National Popcorn Day is celebrated at the end of January, although its exact date is a matter of debate. Various sources report it as January 19; others claim it takes place on whatever day the “big game” falls on. The Popcorn Board is often asked about the origins of this day; unfortunately, we do not know how or when this celebration began. Some other individual or organization (with obvious good taste) began this tradition.

10 Popcorn Day Activities

1. Stringing Popcorn: These can be hung outside for birds to eat

Need: sewing needles, string, popcorn

2. Guess the Amount Fill container with kernels and have the residents guessNeed: popcorn kernels, container

3. Popcorn Air Hockey: Can you “volley” the kernel back and forth 20 times without letting it fall?Need: flat surface (table), straw (to blow), coffee stirrers (as paddles) or hands (as paddles)

4. Popcorn Relay Race in wheelchairsNeed: popcorn, spoons

5. Popcorn Basketball: Can you flick a piece of popcorn into the basket?Need: popcorn, baskets (i.e. muffin tins, small cups), backboards (wall, cardboard)

National

6. How many words can you make from this phrase?"Fresh hot popcorn”, “Popcorn tastes good”, “I like popcorn”, “Hot buttered popcorn”

7. Write a Popcorn Poem

Example: Oil, kernels, heat, timeMany loud explosions heardPop, crunch, snack time. Yum!

8. Popcorn coloring pages: see attached

9. Popcorn word search (puzzle maker)Use these words: popcorn, pop, kernel, explode, heat, moisture, grain, snack, crunchy, butter, oil, salt, fiber, bag, hull

10. Read facts about popcorn and write about the history of popcorn

Industry Facts

Americans consume 14 billion quarts of popped popcorn annually or 43 quarts per man, woman and child. It is one of the most wholesome and economical foods available. 

 

According to The Popcorn Institute, approximately 70 percent is eaten in the home (home popped and pre-popped) and about 30 percent outside the home (theaters, stadiums, schools, etc.). Unpopped popcorn accounts for approximately 90 percent of sales for home consumption.

Major popcorn producing states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio.

The peak period for popcorn sales for home consumption is the fall. Sales remain fairly high throughout the winter months then taper off during the spring and summer. Popcorn is a popular snack with all age groups.

Popcorn AbroadMost of the popcorn consumed throughout the world is grown in the United States. Although world-wide sales of popcorn are steadily increasing, Americans consume more popcorn than the citizens of any other country. 

Popcorn Quality

Factors influencing popcorn quality include kernel moisture and expansion ratio, processing procedures, home storage and home handling.

To achieve the utmost in popability, the moisture content of popcorn should be from 13 percent to 14.5 percent; 13.5 percent is considered ideal. A moisture content over or under these percentages greatly reduces popability.

Processors consider the minimum expansion ratio for good popcorn to be 35 to 38 to one. However, some of today's improved hybrids will expand over 40 times.

Good popcorn should provide at least 98 percent popped kernels with well under two percent "spinsters" or unpopped kernels. Proper care at the processing level helps to assure this. Processors guard against contamination and other types of kernel damage which could lower popcorn quality.

Because home storage and handling can affect the moisture content of popcorn -- and therefore the popability -- opened packages of raw kernels should be stored in airtight containers until used. Stay away from storing popcorn in the refrigerator. Air inside a refrigerator contains very little moisture and can cause the popcorn to dry out.

 

Microwave PopcornIn the early 1980's, microwave popcorn was born into the popcorn family. Today, more than 80% of U.S. consumers’ households own microwaves — that's over 73 million microwaves in homes alone! Outside of the home, people of all ages enjoy the taste of warm, freshly popped popcorn, too. With the time and preparation convenience microwavable popcorn offers, you can see popcorn "poppin' up" as an afternoon snack at work or afterschool, and in dormitories and hotel rooms. Microwavable popcorn also comes in a wide-variety of flavors including low fat, extra butter, and gourmet to satisfy all appetites. 

The Popcorn Industry by the Numbers

 

The Popcorn Board

The Popcorn Board is a non-profit organization funded by U.S. popcorn processors (companies who get popcorn from the field to your store). The Board strives to raise the awareness of U.S. popcorn as a versatile, whole-grain snack via domestic and international marketing efforts.

What Makes Popcorn Pop? Half the fun of popcorn is watching it turn from a hard, little yellow seed into a white fluffy treat. Few foods take such a dramatic turn as popcorn does while it’s cooking. Standing in the kitchen waiting for your popcorn to finish, an awesome spectacle is unfurling before you.

For centuries people have been fascinated by popcorn. Early Native Americans believed a spirit lived inside each kernel of popcorn. When heated, the spirit grew angry, burst out of its home, and fled into the air as a disgruntled puff of steam. A less charming but more scientific explanation exists for why popcorn pops.

Popcorn is a whole grain. It is made up of three components: the germ, endosperm, and pericarp (also known as hull). Of the 4 most common types of corn—sweet, dent, flint, and popcorn—only popcorn pops. Popcorn differs from other types of corn in that its hull has just the right thickness to allow it to (eventually) burst open. 

Each kernel of popcorn contains a small drop of water stored inside a circle of soft starch. Popcorn needs between 13.5-14% moisture to pop. The soft starch is surrounded by the kernel's hard outer surface.

As the kernel heats up, the water begins to expand. Around 212 degrees the water turns into steam and changes the starch inside each kernel into a superheated gelatinous substance. The kernel continues to heat to about 347 degrees. The pressure inside the grain will reach 135 pounds per square inch before finally bursting the hull open.

As it explodes, steam inside the kernel is released. The soft starch inside the popcorn becomes inflated and spills out, cooling immediately and forming into the odd shape we know and love. A single kernel can swell to 40-50 times its original size!  The first bit of starch that emerges forms a

“leg” of sorts, which catapults the kernel like a gymnast as the remaining starch spills out.  This is why popcorn jumps as it cooks.

Different Types of Corn

 

You may think all corn is the same, but it’s not.  There are 4 basic types of corn and they all have distinguishing traits and uses.  You can’t pop sweet corn and you wouldn’t want to eat boiled field corn.  The average person may not be able to tell the difference between the various types of corn by looking at them growing in the field, but a grower certainly can.

Dent CornDent corn, also called field corn, is the most widely grown corn in the U.S.  It is used primarily for livestock feed, but it is also used in some food products. It contains a mix of hard and soft starches

that become indented once the corn is dried, thus the name “dent” corn.

Flint CornFlint corn, also known as Indian corn, is similar to dent corn.  It has a hard outer shell and is distinguished by a wide range of colors.  It is grown mostly in Central and South America and used primarily for decoration in North America around harvest time.

PopcornPopcorn is a type of flint corn but has its own size, shape, starch level and moisture content.  It has a hard exterior shell and a soft starchy center.  When heated, the natural moisture inside the kernel turns to steam and builds up enough pressure that it eventually explodes.  Other types of dried corn may burst open slightly when heated, but not like popcorn.  Popcorn is unique in its taste and popability.

Sweet Corn

Sweet corn, or “corn on the cob,” is almost all soft starch and will never pop.  It contains more sugar than other types of corn.  Unlike other corns that are picked when the kernels are dry and mature, sweet corn is picked and eaten while the ears are in the immature milk stage and the kernels are tender.

Popcorn Recipe

Marshmallow Popcorn 

PrintIngredients

3 bags microwave popcorn, popped and unpopped kernels removed. 2 sticks of butter 16 oz bag of mini marshmallows 1 C brown sugar

Instructions

1. Microwave butter, marshmallows, and brown sugar for 2½ min.2. Take out and stir.3. Microwave again for 1 minute.4. Repeat until all is melted.5. When done pour over popcorn and mix. YUM!

lorinSheets & Activities Popcorn GamesColor up some popcorn fun and bring Poppy to life! Exercise your brain with these fun popcorn activities and games.