Popcorn is one of those delicious snacks that most people can’t help but eat a whole bowl of (or bag, box, bin, whatever you put yours in). Whether you like to air-pop your popcorn in an air popper, stove top with some oil, or just a microwavable bag, popcorn is truly a unique snack.
Not just as a late night movie aid, but also in history and production as well. Here are some fun facts about popcorn that’ll have you poppin’ out of your seat.
- Popcorn is relatively low in calories compared to most snacks. One cup of air-popped popcorn only has 31 calories, and one cup of popcorn popped in oil has 55 calories.
- Out of all six types of corn, only popcorn actually “pops.”
- January 19 is National Popcorn Day.
- Roughly one billion pounds of popcorn are grown every year in the United States.
- April 6 is National Caramel Popcorn Day.
- October is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month (yeah, popcorn gets a whole month).
- Popcorn is considered a whole grain and made up of three parts, including the hull.
- In order to pop, popcorn needs between 13.5% and 14% moisture.
- The reason popcorn pops is that it has a thicker hull than other types of corn. Pressure from heated water builds inside the hull until it eventually bursts, leaving the soft, good stuff.
- The number one use for microwaves is to pop popcorn, which is why most microwaves have a “popcorn” button.
- “Popability” refers to the percentage of popcorn kernels that pop.
- Popcorn comes in two shapes once it’s popped: mushroom and snowflake. The popcorn you eat at movie theaters is usually snowflake while mushroom is used in candy confections.
- Most popcorn is grown in the Midwest, particularly Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, and Kentucky.
That’s a lot of facts about popcorn, and definitely not all-inclusive.
The best thing about popcorn? You can get it almost anywhere.
Besides being able to walk into a popcorn store and leave with the flavored popcorn of your choice, you can also order gourmet popcorn gifts online from awesome websites. There’s a whole popcorn market you can be a part of. Need a gift idea? Get popcorn. Want to try hundreds of different popcorn flavor? You have to start somewhere (tip: start with dill pickle).
Want to purchase a popcorn gift, or maybe start your way down the list of flavored popcorns? Check out all the different kinds of flavored popcorn listed on our website.
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