How did popcorn come about? Sweet and Salty Homemade Popcorn Recipes

On January 22, 1630, the leader of an Indian tribe presented the colonists with a bag of popcorn. That's when Europeans tried popcorn for the first time.

This crispy and light snack has long been an integral part of movie nights and cozy evenings. But how exactly did popcorn come about? On the birthday of popcorn, we will tell you about the history of the popular delicacy and share recipes for making sweet and salty popcorn right at your home!

Who and when first noticed the amazing property of popcorn to explode from high temperature is unknown. Most likely, ancient man learned this during a fire. Under favorable conditions, corn grains can be stored for a very long time. Evidence of this is the grains found by archaeologists in burials in Peru. Their age exceeds a thousand years, however, many of them can even now be used to prepare “puffed corn”. And in addition to corn grains, vessels for making popcorn were also found in the excavations. In ancient times they were made from soapstone, clay and metal and came in a variety of sizes.

Back in the early 16th century, the indigenous people of Mexico used popcorn - not only as food, but also in the form of hair decorations and necklaces. Europeans discovered popcorn only in 1630. On January 22 of that year, English colonists in South America accepted a bag of popcorn as a gift from the Indian chief Quodequain. Only two centuries later, Charlie Kritoz invented the “Popper” - a popcorn machine.

Mass production began in 1885, when a compact and mobile popcorn machine was invented in Chicago. Since 1912, the crispy delicacy has been sold in movie theaters in America and Europe, and for a very long time a bucket of corn has been an integral attribute of a movie show. In 1984, making popcorn became even easier: it was made in microwave ovens. These days there are hardly any movie theaters without a popcorn machine.

You can easily make popped corn yourself at home in the microwave, or on the stove in a pot or frying pan. It can be sweet or salty, with any additives that you like, with the amount of oil that suits you. Best of all, of course, with minimal or no use at all. But keep in mind that not all microwave cookware can withstand the required heating temperature (about 200 degrees).

Pour a little vegetable oil into a microwave-safe bowl and add the corn. The grains need to be mixed until they are covered with an oil film. Then we lay them out in one row. Cover the container with corn with a lid and place in the microwave for about 3 minutes.

Pour some vegetable oil into a saucepan with a tight lid and heat it. First, throw one grain into the oil; if it opens, pour out all the grains, stir and close the lid. The corn should only be in one layer! As soon as popping noises begin to be heard, remove the pan from the heat. The remaining grains will open on their own because the oil is hot.

To make salted popcorn, season still-hot popcorn with fine salt. You can add chopped dried herbs or spices. To sweeten the popcorn, sprinkle the popcorn with powdered sugar (you can add a little vanilla sugar or coconut). You can make popcorn flavorful by sprinkling it with lemon or orange zest.

You can make caramel popcorn for kids. To do this, melt a little good butter in a frying pan, add sugar and cook, stirring, until caramel forms. Then just pour the caramel over the popcorn.

After the popcorn itself is ready, you can add sweet toppings to it, just powdered sugar, some spices, such as saffron, ground cardamom, nutmeg. Grate chocolate or sprinkle cocoa. Or you can make soft caramel.

Step 1. Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan with a thick bottom and a tight-fitting lid (you can use a large frying pan with a tight-fitting lid).

Step 2. Place corn in oil, stir, cover and leave over low heat.

Step 3: Shake the pan regularly until all the corn pops.

Step 4: Melt the butter in another pan. Add sugar, cocoa, cinnamon to it.

Step 5. Once all the grains have popped, transfer them to a bowl and season with salt. Drizzle with melted butter. Mix everything properly.

By the way, popcorn also contributed to the invention of microwave ovens. When Percy Spencer exposed raw grains to microwave radiation in 1945, he saw them “explode” as if heated over a fire. This was one of the inventions that appeared by pure chance.