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Look at that picture of popcorn. Doesn't it make you want to reach right through the screen and grab a handful? I want some, no check that. I NEED some now! It's doesn't matter...buttered, cheesy, caramel, kettle style, movie theatre style, air popped, microwaved in a bag, popped in a pan, popped in an expanding aluminum tin, with sea salt or black pepper, and even lo-cal...I love it! It's a must when we hit the cinema and we always ask to hit the butter dispenser when the bucket gets filled to the half-way point, then run back to the counter for the rest of our popcorn. We've also returned to the old school style of popping it in a pan with a little oil. It's so good!
Now that I've made you hungry for popcorn, it's time to learn more about this snack staple.
Here are some interesting facts from WhatThePopcorn.com that you may not have known:
- Nebraska, which is the Cornhusker State, is the top producer of popcorn. More than even Iowa.
- Popcorn is estimated to have been around for 5000 years. It really grew in popularity in the late 1800s with the invention of the first commercial popcorn machine, and even more so in the 1980s with the introduction of microwave popcorn.
- It's believed that Christopher Columbus introduced Europe to popcorn in the 1400s.
- Americans eat about 17 billion quarts of popcorn each year. More than any other country.
- There are about 1600 kernels in a cup of popcorn.
- Popcorn expands up to 30 times its original size when it is popped.
- Popcorn sales are highest in the fall and winter.
- Popcorn is gluten-free and there are no known allergens.
- Popcorn is known to aid in muscle growth, tissue recovery, digestion and bone building.
- Popcorn's scientific name is Zea Mays Everta.