Popcorn
Name Variations
- popped corn
About popcorn
Wikipedia Article About popcorn on Wikipedia
Popcorn or popping corn is a type of maize which puffs up when it is heated in oil or by dry heat. Special varieties of corn are grown to give the improved, popping yield. Some wild types will pop, but the cultivated strain is zea mays l. subsp. mays (everta group), which is a special kind of flint corn. Popcorn was first developed by native Americans thousands of years ago. In 1948, popcorn ears dating back 5,600-years were discovered in bat caves in New Mexico.
Popcorn was introduced to the Europeans in the late 15th century when Christopher Columbus noted that the native Americans made popcorn corsages and popcorn headdresses, which they sold to Columbus' sailors. French explorers, around the year 1612, in the great lakes region documented use of popcorn by the Iroquois who popped corn in pottery using hot sand. They also reported that during an Iroquois dinner, popcorn soup and popcorn beer were consumed.