Marco |last11=Watling |first11=Jennifer G. |last12=Neves |first12=Eduardo |last13=Mayle |first13=Francis |date=March 2025 |title=Maize monoculture supported pre-Columbian urbanism in southwestern Amazonia |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08473-y |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=639 |issue=8053 |pages=119–123 |doi=10.1038/s41586-024-08473-y |pmid=39880950 |bibcode=2025Natur.639..119L |issn=1476-4687}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lombardo |first1=Umberto |last2=Iriarte |first2=José |last3=Hilbert |first3=Lautaro |last4=Ruiz-Pérez |first4=Javier |last5=Capriles |first5=José M. |last6=Veit |first6=Heinz |date=May 2020 |title=Early Holocene crop cultivation and landscape modification in Amazonia |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=581 |issue=7807 |pages=190–193 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2162-7 |pmid=32404996 |pmc=7250647 |bibcode=2020Natur.581..190L |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

In 1948 and 1950, evidence as early as 3600 BCE for popping corn as ears of popcorn were discovered by Harvard anthropology graduate student Herbert W. Dick<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dick |first1=Herbert W. |title=Bat Cave |date=1961 |publisher=[[School of American Research]] |isbn=978-0-8263-0287-8 |language=en}}</ref> and Harvard botany graduate student Claude Earle Smith, Junior (1922–1987),<ref name="si/CES">{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=C. Earle Smith Jr. papers |url=https://www.si.edu/object/archives/sova-naa-2006-24 |website=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |access-date=9 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="thecrimson/Corn">{{cite news |title=Scientists Find 4000-Year-Old Corn |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1949/4/11/scientists-find-4000-year-old-corn-pgraduate-students/ |access-date=9 October 2024 |work=www.thecrimson.com {{!}} The [[Harvard Crimson]] |date=1949-04-11}}</ref> in a complex of rock shelters, dubbed the "Bat Cave", in [[Catron County, New Mexico|Catron County]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dick |first1=Herbert W. |title=The Archaeology of Bat Cave, Catron County, New Mexico |date=1957 |publisher=Harvard University |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vnjInQEACAAJ |language=en}}</ref> west-central New Mexico, and attributed to the [[Ancestral Puebloan]] peoples, who maintained trade networks with peoples in tropical Mexico.<ref name="usda" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Copies of Herbert W. Dick photographs of excavations at Bat Cave {{!}} Collection: NAA.PhotoLot.R86-67 |url=https://sova.si.edu/record/naa.photolot.r86-67 |website=sova.si.edu |access-date=9 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Erin |title=Friends celebrate completion of professor Dick's project |url=https://www.chieftain.com/story/news/2000/02/07/friends-celebrate-completion-professor-dick/8997308007/ |access-date=9 October 2024 |work=Pueblo Chieftain}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Archaeological Evidence |journal=Maize: Origin, Domestication, and Its Role in the Development of Culture |date=2013 |pages=118–220 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/maize/archaeological-evidence/A4191869D9DF2FEC198DE792100A2D4F |access-date=9 October 2024 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/CBO9781139149433.005 |isbn=978-1-139-14943-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History of Popcorn |url=https://www.popcorn.org/All-About-Popcorn/History-of-Popcorn |website=www.popcorn.org |access-date=9 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Popcorn |url=https://kingkorn.net/pages/the-history-of-popcorn |website=KingKorn Gourmet Popcorn |access-date=9 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="votSW/catron">{{cite web |last1=Hammons |first1=Suzanne |title=Shootouts, Cattle Drives and Model T's: a History of the Villages of Catron County |url=https://voiceofthesouthwest.org/shootouts-cattle-drives-and-model-ts-a-history-of-the-villages-of-catron-county/ |website=Voice of the Southwest |access-date=9 October 2024 |date=28 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Warner |first1=Nancy |title=Kettle Corn & Popcorn from the Bat Cave |url=https://nancy-warner.com/2012/02/23/kettle-corn-popcorn-from-the-bat-cave/ |website=Nancy Warner |access-date=9 October 2024 |language=en |date=23 February 2012}}</ref>

Through the 19th century, popping of the kernels was achieved by hand, on stove tops over flame. Kernels were sold on the [[East Coast of the United States]] under names such as ''Pearls'' or ''Nonpareil''. The term ''popped corn'' first appeared in [[John Russell Bartlett]]'s 1848 ''Dictionary of Americanisms''.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=History of Popcorn {{!}} The History Kitchen |url=https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/popcorn-history/|website=Pbs.org/food|access-date=21 January 2016|language=en-US|date=29 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Dictionary of Americanisms, by John Russell Bartlett (1848)|url=http://www.merrycoz.org/voices/bartlett/Amer.xhtml|website=Merrycoz.org|access-date=21 January 2016}}</ref> Popcorn is an ingredient in [[Cracker Jack]] and, in the early years of the product, it was popped by hand.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Improved no2 Wagon.jpg|thumb|upright|An early popcorn machine in a street cart, invented in the 1880s by Charles Cretors in Chicago.|left]]

Popcorn's accessibility increased rapidly in the 1890s with [[Cretors|Charles Cretors]]' invention of the popcorn maker. Cretors, a Chicago candy store owner, had created a number of steam-powered machines for roasting nuts and applied the technology to the corn kernels.

By the turn of the century, Cretors had created and deployed street carts equipped with steam-powered popcorn makers.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=A History of Popcorn – Hungry History|url=http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/a-history-of-popcorn|website=History.com|access-date=21 January 2016}}</ref>[[File:Rogačevo na 17 maj 2013g (206).JPG|thumb|Specimen of ''Zea mays everta'']]During the [[Great Depression]], popcorn was fairly inexpensive at 5–10 cents a bag and became popular. Thus, while other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for many struggling farmers and entrepreneurs, including the Redenbacher family, namesake of the [[Orville Redenbacher's]] popcorn brand. During [[World War II]], sugar [[Rationing#United States|rations]] diminished [[candy]] production, and Americans compensated by eating three times as much popcorn as they had before.<ref name="popcorn.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.popcorn.org/EncyclopediaPopcornica/WelcometoPopcornica/HistoryofPopcorn/tabid/106/Default.aspx|title=Encyclopedia Popcornica: Recent Popcorn History|website=Popcorn.org|access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref> The snack was popular at theaters, much to the initial displeasure of many of the theater owners, who thought it distracted from the films. Their minds eventually changed, however, and in 1938 a Midwestern theater owner named Glen W. Dickinson Sr. installed popcorn machines in the lobbies of his Dickinson theaters. Popcorn was more profitable than theater tickets, and at the suggestion of his production consultant, R. Ray Aden, Dickinson purchased popcorn farms and was able to keep ticket prices down. The venture was a success, and popcorn soon spread.<ref name=":1" /> The rise of television in the 1940s brought lower popcorn consumption as theater attendance fell. The Popcorn Institute (a trade association of popcorn processors) promoted popcorn consumption at home, bringing it back to previous levels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Popcorn Explosion · Popcorn: Ingrained in America's Agricultural History  |url=https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/popcorn/popcorn-explosion |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=www.nal.usda.gov}}</ref>

[[File:Popcorn grown in garden.jpg|thumb|An ear of popcorn grown in an [[Oklahoma]] organic garden]] In 1970, [[Orville Redenbacher]]'s namesake brand of popcorn was launched. In 1981, [[General Mills]] received the first patent for a [[microwave popcorn|microwave oven popcorn]] bag; popcorn consumption saw an increase.<ref name=":0" />

At least six localities (all in the [[Midwestern United States]]) claim to be the "Popcorn Capital of the World;": [[Ridgway, Illinois]]; [[Valparaiso, Indiana]]; [[Van Buren, Indiana]]; [[Schaller, Iowa]]; [[Marion, Ohio]];  and [[North Loup, Nebraska]].  According to the [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]], specific corn for popcorn is grown mostly in [[Nebraska]] and [[Indiana]], and increasingly in [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite report |url=http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/Popc//1980s/1982/Popc-01-15-1982.pdf |title=1981 Popcorn Acreage and Production Up Sharply |publisher=[[US Department of Agriculture]] |date=15 January 1982 |access-date=16 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116084040/http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/nass/Popc//1980s/1982/Popc-01-15-1982.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1685|title=ESMIS – View Document Info|first=John|last=Fereira|website=Usda.mannlib.cornell.edu|access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref> As the result of an [[elementary school]] project, popcorn became the official state snack food of [[Illinois]].<ref>{{cite press release|author=Office of the Governor: Rod R. Blagojevich&nbsp;– Governor|title=Governor Signs Official Snack Bill: School Project Becomes Law|date=4 August 2003|publisher=Illinois Government News Network|url=http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=3&RecNum=2214|access-date=25 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090309/http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=3&RecNum=2214|archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref>

== Popping mechanism ==
Each kernel of popcorn contains moisture and oil. Unlike most other grains, the outer hull of the popcorn kernel is strong and impervious to moisture, and the starch inside consists almost entirely of a hard type.<ref name="Lusas_388">Lusas & Rooney, p. 388.</ref>

[[File:Slowmotion popcorn.gif|thumb|upright=1.35|The sequence of a kernel popping]]
As the oil and water in the kernel are heated, they turn into steam. Under these conditions, the starch inside the kernel [[starch gelatinization|gelatinizes]] and softens. The steam pressure increases until the breaking point of the hull is reached; a pressure of approximately {{convert|135|psi|abbr=on|order=flip}}<ref name="ref5" /><ref name="Lusas_388" /> and a temperature of {{convert|356|F|abbr=on|order=flip}}. The hull ruptures, causing a sudden drop in pressure inside the kernel and a corresponding rapid expansion of the steam, which expands the starch and [[protein]]s of the endosperm into airy [[foam]]. As the foam rapidly cools, the starch and protein [[polymer]]s set into the familiar crispy puff.<ref name="Lusas_388" />

Special varieties are grown to improve popping yield. Though the kernels of some other types will pop, the cultivated strain for popcorn is ''Zea mays everta,'' which is a variety of [[flint corn]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=O’Connell |first1=Libby |title=The American Plate: A Culinary History in 100 Bites |date=2014 |publisher=Sourcebooks, Inc. |isbn=978-1-4926-0303-0 |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tETQBAAAQBAJ&pg=RA6-PA96 |access-date=30 May 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

== Cooking methods ==
[[File:Popcornmaker.jpg|thumb|right|upright|An in-home hot-air popcorn maker]]
[[File:Popcorn maker.jpg|thumb|right|A commercial pop corn making machine]]
<!-- [[File:J84878 Taiyuan 20140717-175938.61 popper.jpg|thumb|Popcorn street vendor, Dōng Gǎng Lù road, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China (东岗路, 太原, 山西, 中国). The popping kettle is visible in black at the center of the picture.]]-->

Popcorn can be cooked with butter or oil. Although small quantities can be popped in a stove-top [[kettle]] or pot in a home kitchen, commercial sale employs specially designed popcorn machines, which were invented in [[Chicago, Illinois]], by Charles Cretors in 1885. Cretors introduced his invention at the [[World's Columbian Exposition|Columbian Exposition]] in 1893. At that fair, F. W. Rueckheim introduced a [[molasses]]-flavored "Candied Popcorn", the first [[caramel corn]]; his brother, Louis Ruekheim, slightly altered the recipe and introduced it as [[Cracker Jack]] in 1896.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crackerjack.com/history.php |title=Brief History |publisher=[[Frito-Lay]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110204162425/http://www.crackerjack.com/history.php |archive-date=4 February 2011}}</ref>
[[File:PopcornGettingCookedInA Pan.jpg|thumb|Popcorn being cooked in a pan]]
Cretors's invention was the first patented [[steam engine|steam-driven]] machine that popped corn in oil. Previously, vendors popped corn by holding a wire basket over an open flame. At best, the result was hot, dry, and unevenly cooked. Cretors's machine popped corn in a mixture of one-third [[clarified butter]], two-thirds [[lard]], and [[salt]]. This mixture can withstand the {{convert|450|F|C|order=flip}} temperature needed to pop corn and produces little smoke. A fire under a [[boiler]] created steam that drove a small engine to drive gears, shaft, and the agitator that stirred the corn, and also powered a small puppet, "The Toasty Roasty Man", an attention-getting amusement to attract business. A wire connected to the top of the cooking pan allowed the operator to disengage the drive mechanism, lift the cover, and dump popped corn into the storage bin beneath. Exhaust from the steam engine was piped to a pan below the corn storage bin and kept freshly popped corn warm. Excess steam was also used to operate a small, shrill whistle to attract attention.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wyandotpopcornmus.com/cretors_history.html |title=C. Cretors and Co. |publisher=Wyandot Popcorn Museum |access-date=21 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226173540/http://wyandotpopcornmus.com/cretors_history.html |archive-date=26 February 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A different method of popcorn-making involves the "[[popcorn hammer]]", a large [[cast-iron]] canister that is sealed with a heavy lid and slowly turned over a fire in [[rotisserie]] fashion.

=== Expansion and yield ===
Popping results are sensitive to the rate at which the kernels are heated. If heated too quickly, the steam in the outer layers of the kernel can reach high pressures and rupture the hull before the starch in the center of the kernel can fully gelatinize, leading to partially popped kernels with hard centers. Heating too slowly leads to entirely unpopped kernels: the tip of the kernel, where it attached to the cob, is not entirely moisture-proof, and when heated slowly, the steam can leak out of the tip fast enough to keep the pressure from rising sufficiently to break the hull and cause the pop.<ref name="Lusas_388_389">Lusas & Rooney, pp. 388–389.</ref>

Producers and sellers of popcorn consider two major factors in evaluating the quality of popcorn: what percentage of the kernels will pop, and how much each popped kernel expands. Expansion is an important factor to both the consumer and vendor. For the consumer, larger pieces of popcorn tend to be more tender and are associated with higher quality. For the grower, distributor and vendor, expansion is closely correlated with profit: vendors such as theaters buy popcorn by weight and sell it by volume. For these reasons, higher-expansion popcorn fetches a higher profit per unit weight.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Popcorn will pop when freshly harvested, but not well; its high moisture content leads to poor expansion and chewy pieces of popcorn. Kernels with a high moisture content are also susceptible to mold when stored. For these reasons, popcorn growers and distributors dry the kernels until they reach the moisture level at which they expand the most. This differs by variety and conditions, but is generally in the range of 14–15% moisture by weight. If the kernels are over-dried, the expansion rate will suffer and the percentage of kernels that pop will decline.  Old popcorn tends to dry out, lowering the yield.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

When the popcorn has finished popping, sometimes unpopped kernels remain. Known in the popcorn industry as "old maids",<ref name="OldMaids">{{cite web |url=https://www.popcorn.org/Recipes/Preparing-Perfect-Popcorn#:~:text=Saving%20%22Old%20Maids%22&text=David%20Woodside%2C%20author%20of%20What,has%20absorbed%20all%20the%20water. |title=Preparing Perfect Popcorn (Saving 'Old Maids') |website=popcorn.org |publisher=The Popcorn Board |access-date=6 August 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210806154225/https://www.popcorn.org/Recipes/Preparing-Perfect-Popcorn#:~:text=Saving%20%22Old%20Maids%22&text=David%20Woodside%2C%20author%20of%20What,has%20absorbed%20all%20the%20water. |archive-date=6 August 2021 }}</ref> these kernels fail to pop because they do not have enough moisture to create enough steam for an explosion. Re-hydrating prior to popping usually results in eliminating the unpopped kernels.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Popcorn varieties are broadly categorized by the shape of the kernels, the color of the kernels, or the shape of the popped corn. While the kernels may come in a variety of colors, the popped corn is always off-yellow or white as it is only the hull (or pericarp) that is colored. "Rice" type popcorn have a long kernel pointed at both ends; "pearl" type kernels are rounded at the top. Commercial popcorn production has moved mostly to pearl types.<ref name="Hallauer_213">Hallauer, p. 213.</ref> Historically, pearl popcorn were usually yellow and rice popcorn usually white. Today both shapes are available in both colors, as well as others including black, red, [[mauve]],  purple, and [[variegation|variegated]]. Mauve and purple popcorn usually have smaller and nutty kernels. Commercial production is dominated by white and yellow.<ref name="Hallauer_214">Hallauer, p. 214.</ref>

== Terminology ==
[[File:Mushroom and butterfly popcorn.jpg|thumb|right|"Mushroom"-shaped popcorn, left, is less fragile and less tender than "butterfly"-shaped, right.]]

In the popcorn industry, a popped kernel of corn is known as a "flake". Two shapes of flakes are commercially important. "Butterfly" (or "snowflake")<ref>Cobb, Vicki. ''Junk Food''. Minneapolis: Millbrook, 2006. 11. Print.</ref> flakes are irregular in shape and have a number of protruding "wings". "Mushroom" flakes are largely ball-shaped, with few wings. Butterfly flakes are regarded as having better [[mouthfeel]], with greater tenderness and less noticeable hulls. Mushroom flakes are less fragile than butterfly flakes and are therefore often used for packaged popcorn or [[confectionery]], such as [[caramel corn]].<ref name="Hallauer_214" /> The kernels from a single cob of popcorn may form both butterfly and mushroom flakes; hybrids that produce 100% butterfly flakes or 100% mushroom flakes exist, the latter developed only as recently as 1998.<ref name="Hallauer_214" />

== Consumption ==
[[File:Popcorn (pipoca).jpg|thumb|Popcorn grown in Mozambique and sold in the marketplace]]

Popcorn is a popular [[snack food]] at sporting events and in [[movie theater]]s, where it has been served since the 1930s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-do-we-eat-popcorn-at-the-movies-475063/ |title=Why Do We Eat Popcorn at the Movies?|newspaper=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=[[Smithsonian Mag]] |date=3 October 2013|last1=Magazine |first1=Smithsonian }}</ref> Cinemas have come under fire due to their high [[Markup (business)|markup]] on popcorn; Stuart Hanson, a film historian at De Montfort University in Leicester, once said, "One of the great jokes in the industry is that popcorn is second only to cocaine or heroin in terms of profit."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/19/why-a-trip-to-the-cinema-can-cost-up-to-100/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/19/why-a-trip-to-the-cinema-can-cost-up-to-100/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Why a trip to the cinema can cost up to £100|last=Dodds|first=Laurence|date=25 April 2016|work=The Telegraph|access-date=25 November 2018|language=en-GB}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Traditions differ as to whether popcorn is consumed as a hearty snack food with salt (predominating in the United States) or as a sweet snack food with caramelized sugar (predominating in Germany).{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

[[File:Cinema popcorn bucket.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|left|Movie theater popcorn in a bucket]]
Popcorn smell has an unusually attractive quality for human beings. This is largely because it contains high levels of the chemicals [[6-acetyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydropyridine]] and [[2-acetyl-1-pyrroline]], very powerful [[aroma compound]]s that are also used by food and other industries either to make products that smell like popcorn, bread, or other foods containing the compound in nature, or for other purposes.{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}
[[File:PopcornbagWbackground.jpg|thumb|alt=A bag of popcorn|A bag of popcorn.]]
Popcorn as a [[breakfast cereal]] was consumed by Americans in the 1800s and generally consisted of popcorn with milk and a sweetener.<ref>Smith, Andrew F. (1999).  [https://archive.org/details/poppedculturesoc00smit/page/57 <!-- quote=Breakfast cereal, breakfast. --> ''Popped Culture: The Social History of Popcorn in America'']. Univ of South Carolina Press. pp. 57–59. {{ISBN|1570033005}}</ref>
[[File:Gangnaengi (Korean popcorn).jpg|thumb|''Gangnaengi'', Korean popcorn]]
Popcorn balls (popped kernels stuck together with a sugary "glue") were hugely popular around the turn of the 20th century, but their popularity has since waned.  Popcorn balls are still served in some places as a traditional [[Halloween]] treat. <ref>Smith (1999), pp. 59-62.</ref>

[[Cracker Jack]] is a popular, commercially produced candy that consists of [[peanut]]s mixed in with [[caramel]]-covered popcorn.<ref>Smith (1999), pp. 87.</ref> [[Kettle corn]] is a variation of normal popcorn, cooked with white sugar and salt, traditionally in a large copper kettle.  Once reserved for specialty shops and county fairs, kettle corn has recently become popular, especially in the [[microwave oven|microwave]] popcorn market.  The [[popcorn maker]] is a relatively new [[home appliance]], and its popularity is increasing because it offers the opportunity to add flavors of the consumer's own choice and to choose healthy-eating popcorn styles.

Popped [[sorghum]] is popular as a snack in India. The popped sorghum is similar to popcorn, but the puffs are smaller. Recipes for popping sorghum by microwave, in a pot, etc., are readily available online.

=== Nutritional value ===
{{nutritional value
| name          = Popcorn, air-popped (unsalted)
| water = 4 g
| kJ            = 1598
| protein       = 12 g
| fat           = 4 g
| carbs         = 78 g
| fiber         = 15 g
| calcium_mg = 10
| magnesium_mg = 131
| phosphorus_mg = 300
| potassium_mg = 301
| sodium_mg = 4
| zinc_mg = 3.4
| selenium_ug = 10
| copper_mg = 0.4
| manganese_mg = 0.94
| iron_mg       = 2.7
| thiamin_mg    = 0.2
| riboflavin_mg = 0.3
| niacin_mg = 1.94
| vitB6_mg = 0.24
| pantothenic_mg = 0.42
| source_usda   = 1
| right         = 1
| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170246/nutrients Link to entry in USDA FoodData Central]
}}

Air-popped popcorn (no salt or other additives) is 4% water, 78% [[carbohydrate]]s (including 15% [[dietary fiber]]), 12% [[protein]], and 4% [[fat]] (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, popcorn provides 382 [[calorie]]s and is a rich source (20% or more of the [[Daily Value]], DV) of [[riboflavin]] (25% DV) and several [[dietary minerals]], particularly [[manganese]], [[phosphorus]], and [[zinc]] (36–45% DV). [[B vitamins]] and other minerals are in appreciable amounts (table).

===Saturated fat===
Movie theaters commonly use [[coconut oil]] to pop the corn, and then top it with [[butter]] or [[margarine]].<ref name=theater>{{Cite web |last=Mann |first=Denise |title=Worst and Best Movie Snacks: Popcorn, Candy, Soda, and More |url=https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/academy-award-winning-movie-snacks |access-date=2022-04-19 |website=WebMD |language=en}}</ref>  Movie theater popcorn contains large amounts of saturated fats and sodium due to its method of preparation.<ref name=theater/>

===Phytochemicals===
[[Sorghum]] grains can be popped to form popcorn. All sorghums contain [[phenolic acid]]s, and most contain [[flavonoid]]s.<ref name="JCS">{{cite journal | vauthors=Dykes L, Rooney LW | title=Sorghum and millet phenols and antioxidants | journal=[[List of Elsevier periodicals#J|Journal of Cereal Science]] | volume=44 | issue=3 | pages=236–251 | year=2006 | url=http://www.ask-force.org/web/Africa-Harvest-Sorghum-Lit-1/Dykes-Phenols-2006.pdf | doi = 10.1016/j.jcs.2006.06.007 |issn=0733-5210 }}</ref> Sorghum grains are one of the highest food sources of the flavonoid [[proanthocyanidin]].<ref name="pmid30614249">{{cite journal | vauthors=Luca SV, Macovei I, Bujor A, Trifan A | title=Bioactivity of dietary polyphenols: The role of metabolites | journal=[[Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition]] | volume=60 | issue=4 | pages=626–659 | year=2020 | doi = 10.1080/10408398.2018.1546669 | pmid=30614249| s2cid=58651581 }}</ref>

=== Health risks ===
Popcorn is included on the list of foods that the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] recommends not serving to children under four, because of the risk of [[choking]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2005/505_choking.html |title=Prevent Your Child From Choking |website=[[Food and Drug Administration]] |access-date=7 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525071531/https://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2005/505_choking.html |archive-date=25 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Microwaveable popcorn represents a special case, since it is designed to be cooked along with its various flavoring agents. One of these formerly common artificial-butter flavorants, [[diacetyl]], has been implicated in causing respiratory illnesses in microwave popcorn factory workers, also known as "[[popcorn lung]]". Major manufacturers in the United States have stopped using this chemical, including [[Orville Redenbacher's]], [[Act II (popcorn)|Act II]], [[Pop Secret]] and [[Jolly Time]].<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/06/AR2007050601089.html Geis, Sonya. "Flavoring Suspected in Illness: Calif. Considers Banning Chemical Used in Microwave Popcorn." ''The Washington Post'', 7 May 2007]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2007/09/06/Popcorn-brands-ban-diacytel|title=Popcorn brands ban diacytel|website=Foodnavigator-usa.com|date=5 September 2007 |access-date=4 August 2019}}</ref>

== Other uses ==
Popcorn, threaded onto a string, is used as a wall or [[Christmas tree#Decoration and ornaments|Christmas tree decoration]] in some parts of [[North America]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marthastewart.com/article/popcorn-christmas-decorations |title=Popcorn Christmas Decorations |publisher=Martha Stewart Living |date=December 2007 |access-date=18 December 2008 |archive-date=14 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214052033/http://www.marthastewart.com/article/popcorn-christmas-decorations |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wikihow.com/String-Popcorn-on-a-Christmas-Tree |title=How to String Popcorn on a Christmas Tree |website=Wikihow.com |access-date=18 December 2008}}</ref> as well as on the [[Balkan peninsula]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://letspopcorn.com/cp/default.aspx |title=Pop Corn: Let's Pop |website=Cornknowledge.net |access-date=18 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406152820/http://letspopcorn.com/cp/default.aspx |archive-date=6 April 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Some shipping companies have experimented with using popcorn as a [[biodegradation|biodegradable]] replacement for [[polystyrene#Forms produced|expanded polystyrene]] packing material. However, popcorn has numerous undesirable properties as a packing material, including attractiveness to [[pest (organism)|pests]], [[flammability]], and a higher cost and greater density than expanded polystyrene. A more processed form of expanded corn foam has been developed to overcome some of these limitations, forming [[foam peanuts#Starch-based|starch-based foam peanuts]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Real Popcorn as Packing Material |url=http://cool.conservation-us.org/byorg/abbey/an/an16/an16-2/an16-201.html|work=Abbey Newsletter |date=April 1992}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Food}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Butter salt]]
* [[Corn kernel]]
* [[List of dried foods]]
* [[List of maize dishes]]
* [[List of popcorn brands]]
* [[Popcorn maker]]
* [[Popcorn seasoning]]
* [[Puffed grain]]
* [[Wyandot Popcorn Museum]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Popcorn}}
* {{cite book |author=Hallauer, Arnel R. |title=Specialty Corns |year=2001 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-2377-5}}
* {{cite book |author1=Lusas, Edmund W. |author2=Rooney, Lloyd W. |title=Snack Foods Processing |year=2001 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-56676-932-7}}
* {{cite book |author=Smith, Andrew F. |title=Popped Culture: The Social History of Popcorn in America |year=1999 |publisher=University of South Carolina Press |isbn=978-1-57003-300-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/poppedculturesoc00smit }}

{{corn|state=collapsed}}
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[[Category:Popcorn| ]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Midwestern United States]]
[[Category:Maize products]]
[[Category:Crops originating from the Americas]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Dried foods]]
[[Category:Symbols of Illinois]]
[[Category:American snack foods]]