6 Crunchy Popcorn Facts To Munch On

Popcorn Has Two Main Shapes: “Mushroom” and “Snowflake” 

At a quick glance it may seem like all popcorn looks the same, but it actually pops into two distinct shapes: mushroom and snowflake. Mushroom-shaped popcorn is rounded and dense, making it ideal for coating in caramel or chocolate since it’s less likely to crumble under pressure. 

Snowflake-shaped popcorn, on the other hand, has an airy, irregular shape with plenty of crevices and a light crunch, — optimal for butter and salt to cling to. The particular shape a kernel produces isn’t random; it’s determined by genetic structure and the popping technique used. Popcorn makers often choose a shape depending on how their popcorn will be flavored or packaged. 

People Used To Eat It for Breakfast

It may seem strange now, but in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, popcorn was commonly served as breakfast cereal. Recipes in early 1900s issues of Good Housekeeping magazine suggested grounding up popped corn and serving it with milk and fruit. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggested boiling it with water and serving it like oatmeal. 

In her 1916 cookbook Popcorn Recipes, Mary Hamilton Talbott recommended soaking popcorn in cold water overnight, then cooking it in milk in the morning — perhaps a precursor to overnight oats. Despite the plethora of recipes, popcorn cereal eventually gave way to more refined packaged options, and by World War II, its time as a breakfast staple came to an end.

It’s Foamy When It First Pops

When popcorn first pops, it isn’t crunchy — it’s actually foamy. As the kernel heats up, the moisture inside turns to steam. Eventually, the pressure from the steam causes the outer hull to burst open, and as the starches inside quickly expand, the fluffy structure we know as popcorn is formed. 

In the instant after popping, though, the popped kernel is more like a gelatinous foam than a crisp snack. As it’s exposed to the air, the foam almost immediately cools and hardens into the light, crunchy texture we know and love. 

The Great Depression Led To Movie Popcorn

Popcorn and movies may be an inseparable duo now, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, when U.S. movie theaters first emerged in the early 1900s, they even outright banned the snack because employees didn’t want to deal with the mess. 

By 1930, as silent films gave way to “talkies,” theater attendance soared. Popcorn vendors stationed themselves outside theaters, and since customers increasingly brought the snack in with them, theater owners began leasing lobby space to the vendors. Eventually, many theaters realized selling their own popcorn could be crucial for helping their business survive the Great Depression — and they never looked back. By the mid-1940s, more than half the popcorn consumed in the U.S. was eaten at the movies.

Popcorn Was Involved in the Invention of the Microwave

During World War II, radar technology was instrumental in helping Allied forces achieve victory. After the war, U.S. aerospace and defense company Raytheon continued its research into radar and the magnetrons used in it. While working on a radar system one day, engineer Percy Spencer noticed a candy bar in his pocket had melted. The next day, he brought in popcorn kernels and, after placing them near the device, watched them pop. 

He continued experimenting with other snacks, including a much messier egg, and confirmed that microwaves could indeed cook food. Raytheon patented the idea, and in 1947, the first microwave oven was released — as was Spencer’s patent for a process to pop entire corncobs whole, although that never really took off.

It Used To Be Called “Pearl”

By roughly the mid-1820s, popcorn was a beloved snack throughout the Eastern United States — but it wasn’t called popcorn at that time. It was first sold as “pearl” or “nonpareil,” the latter of which is now associated with a flat chocolate candy topped with sprinkles. 
Throughout the 1800s, the popularity of the snack spread; Henry David Thoreau even wrote of “popped corn” in 1842. The name also started to evolve, and by 1848, the word “popcorn” — said to be derived from the noise the kernels made when they burst open — was included in linguist John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms.