Kids Corner

Corny Facts

Americans consume some 15 billion quarts of this whole grain, good-for-you treat. That’s 45 quarts per man, woman, and child.

Popcorn is a type of maize (or corn), a member of the grass family, and is scientifically known as Zea mays everta.

Popcorn differs from other types of maize/corn in that it has a thicker pericarp/hull. The hull allows pressure from the heated water to build and eventually bursts open. The inside starch becomes gelatinous while being heated; when the hull bursts, the gelatinized starch spills out and cools, giving it its familiar popcorn shape.

Popcorn is a whole grain. It is made up of three components: the germ, endosperm, and pericarp (also known as the hull).

The peak period for popcorn sales for home consumption is in the fall.

Most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest, primarily in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio.

Many people believe the acres of corn they see in the Midwest during growing season could be picked and eaten for dinner, or dried and popped. In fact, those acres are typically field corn, which is used largely for livestock feed, and differs from both sweet corn and popcorn.

Popcorn needs between 13.5-14% moisture to pop.

"Popability" is popcorn lingo that refers to the percentage of kernels that pop.

There is no such thing as "hull-less" popcorn. All popcorn needs a hull in order to pop. Some varieties of popcorn have been bred so the hull shatters upon popping, making it appear to be hull-less.

Popcorn pops in two basic shapes, butterfly and mushroom. Butterfly popcorn has a very irregular shape with large bumps. It has a light crispy texture but can break easily. Mushroom-shaped popcorn has a spherical center with a rough surface. This shape makes it sturdy enough to stir when adding flavorings or coatings.

The world's largest popcorn ball was created by hundreds of volunteers in Sac City, Iowa on June 18, 2016. The ball weighed 9,370 pounds—made up of almost 5 tons of popcorn—and was 12 feet in diameter. The ball was built at the Noble Popcorn plant where the volunteers worked to re-claim the "world's largest" title—a title the city had held 3 times prior.