What Is Pop-Corn

Popcorn is a type of corn which explodes from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn popping was originally discovered by the Native Americans but became popular as snack especially in movie theatres. Corn is able to pop because unlike grain its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy filling. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until it explodes “pop” as a result. Some strains of corn are now cultivated specifically as popping corns. There are many techniques for popping corn. Commercial large-scale popcorn machines were invented in the late 19th Century. Many types of small-scale home methods for popping corn also exist, with the most popular with being pre-packaged microwavable popcorn. As a snack food, popcorn has both advocates and detractors. Some consider it to be a health food while others against it for a variety of reasons. Popcorn can also have non-food applications, ranging from holiday decorations to packaging materials.
The nutrition value of popcorn is naturally high in fibre, low in calories and fat, contains no sodium, and is sugar free. This can make it an attractive snack to people with dietary restrictions on the intake of calories, fat, and sodium. For the sake of flavour, however large amounts of fat, sugar, and sodium are often added to prepared popcorn, which can quickly convert it to a very poor choice for those on restricted diets.
There are some health risks in popcorn. Popcorn is recommends not to serve for children fewer than 4 years old because it has a risk of choking. Special “hulless” popcorn has been developed that offers an alternative for small children and for people with braces or other dental problems which otherwise need to avoid popcorn. Microwaveable popcorn represents a special case, since it is designed to be cooked along with its various flavouring agents. One of these common artificial-butter flavouring, diacetyl has been implicated in causing respiratory ailments.