gerbot.blogg.se

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.

Special varieties are grown to improve popping yield. As the foam rapidly cools, the starch and protein polymers set into the familiar crispy puff. 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 proteins of the endosperm into airy foam. The steam pressure increases until the breaking point of the hull is reached a pressure of approximately 135 psi (930 kPa) and a temperature of 356 ☏ (180 ☌). Under these conditions, the starch inside the kernel gelatinizes and softens. Īs the oil and water in the kernel are heated, they turn into steam. 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. Įach kernel of popcorn contains moisture and oil. The Popcorn Institute (a trade association of popcorn processors) promoted popcorn consumption at home, bringing it back to previous levels. The rise of television in the 1940s brought lower popcorn consumption as theater attendance fell. The venture was a success, and popcorn soon spread. Ray Aden, Dickinson purchased popcorn farms and was able to keep ticket prices down. Popcorn was more profitable than theater tickets, and at the suggestion of his production consultant, R. installed popcorn machines in the lobbies of his Dickinson theaters. Their minds eventually changed, however, and in 1938 a Midwestern theater owner named Glen W.

The snack was popular at theaters, much to the initial displeasure of many of the theater owners, who thought it distracted from the films. During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production, and Americans compensated by eating three times as much popcorn as they had before. Thus, while other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for many struggling farmers, including the Redenbacher family, namesake of the famous popcorn brand. During the Great Depression, popcorn was fairly inexpensive at 5–10 cents a bag and became popular.