Prairie View

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

When Popcorn Doesn't Pop

I recently bought popcorn from the same place that I've bought it before, and it's been disappointing from the start.  It just doesn't pop very well, and eating it is not a pleasure.  Especially at this stage of Covid recovery, with my taste buds not fully reawakened, the texture of food is critical to being able to enjoy it, and this popcorn does not pass the texture test.  At all.  

My low-brow research methods (googling) for why this is the case were activated, and I'm working on remedying the situation by adding water to the popcorn storage jar.  I'll put several helpful links at the end of this post.

When popcorn is newly harvested and insufficiently dried, it can swell without exploding riotously, producing an eating experience that is not unpleasant, but quite different from what I've come to expect.  Philip Wagler told me what caused this--long ago when our youth group used to grow, process, and sell popcorn as a fund-raising project.  One night when the shelling happened in the shed at Miller Seed, we popped some of the corn that we had been working with, and I encountered this firm-Kix-like product for the first time.  Phil thought this was a treat, and I agreed that it was quite good.  

More often though, when the product is unsatisfactory, the cause is a lack of moisture.  In other words, the kernels have dried out too much instead of not enough.  When moisture in popcorn is heated, it expands inside the hard shell that is located on the outside of the kernel.  When the expansion reaches a certain level, it explodes through that hard shell, carrying the starch with it and forming a "blossom" of popcorn outside the shell.  Too little moisture produces a small blossom, or the "shell" is not breached at all, and the kernel does not change in size.   In any case, there's too much "hard" and not enough "fluffy" when there's too little moisture.

Optimum size for the blossoms results when popcorn has a moisture content between 11.2% and 14% (sources disagree). Moisture meters can help determine the exact moisture content, but I'm going for the low-brow option again.  I'm adding a bit of water to the popcorn kernel jar, shaking it up, and then leaving it set for about 2 days.  Then I take a small amount and pop it the way I usually pop popcorn to see if it has absorbed enough moisture.  So far it hasn't. 

One of the sites below suggests adding 1 teaspoon of water per cup of popcorn.  Leave it for several days, shaking occasionally.  Then test a small amount by popping it as you usually do.  Repeat as needed till it pops well.  This is essentially what I'm doing.  I'd guess though that I've added at least a fourth-cup of water to one bag (several pounds?) over time, and I'm shocked that it is still not popping well.  Until now, I've never needed to add more than a teaspoon or two.  

Here's one link and here's the other one.

I also typed the following paragraph into an earlier blog post--which may be helpful for some who have popcorn popping troubles of a slightly different kind than what is featured here.


In the past year or so I've gotten a lot better at figuring out how to fix popcorn problems. Recently when my beloved Lady Finger popcorn produced a batch of tough, low-volume kernels, I knew it needed more moisture. So I put some water in the unpopped corn container and shook it up and left it set for a few days.

Yesterday I tried it again. It popped up beautifully, with no unpopped kernels left over.

I've also learned to leave the top partially ajar as much as I can while I'm actually popping it so steam can escape as it's released during the popping process. This helps keep the popcorn from being tough. I leave the top completely open till the popping starts and again near the end when the popped corn on top keeps everything under control. In between I can usually put a wooden spoon across the top between the lid flap and the kettle part of the popper, leaving it partially open, but not allowing many kernels to escape. (The popper we have has a lid clipped to the kettle and hinged in the middle.)

Added later:  

Here's a bit of explanation on how to adjust the heat when popping popcorn.  This seems like common sense, but I didn't know it before.  

If popcorn is heated too slowly, it won't pop because steam leaks out of the tender tip of the kernel. If popcorn is heated too quickly, it will pop, but the center of each kernel will be hard because the starch hasn't had time to gelatinize and form a foam.  Read about it at this site

Another tidbit  I've picked up on size and amounts is that in a 4-quart pot, you should add 2-3 Tablespoons of oil and 1/2 cup popcorn kernels. 

One more tidbit:  Test the oil temperature by heating it and adding only two kernels.  When they pop, remove from the heat and add the remaining unpopped corn.  Stir and leave it off the heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Then return it to the stovetop burner and continue to heat it.  The idea is that you are heating all the kernels to the same temperature.  Because of this, they will pop at nearly the same time.  I'm not sure how important this step is if you use a Whirly-Pop popcorn popper, as I do.  This type has a stirrer, so I think the kernels are usually heated fairly evenly because of the constant stirring. 

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Last night after church (Tonya shared her life in Ghana with us and then invited us to a fruit pizza and popcorn snack) I ate some of the biggest popcorn kernels I've ever had.  I want to learn more about the origin of these kernels, because the product was very good.  I was reminded though that one of the reasons I opted for the tiny-kernel varieties is that the hulls are less likely to flake off when popped, only to end up stuck between my teeth and gums when I eat it.  

I'm still adding water to my problem batch of popcorn kernels,  and testing the results.  I consider it unacceptable to have up to 25 unpopped kernels from only two tablespoons of original kernels.  I can hardly believe the volume of water that I've needed to add so far--a teaspoon or a tablespoon at a time.  As long though as the kernels absorb the water (as evidenced by the kernels not sticking to the sides of the clear plastic storage container) and the popping is subpar, I'll keep trying.  I'm investigating other reasons for the problem, of course, which is why I'm coming across new information now.


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