Recently, Lisa HW started a thread talking about popcorn and wondering how to achieve that yummy theater-style popcorn taste at home.

This really got me to thinking. I've tried lots of different brands as I'm sure you have. None of them seem to match that sinful buttery taste found at the movie theater.

I thought it would be fun to do a little research about popcorn. So, I found the 1972 moog synthesizer hit pop song "Popcorn" by "Hot Butter" for you to listen to while you sit back and read. Bet you'll want to make a batch of hot buttered popcorn before you're through.

I'm really sorry about that. *wink*

• Native Americans first discovered popcorn thousands of years ago. Quadequina, of the Wampanoag tribe, brought popcorn to the first Thanksgiving for colonists in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
• First became a big snack food in theaters during the U.S. Great Depression. In the early days vendors sold popcorn on the streets in front of the movie theater. Eventually, the theater owners invited the vendors inside and split the profits. That was the beginning of theater snack bars.
• The big commercial popcorn machines were invented by Charles Cretors in 1885 in Chicago, Illinois. He introduced his invention at the Columbian Exposition in 1893. As this same exhibition another gentleman by the name of F.W. Rueckheim introduced the first carmel corn. An altered version of this recipe would be introduced in 1896 by Louis Rueckheim, his brother, as Cracker Jack.
• With sugar rations during WWII, Americans tripled their consumption of popcorn.

• A study was done in the mid-1990s and found that movie popcorn in the United States is popped in coconut oil, then topped with butter or margarine. This results in a small theater popcorn being the fatty equivalent to eating 3 McDonald’s Big Macs. No wonder it tastes so good!

• Threading popcorn onto a string is a very common Christmas tree decoration during tough times.

• The world’s largest popcorn ball weighed 3,415 pounds and was 8 foot in diameter and 24.6 feet around. It was unveiled in October 2006 in Lake Forest, Illinois.

• The “Popcorn Capital of the World” is claimed by at least six mid-western states in the United States, but the majority of popcorn is grown in Nebraska and Indiana. Texas production is on the rise.
• The Chinese have another method for popping popcorn. The corn is placed into a large cast iron container and sealed. It is turned over a fire on a rotisserie. When the pressure gauge indicates its ready, they remove it from the fire, put a canvas sack over the lid and release the seal. It makes a huge boom as all of the popcorn explodes at once. (see video below)
• Kernels that do not pop at the correct temperature where they should are known in the popcorn industry as “old maids”. A popped kernel is known a “flake”. The flakes come in two shapes. They are either ball-shaped cauliflower looking balls with few wings called mushrooms, or they are butterfly flakes where they have protruding wings or offshoots. The butterfly flakes have a better mouth feel, but because the mushroom flakes are sturdier, they are the ones manufacturers tend to use in packaged popcorn. One cob can produce both kinds of kernels, but they have also developed corn varieties that produce 100% of one variety.
• In the same way that Girl Scouts are known for selling cookies, the Boy Scouts are known for selling popcorn as their big fundraiser.