Wait, This Is How Popcorn Is Actually Popped? I Bet You Didn't Know It Was Like This

by N/A, 10 years ago | 1 min read

Knee-deep in a popcorn binge? Why not learn a little while you're at it?Â

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So you can't just go around popping ANY kind of corn.

Popping corn is distinct due to its extremely tough outer shell. This is critical if you want to have any kind of decent popcorn.Â

The popcorn kernel actually has some water inside of it, and when it heats up, that water becomes steam, and expands...and expands and expands until it blows up.

It can form one of two types of popcorn shapes: mushroom and butterfly popcorn.

The kernels of mushroom popcorn expand evenly, whereas the butterfly kernels just sort of expand inside out at whatever point the skin breaks. Who knew?Â

A breakdown of the process from the Popcorn Board:

"Around 212 degrees [Fahrenheit] the water turns into steam and changes the starch inside each kernel into a superhot gelatinous goop. 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."

And here's how we hope you appeared while reading these facts: