Popcorn!

I have a little sheet of paper that was included with our popcorn share last year from Clagett Farm. I have been keeping it in my kitchen drawer. However, now I will transcribe it here so that 1) it does not get lost, and 2) other people can enjoy the information.


Popcorn!

These little ears aren't just decorative -- they're delicous! We harvested this popcorn last fall, and now it's finally dry enough to pop. Fresh popcorn is full of moisture, and it needs to dry substantially (to 13% moisture, to be precise) before it has just the right water content to pop.

Using the microwave: Did you know you can pop the kernals right off the ear? First, remove the papery husk. For tidiness, put the ear or loose kernals in a paper bag. Or for amusement, leave the popcorn out of the bag and watch it pop. Then follow the same procedure that you would for commercial popcorn -- cook the popcorn on high until you hear the popping slow down to a few seconds between pops.

Using the stove top: Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to pop the kernals off the ear using the stove. You can easily rub the kernals off by pushing with your thumbs, beginning at the tip and working your way to the other end. Cover the bottom of a wok, dutch oven or some other heavy, lidded pot with a good amount of oil (my family used to use 1/4 cup oil and a 1/4 cup popcorn). Heat the oil until a few test kernals pop. Then add the rest of your popcorn and shake vigorously while it's popping. Remove it from heat when you hear the popping slow down to one pop every couple seconds.

In general, don't season the popcorn with your butter, salt, parmesan, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, etc. until it's popped.

If you have a little time and curiosily, we recommend the Jolly Time popcorn website. They have a great review of the science of popping corn that's interesting and kid-friendly.

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