A minipost
Chatting with Sarah the topic of snack foods somehow came up. She mentioned problems getting all of the popcorn kernels to pop and sometimes there was burning. We wandered to something else, but afterwards it struck me that proper popcorn popping was something I know how to do. In fact a few scientific papers have been written and it's a good area for home experimentation. But first the recipe:
Our next door neighbor when I was in high school, had it down.
° 1/3 cup of fresh popcorn .. he'd keep it in a sealed glass jar.
° 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a 3 quart heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium high head. Add 3 or 4 kernels of popcorn and wait.
° When they pop add the rest of the popcorn and lift the pot away from the heat for about 30 seconds. Put on the cover and return to heat. If you can it's a good idea to leave the lid slightly ajar to release some of the steam (his lid had a vent) When the popping slows to once every second or two, dump the popped corn into a bowl and add salt and melted butter to taste.
I use an inexpensive light olive oil (not a rich or expensive one) and add a bit of salt when the popcorn goes into the oil. I prefer white popcorn, but your taste may vary. Jolly Time comes in thick plastic bags that are fairly air-tight. Upscale popcorns come in glass jars, but I'm cheap.
Popcorn is a special variety of corn. The kernel has a hard thin hull on the outside. Inside is the seed along with enough water and a starchy food to get it sprouting. The trick is to get the water inside to boil. The hull is strong enough that it takes quite a bit of pressure to get it to burst. As the starch heats it gelatinizes. The hull bursts at a weak spot and the gelatinous starch cools and solidifies as it expands outwards. The expansion is asymmetrical starting at the weak spot where the hull burst giving the mass a kick. The sound comes from the expanding gas resonating against the expanding kernel and not the breaking hull. No one figured the sound part out until a couple of years ago.
If you have kids or some curiosity on your own you can figure out a few things:
Find an oven-safe bowl with a lid and heat your oven to about 190°C (375°F). Add a small number of kernels - say 20. You may have to shake the bowl around a bit as it heats. After the popping stops count successful pops. Now try it at about 170° C (about 340°F).. your count should be different. If you like you can find the threshold. You might need to calibrate your oven. I use an infrared thermometer. (180°C seems to be the threshold for fresh Jiffy Pop white).
If you have a good scale weigh 20 or 30 kernels and calculate the average weight of a kernel. Put them in the hotter oven and pop as many as you can. Weigh the popped kernels and calculate the moisture percentage. I get close to the 14% moisture content good popcorn is supposed to have.
You can try different types and freshnesses of popcorn and find popping yields (percent popped). You can also measure the average size. Try it at a different altitude if you can or enlist a friend. Try slicing the kernels and see what that does to the size. How different are the fancy varieties? And of course you can try toppings other than butter.
While on the subject of snack food. Sarah told me about maple cotton candy. It isn't easy to find in the US, but I finally did. Expensive, but very good and addictive. Be warned.
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