| Popcorn Facts: A Historical Journey. |
 |
Popcorn's Early History
- Though popcorn probably originated in Mexico, it was grown in China, Sumatra and India years before Columbus came to America.
- The oldest known corn pollen is barely distinguishable from the modern corn pollen, based upon the 80,000-year-old fossil found 200 feet below Mexico City.
- Many believe the first use of wild and early-cultivated corn was for popping.
- Researchers have found grains of popcorn perhaps 1,000 years old in tombs on the east coast of Peru. These grains are so well preserved that they will still pop.
- A 1,000-year-old popped kernel of popcorn was found in southwestern Utah, in a dry cave inhabited by predecessors of the Pueblo Indians.
- Ancient popcorn poppers have been found on the north coast of Peru and date back to the pre-Incan Mohica Culture of about 300 A.D. Their look is a bit different from today's deep containers. Ancient shallow vessels had a hole on the top, with a single handle, which was sometimes decorated with a sculptured motif such as a cat. Other poppers were sometimes decorated with printed motifs all over the vessel
- Most popcorn of 8 centuries ago was tough and slender-stalked. The kernels were also quite resilient. Winds, even today, have been known to blow desert sands from ancient burials, exposing kernels of popped corn that look fresh and white but are several centuries old.
|
Europe & Popcorn
- Popcorn and other corn types had spread to most all Native American tribes in North and South America by the time Europeans began settling in the Western Hemisphere
- More than 700 types of popcorn were being grown in North and South America, which led to the invention of many extravagant poppers
- Sixteenth century Aztecs used popcorn in their ceremonies
- Young women danced a "Popcorn Dance", and wore garlands of popcorn in their hair There was even a widely consumed popcorn beer.
- Prior to Columbus' arrival, the natives of Arawak and Carib were using popcorn for decorations and food in the West Indies in 1492
- 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."
- Early French explorers traveling through the Great Lakes region (circa 1612) reported that the Iroquois popped popcorn in a pottery vessel with heated sand and used it to make popcorn soup.
- Quadequina, brother of the Wampanoag chief Massasoit, brought a deerskin bag of popped corn to the English colonists at the first Thanksgiving Feast at Plymouth, Massachusetts.
- The first "puffed" breakfast cereal eaten by Europeans was popcorn. Colonial housewives served it with sugar and cream for breakfast.
|
Popcorn Since The 1800's
- The first mobile popcorn machine was invented by Charlie Cretors in 1885. He made poppers that could be pushed on foot, pulled by horse or mounted on trucks. Prior to his invention stationary poppers sat in front of stores to attract attention. The Cretors popper allowed vendors to be close to the crowds, especially the crowds near movie theaters.
- During the Great Depression, popcorn at 5 or 10 cents a bag was one of the few luxuries that struggling families could afford. When other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived.
- Home poppers were first introduced around 1925
- During World War II, sugar was sent overseas for U.S. troops, which virtually depleted the abundance of sugar left in the States to make candy. Thanks to this unusual situation, Americans ate three times as much popcorn.
- Percy Spencer, in 1945, discovered that popcorn placed under microwave energy popped. This led to other food experiments, and the birth of the microwave oven.
- Popcorn sales slumped during the early 1950s, as television became popular, and movie theater attendance dropped. Later Americans began eating popcorn at home, which led to a resurgence in popcorn popularity
- The average American eats about 68 quarts. Total American consumption is approximately 17.3 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year.
|
| |
