Posted on 04/21/2005 5:44:31 AM PDT by kingattax
INDIANAPOLIS -- Eat your way to the bottom of almost any bag of popcorn and there they are: the rock-hard, jaw-rattling unpopped kernels known as old maids. The nuisance kernels have kept many a dentist busy, but their days could be numbered: Scientists say they now know why some popcorn kernels resist popping into puffy white globes.
It's long been known that popcorn kernels must have a precise moisture level in their starchy center -- about 15 percent -- to explode. But Purdue University researchers found the key to a kernel's explosive success lies in the composition of its hull.
It turns out there is an optimal hull structure that allows kernels to explode, and leaky hulls prevent the moisture pressure buildup needed for kernels to pop.
"They're sort of like little pressure vessels that explode when the pressure reaches a certain point," said Bruce Hamaker, a Purdue professor of food chemistry. "But if too much moisture escapes, it loses its ability to pop and just sits there."
He and his associates compared the microwave popping performance of 14 Indiana-grown popcorn varieties and examined the crystalline structure of the translucent hulls of both the popped kernels and the duds.
In the varieties popped, the percentage of unpopped kernels ranged from 4 percent in premium brands to 47 percent in the cheaper ones.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
I take all the unpopped kernels and plant them in my backyard. I have popcorn bushes all over the place, and now I can have fresh, home grown, and yes, organic free-range popcorn whenever I want.
When my BIL went to Purdue, he would bring home popcorn at Christmas. I've got to say that they designed some really good popcorn. But goodness, that was years ago. We are old geezers now. They've been studying popcorn for thirty years?
That is a great idea. I was doing that with pizza crusts. I think I watered them to much because all I got was those horrible Elios pizza squares.
Seriously...we have a pond in the back, and every year have several pairs of nesting ducks..I feed them everyday.I buy the cracked corn in 100 lb bags, and if I'm not out there at first light, they really start to complain..loudly..Many years ago, when the girls were younger, one time Iw as away freo afew days on business, and it was their job to feed the ducks. One mornig it was raining, and they didn't want to go outside under the porch, to where I keep the feed, so they microwaved all the porpcorn in the freezer and fed it to the ducks..
The question we should be asking is: How much government money went into this 'research' study ?
That was my theory all along as to why some corn didn't pop and it only took me a minute to come up with it when my daughter asked me why some didn't pop.
Cool! Can I come over? I'll bring an ice cold Pepsi for us. Do the birds and squirrels go at it too? :)
Just for the record...microwave popcorn is for suckers!
"Microwave popcorn is for whatttttt ?"
Cute :)
thanks :)
Yes. we both figured this one out in seconds. Less time than it takes for a kernel to pop, in fact.
If I have corn that isn't popping well or is too crunchy, I pour a spoon or more of water into the container it's in, shake it up, and leave it for a few days. When it soaks up that water, it pops better and has larger and fluffier thingies - (What DO you call the popped kernels?). Don't use too much water or you may end up with the corn starting to grow or mold.
So, it's possible the cheapo versions have a thinner hull that lets the water evaporate faster and also develops pinholes easier. Shoot, I want some grant money to study this. I can eat the experiments when I'm done, too.
I don't know how much government money went into this. The article says it was funded by Purdue University's Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research.
I don't know who funds that center, other than tuition.
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