Pop Carn
| Popcorn | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Unpopped corn | |
 |
|
| Popped corn | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Zea |
| Species: | Z. mays |
| Subspecies: | Z. m. everta |
| Trinomial name | |
| Zea mays everta |
|
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 1,598 kJ (382 kcal) |
|
78 g
|
|
| Dietary fiber | 15 g |
|
4 g
|
|
|
12 g
|
|
| Vitamins | |
| Thiamine (B1) |
(17%)
0.2 mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) |
(25%)
0.3 mg |
| Minerals | |
| Iron |
(21%)
2.7 mg |
|
One cup is 8 grams.
|
|
|
|
| Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
|
Popcorn is a variety of corn kernel, which forcefully expands and puffs up when heated.
A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the seed's hard, starchy endosperm with 14-20% moisture, which turns to steam as the kernel is heated. The pressure continues building until it exceeds the hull's ability to contain it. The kernel ruptures and forcefully expands, allowing the contents to expand, cool, and finally set in a popcorn puff 20 to 50 times the size of the original kernel.
Some strains of corn (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.
Corn was first domesticated 9,000 years ago in what is now Mexico. Archaeologists have discovered that people have known about popcorn for thousands of years. In Mexico, for example, remnants of popcorn have been found that date to around 3600 BC.
Popping of the kernels was achieved by hand on the stovetop through the 19th century. 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. Popcorn is an ingredient in Cracker Jack, and in the early years of the product, it was popped by hand.
Popcorn's accessibility increased rapidly in the 1890s with Charles Cretors' invention of the popcorn maker. Cretors, a Chicago candy store owner, 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.
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, including the Redenbacher family, namesake of the famous popcorn brand. During World War II, sugar rations diminished candy production, and Americans compensated by eating three times as much popcorn as they had before. 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. Dickson installed popcorn machines in the lobbies of his theaters. The venture was a financial success, and the trend soon spread.
...
Wikipedia