Popping The Corn

Popcorn is my absolute favorite snack, and possibly my favorite food, in the whole world. I think I could live on popcorn with nothing more than butter and salt if I needed to. 

Though popcorn is a very popular American snack, it actually started off as a a breakfast food. Ahead of its time and very likely a role model for breakfast cereals to come, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, popcorn was eaten just as we eat cereal today.

Discovered in the Americas thousands of years ago, popcorn has captivated people for centuries with its mythical, magical charm.

At the heart of this endearing little kernel is a healthful whole-grain, naturally low in fat and calories, gluten-free, and non-GMO, which makes it a great fit for today’s health conscious consumer. It’s easy to understand why popcorn has remained so popular over time.

Corn today is completely different than what “corn ” meant in the ancient times, in different parts of the world. Biblical accounts of “corn” stored in the pyramids of Egypt are misunderstood. The “corn” from the Bible was probably barley. The mistake comes from a changed use of the word “corn,” which used to signify the most-used grain of a specific place. In England, “corn” was wheat, and in Scotland and Ireland the word referred to oats. Since maize was the common American “corn,” it took that name – and keeps it today. The earliest record of actual corn as we know it today, was from about 4000 years ago in the Americas.

Popcorn in the New World

Popcorn was integral to early 16th century Aztec Indian ceremonies. Bernardino de Sahagun writes: “And also a number of young women danced, having so vowed, a popcorn dance. As thick as tassels of maize were their popcorn garlands. And these they placed upon (the girls’) heads.” In 1519, Cortes got his first sight of popcorn when he invaded Mexico and came into contact with the Aztecs. Popcorn was an important food for the Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.

An early Spanish account of a ceremony honoring the Aztec gods who watched over fishermen reads: “They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water.”

Writing of Peruvian Indians in 1650, the Spaniard Cobo says, “They toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla, and they use it as a confection.”

In South America, kernels of popcorn found in burial grounds in the coastal deserts of North Chile were so well preserved they would still pop even though they were 1,000 years old.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE popcorn. There were two popcorn related gifts this Christmas, though the new popcorn popper was really to replace the old one that died. I guess it had just popped to much corn and gave out. 

My friend Lauren knows my love for popcorn, and gave me this big tube of gourmet popcorn as part of my Christmas gift. :) I guarantee it won’t take too long for me to get through it either, but I don’t eat it all by myself. I have help from our roommate at the moment, and of course Juneau and Dorrie like to nibble on mommy’s popcorn too. Larry eats a little, but his snack of choice is ice cream.

This tube has 3 different kinds and colors of gourmet popcorn. We are just working on the purple corn now. The different styles and colors of popcorns all have a slightly different taste and texture as well. Play with them all and see what you like best. Or better yet, mix and match and create your own style of popcorn.

Not only is popcorn my favorite snack, but it has been dinner on many occasions as well. Last night was one such night. We had a big lunch and weren’t hungry for dinner, but there was definitely room for … POPCORN.

The popcorn itself is a very healthy snack. It is ALL the other things we add to the popcorn that make it fattening and not so healthy. I LOVE butter, and butter makes everything better, and a dash of salt. I am also a popcorn purist, and butter and salt are the ONLY things I want on my popcorn, though today, there are many different options. Larry says I like popcorn because it is a butter delivery system. I think he is on to something. :)

Pop, pop, pop away and have a great time with it. Enjoy this ancient snack, however you like it. Happy New Year. I hope 2024 is full of great things for all of us. Stay safe and stay well. ’Til next time.