A Scientific Dive into Popcorn’s
Transformation

 

Our go to option for snacks whenever we are watching a movie or a series is always popcorn. It’s light, fluffy, crunchy and tastes good in the mouth. However, do we ever stop to think, what the science behind the popcorn is? How  Popcorn actually pops? Regardless of if you ever questioned yourself that or not, you will be surprised to find out how fascinating the process actually is. So today,  why don’t we take a deep dive into how Popcorns are made.

 

How does it Start?

What is Popcorn? Or rather, what does it start as before becoming a popcorn? I’m sure you’ve already encountered one or two uncooked seeds in a sea of popcorn while eating. Well those seeds are what popcorn are before they become white and fluffy. These small and hard seeds are called kernels. These seeds are just a special type of corn that grows on a corn cob just like those sweet corn we like to munch on. Once a corn has fully grown, they are dried so that most of the water is gone. Then these seeds are ready to be popped into yummy Popcorns!

Image source: Google Images

The Secret Behind the Pop

We got to know how to get these seeds, but these are just hard shelled, inedible seeds. Well, the hardness of the  shell plays an important role in obtaining the final product. Do you remember how the seeds were dried? As it turns out, even after drying the seeds a very little amount of water is left behind inside every kernel. The water left behind is the most important factor in the process of popping. Why? Because, when a kernel is heated, the water inside conducts that heat and starts expanding, at some point the water becomes steam and continues expanding outwards. However, if you recall, the kernel has a hard outer shell. This shell resists the expanding steam allowing pressure to build up inside. Eventually, the hard shell is not enough and steam breaks the shell with all the built pressure, thus we get the popping of the Popcorn.                                                                                                     Image source: Hand drawn

    

Explaining the size

Okay but how does Popcorn get its color and size? -you may ask. Don’t worry, there’s an explanation for that as well. You see, there is not only water inside the seeds, but also another    substance, common in plants, called starch. When heated, starch also expands like the water. When the seed pops, the starch comes pouring out, giving us fluffy and delicious Popcorn.

 

 

 

 

 

Popcorn is such a simple food that doesn’t even require other ingredients to taste good, yet, the science behind it is so fascinating. Today we learned about the seeds that are required to make Popcorn, how the process occurs to make the pop and also why it looks the way it looks. Makes me wonder which other foods in our daily lives hold such fascinating mysteries.