What makes Popcorn Pop?? and is it different than corn on the cob corn??!
What makes Popcorn Pop?? and is it different than corn on the cob corn??
Answers:
The above answers are all correct. It's moisture in the kernel that makes it pop. The only fact missing is, if you plan on growing it, once you harvest it, it can not be popped right away, it's too moist. It has to be stored for a minimum of 30-60 days before popping.
Popcorn is easy to tell from other corn. It's kernels are in neat rolls with space in between to allow for the expansion of popping. When it's ready for harvesting, the husks are a very pale beige. Plus the stalks don't grow as tall as "regular" corn on the cob. Popcorn is actually a type of Indian Corn.
I used to work on a farm and we grew popcorn for the kids to pick on their field trips in October.
heat
It is a small droplet of water in each kernel which when it turns into steam causes the kernel to explode and cooks the 'meat' of the kernel. Yes it is a special corn.
Well I can answer the popcorn popping...there is a little tiny tiny bit of moisture inside the popcorn kernel so when it is heated the moisture expands and POOF it explodes making the popcorn to eat. I am not sure about the corn on the cob...corn is corn it all has to come from a cob at the beginning.
Inside each kernel of popcorn is a little bit of water. As you heat the popcorn, the water turns to steam. The steam has nowhere to go and once the pressure gets great enough it explodes (pops) the kernel. The process of heating cooks the kernel as well so it’s tasty. Now, not all corn can pop, at least pop up light, fluffy and crunchy. Varieties of corn are bred to have just the right amount of water left in the kernel after drying. Too little, no pop. Too much … hmm don’t know, but I don’t think I’d like to be around to find out!
in my calculations i think the answer to number one is heat!!
number to is approximately yes!
Moisture inside the kernel
Starch inside the kernel
The hard shell surrounding the kernel
When a popcorn kernel heats up (either in a popcorn popper or in the microwave), the moisture inside the kernel expands. Moisture is extremely important to a popcorn kernel. Unless the percentage of moisture in the kernel is just right, the kernel won't pop. When the pressure inside the hard shell gets high enough, the kernel explodes. That part seems normal enough -- lots of things explode when you heat them.
there's a tiny bit of moisture in each kernel, the heat makes this moisture into steam, which expands and when the outer shell breaks from the pressure, the kernel "explodes"
popcorn is corn, but a slightly different variety than regular sweet corn on the cob.
I got this from a website:
"Popcorn kernels contain water. Inside the kernel is a soft patch of starch with around 14% moisture. The moisture is contained by kernels hard outer shell.
Without this moisture, pop corn will not pop. The best way to store popcorn is air tight containers and stored in a cool place like your cupboard or pantry.
As popcorn kernels heat up the moisture inside builds up and expands against the hard starch shell. Eventually the hard surface gives way and the popcorn explodes. The soft heated starch burst, turning in side out. "
Just saying 'heat' makes it pop is pretty vague. I'm sure that she could have figured that out on her own.
Popcorn is a specially grown corn type which is made for popping. A drop of water inside the kernel turns to steam and rapidly expands cooking turning the piece of corn inside out when it pops.
Popcorn, like all grains, contains water. About fourteen percent of each kernel is made up of water. When a popcorn kernel is heated above the boiling point (212 degrees Fahrenheit), this water turns to steam. This steam creates pressure within the kernel, causing the kernel to explode and turn itself inside out. And yes it is different than corn that you or I would consume......normally
Moisture in the kernals is turned to steam very quickly by heat or microwaves which causes the inside of the kernal to explode into a larger softer mass because the space created by the expanding steam is replaced by air.
Water pressure inside the kernel makes it pop.
Inside each kernel of popcorn is a little bit of water. As you heat the popcorn, the water turns to steam. The steam has nowhere to go and once the pressure gets great enough it explodes (pops) the kernel.
Just like cob corn, popcorn is grown, but it is different from sweet corn or flour corn. It's made up of hard starch that contains a small amount of moisture.
popcorn kernels already have the popcorn in them. when popcorn heats up, the moisture in the kernel expands the stuff, and when enough pressure builds up, it pops. also, popcorn kernels are different from regular corn kernels.
The heat and combustion from the inside of the thin walls of the corn being not completely solid makes the inside of the corn explode inside out basically. And yes, popcorn before it was in a bag for the microwave was made by putting a whole cobbed corn that was dried out into a pot over the fire. then the cob was removed after the corn had left it