Happy FFF! Yesterday was National Popcorn day. Don’t you love the smell of fresh popped corn? I especially hate when one of my coworkers makes some when I’m hungry. I think popcorn scent can make anyone go from full to hungry. My mom has to be the ultimate popcorn eater…having a bowl almost every day! Here some history on the healthy snack…

Popcorn is more that 6,000 years old! It’s believed by researchers to be the oldest of the five sweet corns; Indian corn, pod corn, popcorn (yes, popcorn is it’s own type of corn!), sweet corn and field corn. Popcorn was originally grown in Mexico but spread globally even before first European explorers arrived on North America’s shores.

Popcorn ears over 5,600 years old was found in the Bat Cave in New Mexico in 1948. The size of these ears of popcorn ranged from 1/2 inch to 2 inches long and are the oldest ears of popcorn known. Popcorn was popped by throwing it on sizzling hot stones tended over a raging campfire. The game was to catch the popcorn and the reward was snacking on it.

Grains of popcorn over 1,000 years old were also discovered in Peru. Preservation methods of the Peruvian Indians were so advanced that the popcorn still popped from those ears when they found it. Christopher Columbus, in 1492, observed West Indian natives wearing popcorn corsages as well as using popped corn to decorate ceremonial headdresses. Columbus noted in his memoirs that Indians sold popcorn to his sailors.

Ancient poppers made of soapstone, pottery and metal have been found in Indian excavation sites. Most of these have tripod legs and are large clay containers with lids to be set directly in the fire. They were used with and without oil. Some Indian tribes discovered the delicacy of popping oiled popcorn while it was still on the cob. Somehow the corn stayed attached to the cob and it was eaten in the same manner as corn on the cob. This is the ancestor of buttered popcorn.

Popcorn was spreading through almost all tribes of North and South America by the time the Pilgrims arrived. The Indians brought popcorn to many of the meetings with colonists as a goodwill gesture. The colonists loved popcorn so much they served it with sugar and cream for breakfast.

Popcorn carts were seen on every street always following the crowds after their invention in 1885. These were steam and gas poppers easily pushed through parks, fairs, carnivals, conventions and expositions. Home versions of popcorn poppers were invented in 1925 and quickly snapped up by those able to afford them.

Popcorn eating thrived through the Great Depression. It was one of the few luxuries families could afford. Then, sugar was rationed and sent overseas to soldiers during World War II so candy was scarce. Because of this, the American consumer ate three times more popcorn than usually consumed.

As television came into existence and going to movie theaters slowed down, so did popcorn snacking. It took a few years for people to get into the popcorn habit in front of the small screen. Today, microwave popcorn is responsible for $250 billion yearly sales by itself.

Why does Popcorn Pop?

There are three main elements of popcorn that have to come together to produce popcorn kernels that are good for popping.

• percentage of water content
• hard, undamaged, water impermeable shell
• starchy center

When the kernels are heated up, the water inside begins to steam. This creates a simple little pressure cooker. The starch inside the kernel then turns into a kind of gel-like substance as a result of this. Eventually, the pressure of the steam gets so great that the hard shell bursts. When this happens, the steam rapidly expands, which results in the gel expanding out and hardening into airy foam.

What do you like to put on your popcorn?