A Pop History The oldest popcorn ever found was discovered in the "Bat Cave" of central New Mexico. It is thought to be about 5,600 years old. In tombs in Peru, archaeologists found ancient kernels of popcorn that are so well preserved that they can still pop. ... Popcorn was probably an important part of life in the ancient Americas.
"Orville Redenbacher started his career selling fertilizer, but spent his spare time working with popcorn. In 1951, he and partner Charlie Redenbacher Bowman bought the George F. Chester and Son seed corn plant near Valparaiso, Indiana". "Naming the company "Chester Hybrids", they tried tens of thousands of hybrid strains of popcorn before settling on a hybrid they named "RedBow". This name was used due to neither Redenbacher nor Bowman wanting all the publicity. An advertising agency, however, advised them to use "Orville Redenbacher" as the brand name, advice that cost them $13,000". "They launched their popping corn in 1970, and Orville was suddenly everywhere. Redenbacher first appeared on national television in 1973—long before the commercials that featured him promoting popcorn".
Without butter it has no fat and 40 calories. I'll still have mine slathered with good old butter. It ain't popcorn if it don't have butter.
Right now I am enjoying the bags of White Cheddar popcorn I got at the Kroger's in Texas. I like my popcorn all kinds of ways!
Glad I found this thread, 'cause I have some questions: How do you store your popcorn? I keep it in the refrigerator. Is that a bad idea? Popcorn can stay around for well over a year at my house. I go on binges, and then don't touch it for months. Should I look for a bat cave?
Nancy, we store ours in a sealed container and it seems to last for at least a year that way. We don't eat much of it any more, as our children are out of the house and my wife cna no longer tolerate it due to digestive issues. That leaves only me, and I try only to eat it when she is a t work, as it drives her a bit crazy to smell it popping. When the children were home, we ate pounds of the stuff most weeks in the winter, and we still have some of the old stash stored for "hard times". I have known people to store it in the refrigerator or even the freezer to maintain freshness.
That makes sense. It isn't even sealed when you buy it, so you shouldn't have to keep it cool. Just a habit I probably got into long ago because there was more room in the refrigerator than in the cupboards.
I think there needs to be a bit of moisture inside the kernel, that expands when heated, causing the "explosion". storing it in the frig, helps keep the corn from drying out. I have been buying the single serving bags of Orville R....which are individually sealed. It makes enough for one person.
When I was a kid popcorn and an apple or glass of grape juice was our Sunday night supper while we watched Walt Disney on our wooden television set with the giant rabbit ears.