Good evening, tomorrow is National Popcorn Day and did you know Popcorn is mine and my mom’s favorite snack. Especially if its Popcorn from the Movies and since I need to take Charlie to see Ghostbusters tomorrow you can bet your bottom dollar, I will be getting me a Kids Pack with Popcorn, a drink and a Snack. Would you like to join us at the movies and have Popcorn with me?
National Popcorn Day
January 19th, we celebrate National Popcorn Day! Buttered, salted, Kettle Popcorn, or Popcorn drizzled with Carame;. Popcorn is a snack that is perfect anytime, anywhere. Popcorn is great on the go, in the theater, or in your living room!
HISTORY OF NATIONAL POPCORN DAY
Did you know that the Corn we eat and the Corn we pop are two different varieties of Maize? In fact, the Corn you’d find on your dinner table is most likely unable to pop at all! Only one variety of Corn is able to become Popcorn: Zea Mays Everta. This particular Corn variety has small ears, and the kernels burst when exposed to dry heat.
In 1948, small heads of Zea Mays Everta were discovered by Herbert Dick and Earle Smith in the Bat Cave of West Central New Mexico. Ranging from smaller than a penny to about two inches, the oldest Bat Cave ears were about 4,000 years old. Several individually popped kernels were also discovered, which have since been carbon dated and shown to be approximately 5,600 years old. There’s also evidence of early use of Popcorn in Peru, Mexico, and Guatemala, as well as other places in Central and South America.
Aztecs used Popcorn to decorate their clothes, create ceremonial embellishments, and also for nourishment. Native Americans have also been found to consume and utilize Popcorn in their day to day lives. In a Cave in Utah, thought to be inhabited by Pueblo Native Americans, Popcorn has been found that dates back to over 1,000 years ago. French explorers who traveled to the New World discovered Popcorn being made by the Iroquois Natives in the Great Lakes region. As Colonists moved around North America, and as the USA came to be, many people adopted Popcorn as a Healthy Snack.
NATIONAL POPCORN DAY TRADITIONS
National Popcorn Day is all about enjoying a movie while sinking your hand into a bucket of Popcorn. Keep your eye out as there will be freebies available on the Holiday.
NATIONAL POPCORN DAY STATS
There’s no doubt about it, Americans love Popcorn. So much, that we consume over 15 billion quarts of Popcorn annually. Which is about 45 quarts per man, woman, and child. Popcorn is one of the most wholesome and economical foods available to Americans and considered a Healthy Snack. 70% of Popcorn is eaten at home with un-popped Popcorn accounting for approximately 90% of sales for home consumption. About 30% of Popcorn is eaten outside of the home in Theaters, Stadiums, and schools
Factors influencing Popcorn quality include kernel moisture and expansion ratio, processing procedures, home storage, and home handling. To achieve the best pop-ability, the moisture content for Popcorn should be from 13% to 14.5% — 13.5% is considered ideal. A moisture content over or under these percentages greatly reduces pop-ability. Processors consider the minimum expansion ratio for good popcorn to be 35 to 38 to one.
However, some of today’s improved hybrids will expand over 40 times. 31 cals per cup. On a diet and looking for the perfect low-calorie snack? Well, we hope you like Popcorn. Compared to most snack foods, Popcorn is extremely low in Calories. Air-Popped Popcorn only has 31 Calories per cup, while oil-popped Popcorn has only 55 calories per cup. Popcorn is the perfect go to snack for trying to meet those Weight Loss (or gain) goals healthily while keeping your body nourished and your tummy happy!
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
