How does popcorn pop

Popcorn is a fun food that offers twice the enjoyment – watching the tiny yellow seeds transform into fluffy white treats right before your eyes. Few foods can undergo such a dramatic transformation during cooking as popcorn can. By making popcorn in your kitchen, you can witness the captivating scene.

For centuries, people have been fascinated by popcorn. Early American Indians believed that a soul lived within each kernel. When heated, the spirit became angry and burst out of the kernel, appearing as steam in the air. There is a less interesting but more scientific explanation for how popcorn is made.

Popcorn is a whole grain made up of three components: the germ, the endosperm, and the hull (also known as the husk). Of the four most common types of corn – sweet corn, dent corn, hard-shell corn, and popcorn corn – only popcorn corn pops when heated.

Each kernel of popcorn corn contains a tiny amount of moisture, which is stored within a ring of starch. In order to pop successfully, the corn kernel must remain within a moisture range of 13.5% to 14%. That ring of soft starch is surrounded by the thick outer layer of the corn.

When the corn kernel is heated, the moisture in the center begins to expand. At around 212°F, the moisture evaporates into steam, and the starch in the kernel becomes a gelatinous substance due to overheating. When the corn kernel is heated to 347°F, the pressure inside the kernel reaches 135 pounds per square inch, eventually bursting the hull.

When the kernel pops, the steam inside is released, and the soft starch expands and flows out, immediately cooling into the familiar and loved popcorn shape. A tiny popcorn kernel can expand to 40 to 50 times its original size. The first starch to flow out forms a “leg,” causing the kernel to jump as the remaining starch flows out, which is why popcorn kernels jump around during cooking.