What Makes Popcorn Pop

The popping sound, the delicious buttery aroma, what else can I be talking about! It's obviously popcorn. Movies and popcorn have become synonymous now! Not only does this delicious snack have a great taste, but it requires only a couple of minutes to make it. And then, you can also add your favorite flavor to it. Seeing the popcorn pop is a common sight, isn't it? However, do you know what makes popcorn pop? What exactly is this grain made of, that it pops? Continue reading to know the science behind it!

Popcorn has a long history. Well, the first time sweet corns and popcorn were eaten, five thousand years ago! And it is not just a tale, it has been proved by researchers and archaeologists. The corn pollen, which is different from popcorn, has a longer history i.e., of eight thousand years. Popcorn, the one which is said to have popped first, is said to be found in the Bat caves of Central Mexico. After that it became global through India. It was so popular that the Aztec Indians had a popcorn dance in their ceremonies! Many other stories of this tasty snack are also quite famous. One of the most famous of them is about the Great Depression that had hit America. Popcorn was one of the snacks that the people could easily afford during Great Depression, as it cost only 5 - 10 cents, which was a lot cheaper than most of the food items of that time. This not only provided people with food, but also created a number of employment opportunities for them, which was like a boon for the struggling farmers as most of the businesses had failed during the Great Depression. This was a bit about the history of popcorn.

Why Does Popcorn Pop?

There are so many tales around popcorn that it is impossible not to tell about them! How does popcorn pop? Well, according to the Native Indians, a spirit lived inside the kernel of popcorn and when popcorn would be heated, the spirit would get angry and burst out of its 'home' into the air, in the form of angry puff i.e. steam! Of course that is just a tale. No doubt the scientific reason behind the popping of popcorn lies in the kernel only, but the only difference is that there is no angry spirit! Well, kernel is a single whole grain of a cereal and also the inner edible part of the grain. So what happens is the kernel of popcorn contains a bit of water, a drop of water actually, stored inside the soft starch circle. Around the soft starch, there is an outer surface of kernel, which is quite hard. When we heat up the grains, the kernel gets heated up and as a result the water begins to expand and at around 212 degrees, the water turns into steam, which creates pressure on the starch and makes the hull break and enlarge the starch, which makes it pop. The weird shape that the popcorn takes is due to the spilling out of the starch.

It is because of the moisture trapped inside the kernel that the popcorn pops. So, if you want to know how you can make popcorn pop faster, you will have to select relatively, newly packed popcorn. If the packet of popcorn is quite old, it will have less moisture content, which means it won't swell and burst as the grains that contain high amount of moisture.

If you want to pop the old popcorn grains better, just cover the kernels with water for a few minutes, and then drain and pop. It will not let the moisture in the hull, but it will produce more steam.