Unique Popcorn Facts!

America consumes more than 16 billion quarts of popcorn. This well liked treat is whole grain and good for you too!This equals out to over 65 quarts for every man, woman and child. Popcorn is very low in calories. It has 55 calories per cup. Air popped has 31 calories per cup.

Zea Mays Everta is popcorn's scientific name. Popcorn is a member of the grass family. It is a type of maize or corn. There are 5 types of corn. They are Flour, Dent or Field, Flint, Sweet and popcorn. The moisture in the kernals makes it pop. That level of moisture is between 13 to 15 percent.

Popcorn comes in two different types. One type is Mushroom and the other is Snowflake. Most concession poppers use the Snowflake. The Snowflake pops out fluffier and looks better. Most candy makers use the Mushroom variety. This type holds the candy coating better. Popcorn comes in 700 varieties.

Kettle corn was first intoduced to the settlers in the early 1700's. They would pop it in large cast iron kettles. The settleres used lard and any sweetners they had on hand. Mostly they used molasses, sugar cane or honey.

The kettle corn that you see popped at fairs and farmers markets is one of the hottest ways to make money with popcorn. It has a very high profit margin and a very low overhead. You can usually recoup your initial investment in a few shows.

Mr. Perry Spencer discovered microwave popcorn in 1945. He discovered that when popcorn was placed near a microwave it would pop. This led the way to the development of the microwave oven.

The oldest known popcorn was discovered in the Bat cave of west cental New Mexico from 1948 to 1950. The ears of popcorn ranged from smaller than a penny to almost 2 inches long.

Popcorn became very popular from the 1890s to the great depression. Popcorn sold at 5-10 cents a bag. The street vendors would follow the crowds around pushing their steam and gas powered popcorn poppers for people to enjoy popcorn. This was one of the few luxuries people could afford. Many started their own thriving popcorn businesses to help make money for their families during the lean years.

Popcorn sales started dropping off in the early 1950's when the television became popular. Attendance at movie theaters dropped off too. Popcorn consumption did too when the public started making popcorn at home. The first home poppers were introduced in 1925.

January 19 is National Popcorn Day! April 7th is Caramel Popcorn Day! October is National Popcorn Popping Month!

Native Americans learned to pop their popcorn on the cob. They would skewer a stick through the cob and hold it over an open flame causing the popcorn to pop right on the cob.

The English colonists were the first to eat popcorn as a breakfast cereal. They ate it with milk and sugar. Popcorn was brought to the first Thanksgiving day feast as a gift from the chief's brother.

The American Dental Association lists popcorn as a sugar free snack. Popcorn is low in calories along with pears, apples, cheese, nuts and plain yougurt.

Popcorn is used as a bread exchange for weight control by the American Diabetes Association. Popcorn helps contribute to the overall health of the body by aiding digestion and providing necessary roughage or fiber. Popcorn is third on the lists of the 11 things that don't cause cancer. One cup of popcorn provides 1.3 grams of dietary fiber.

Popcorn can pop as high as 3 feet. Popcorn kernals will start popping at the temperature of 347 degrees. The unpopped kernals are called "old maids" or "spinsters". Good popcorn should produce less than 2 percent of "old maids".

Popcorn contains more protein, iron and phosphorus than potato chips, an ice crean cone, pretzels or soda crackers.

Popcorn comes in many different flavors in different parts of the world. Germany,Luxemburg, Switzerland and Belgium love sweet popcorn. The rest of Europe prefers salty popcorn. Americans love it with salt and butter and a host of sweet coatings. The japanese eat their popcorn with seaweed or shrimp flavorings.