The Popcorn Process

Popcorn
FACTS
How

many quarts of popcorn do

Americans consume each year?
17.3 billion quarts of popped
popcorn
How much popcorn does the
average person eat per year?
68 quarts

Popcorn
FACTS
Americans

consume
more popcorn than the
citizens of any other
country
January 30th is
National Popcorn Day!

Popcorn
FACTS
There

are six types

of corn
Popcorn is known as
Zea mays everta
Only this type of
corn will POP!

Popcorn
History
Oldest

popcorn discovered in New

Mexico, USA (5,600 years old)

Native

Americans grew hundreds of

varieties, invented poppers, and
wore popcorn as a decoration

Popcorn

was served at the 1st

Thanksgiving!

Popcorn
History
Colonial

settlers
used as puffed
cereal for breakfast
Popular during the
depression and
WWII due to its
low cost

Important elements of popcorn

The

hard shell (pericarp)

Moisture
inside pericarp
Starch
inside pericarp

How popcorn works

When

popcorn is heated, the moisture

inside causes the pericarp to burst
The starch expands into bubbles
which fuse together, creating the
white, fluffy substance
This process will only occur if the
correct amount of moisture is present

Types of Popcorn
There

are two main

types of Popcorn
Kernels
Butterfly kernels large, light, and fluffy
Mushroom kernels used for coating

Growing popcorn
Popcorn

is planted
between April 20th
and May 10th usually
A soil temperature
of 10-13C (5055F) is necessary

Harvesting Popcorn
Popcorn

is harvested
when the kernel has
moisture content of
16%-20%.
Popcorn that is too dry
may not pop well
Popcorn that is too moist
may spoil when stored

Summary
Harvest

Processin
g

Conditioning

Moistur
e

Screen
Cleaning

Gravity Table

Dirt and
Debris

Destoner
Optical
Sorter

Shipping

Packagin
g

Bulk or Microwave
popcorn
Cooled

Coate
d

Flavored

Poppe
d

Storing Popcorn
Storing

is also know as
conditioning
Once picked, the corn must be
dried until it reaches its
optimum moisture level of
13.5% to 14%

Cleaning popcorn
Foreign

material, broken kernels,

corncobs, and dirt must be removed
Cleaning process consists mainly of
three parts:
separating by size
Separating by lower/higher densities
optical sorting

Processing popcorn-step 1
Separating

by Size uses a screen

cleaner
Has 2 screens (1 large holes and 1
small holes)

Processing popcorn-step 2
Separating

by
lower/higher
densities uses a
shaking gravity table
Removes less dense
cracked kernels &
more dense dirt and
stones

Processing popcorn-step 3
Optical

Sorting separates kernels by

color
Optical Sorter inspects all kernels

packaging Bulk and Microwave Popcorn

Must

be packaged
so that popcorn
remains at the
optimum moisture
level
Plastic is
commonly used

Flavored Popcorn
After

cleaning, popcorn is
popped, and while hot
flavors are added in a
large tumbling devise to
coat the popcorn
The coated popcorn is
cooled
The popcorn is then
packaged and shipped

Flavored Popcorn
Which

flavored popcorn
is most peoples
favorite?

Caramel!