Popcorn

Craig321

Craig321

Craig321

Soldato
Joined
2 May 2004
Posts
19,950
Hi

Recently been having popcorn at night when I watch TV.

I really don't get how a tiny little yellowy thing can pop into a large white thing. How does popcorn 'work'??

Craig.
 
I think the heat from cooking turns small pockets of water within the kernel into a gas form, making it explode or pop, into the fluffy tasty form which we love so much....
Turning a Mole of water (in a liquid state, 18g iirc) produces 22.4 litres of steam (@STP). I'm sure you can imagine even a tiny bit of water causes the kernel to expand quite considerably.....

I could be wrong though....

D.
 
When you heat the corn, the cells inside swell. When enough pressure is built up inside the corn it will pop.

Something like that.
 
From Wikipedia

As with all cereal grains, each kernel of popcorn contains a certain amount of moisture in its starchy endosperm. Unlike most other grains, the outer hull, or pericarp, of the popcorn kernel is thick and impervious to moisture.

As the kernel is heated past the boiling point, water in the kernel begins to turn to steam, generating an internal pressure of about 9 ATM. In kernels of other grains (and in damaged kernels of popcorn), this steam escapes as fast as it forms, but in the tightly sealed popcorn kernel, the steam is held tight by the pericarp and the pressure starts to build until the pericarp suddenly ruptures, causing a small explosion. The force of the explosion turns the kernel inside out. More importantly, because the moisture is evenly distributed throughout the starchy endosperm, the sudden expansion turns the endosperm into an airy foam which gives popcorn its unique texture.

Two explanations exist for kernels which do not pop, known in the popcorn industry as "old maids", after being exposed to high temperatures. The first is that unpopped kernels do not have enough moisture to create enough steam for an explosion. The second explanation, according to research led by Dr. Bruce Hamaker of Purdue University, is that the unpopped kernel may have a leaky hull.
Click to expand...
 
ethan said:
What are they! Pure carbohydrate? :eek:
Click to expand...
Yup :)

Try the sweet popcorn from the cinema, etc, dipped (not covered) in mild mustard. Sounds vile, but is surprisingly nice.
Same applies to McDonalds apple pies+mild mustard.
 
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