There are “ sad “ days like “Blue Monday,” but there are also simply delightful occasions like Popcorn Day. In fact, this Monday, January 19, we celebrate this delicious date, so we’re taking the opportunity to tell you some interesting facts about this “superfood.”
A snack, treat, or sweet?
To answer this question, we need to go back in time. After all, the first use of popcorn dates back to 3,600 BC, although this date is not very clear and attests to the antiquity of crunchy corn.
Nevertheless, it was not until 1885 that the first commercial popcorn machine was created by Charles Cretors in Chicago, United States of America (USA). This was after he realized that popping corn was a tradition of the indigenous peoples.
However, popcorn as we know it today, which pops inside a paper bag in the microwave, only began to appear in the early 1980s, making this food easier and quicker to consume.
Origin of Popcorn Day
Popcorn Day was first celebrated in the USA in 1988, coinciding with one of the country’s most festive moments: Super Bowl Sunday (NFL or American football).
However, Popcorn Day only became official in 2003, without anyone knowing exactly how, only that it was published in a Brownfield newspaper in Texas.
It’s not magic, it’s thermodynamics
Popcorn is actually a micro pressure cooker. What does this mean? Well, the “secret” lies in the pericarp (the shell), which is incredibly resistant and impermeable. Inside, there is a tiny drop of water hidden in a starch core.
When heated, the water turns to steam and the starch turns into a hot gelatinous mass. When the shell can no longer withstand the pressure, the grain turns inside out and the steam instantly expands the starch, creating the white, crunchy foam. In addition, and as a matter of interest, the perfect boiling point occurs at 180°C, creating the white, crispy foam.
Villain or superfood?
Popcorn is not the villain of the story, but rather the victim of its companions. In essence, it is a pure, whole superfood, a powerful source of fiber and polyphenols that combat cellular aging and protect the heart.
The stigma of “processed food” arises only in its preparation: while the industrialized movie theater version is lost in trans fats and excess sodium, homemade popcorn —made in a pot or hot air with a drizzle of olive oil and spices—proves to be a nutritious and functionalsnack. It all comes down to choosing between chemical artifice and the simplicity of the grain.
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