The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1924-10-02
Popcorn and How to Pop 1t
(By Roland T Patten)

(By Roland /. PalleDJ
Not long since | told YOU about a
meal of popped corn and double
strength milk which could be provid-
ed for twenty cents Of course. to
be up to expectations, it would have
to be good milk and well popped corn
A good deal can be said about milk
for food but, that should be dealt
with in a separate article. What |
want to talk about at this time is
popcorn, of which | have been learn
ing quite a lot the past few years.
am amazed at the extent Of the inves-
tigation which has been given this
subject. Who would suppose that
such a simple matter would be studi-
ed by saYants and scientists. such
is the case, however, and there IS
enough literature dealing with the
raising, storing and popping OF corn
to fiji several feet of library shelf,
much OF which confirms knowledge
which is more or less general, and
much of which is information, OF
which | stood in need and OF which
the public could with profit be in
formed.
have for sometime known that
package corn. that is the corn shelled
and put up in cartons, was not uni
versally of good quality. 1t is al
most uniformly undesirable Have
tried several brands and under vary
ing circumstances, most of the time
with unsatisfactory results. The
bulletins and books upon the subject
indicate the same experience by 9TH
ers. You would not always get good
popcorn from the cob but you are
much more likely TO and the oppor-
tunity to judge of its quality is rath-
err better in that form.
] had entirely the wrong notion
about storage. / knew that corn
fresh out of the field would not pop
and that it had to be dried for CON
siderable period. The notion that
It could be over-dried had entirely es-
capped me. The idea is quite prevail
ent that corn is better when year
or more old and that it can scarcely
be dried to the popping stage in less
than twelve months. Careful ex-
periments as to this shows that it
can be dried sufficiently in three or
four months and that 1t is quite often
dried altogether too much. Corn
with less than twelve or more than
eighteen per cent of moisture is not
at the highest state of poppablity.
Home conditions do not convent
emily permit of experiments for moist
ure determination but it is easy
enough to come at the matter an
other way. Pop corn should be stor-
ed in an unheated room; outdoor or
open-shed conditions are ideal. The
only exception to this might be in hot
summer weather and then basement
or even cellar may be resorted to-
A desirable condition also is furnish
ed by the refrigerator or ice box All
that is necessary is to store it where
1t will retain its natural moisture
content.
Corn that has been too much dried
out will require storage under some
one OF the above conditions for sew
eral weeks before moisture is regain
ed. If haste is necessary it may be
put in water for twenty-four hours
and allowed to dry for about forty
eight. 1t will pop in twenty-four
hours, after being soaked; l have
b tried it myself, but it is better at
the end Of two days
Three or four ounces is the right
quantity for the ordinary sized pop
per, which measures about by16 by
lncneS, tlOz CUBIC. 1ncneSJ. InlS
will be found to we'll cover the bot
tom. DO not hurry the popping pro-
cess If the corn is oyer-heated at
the start the kernels will crack open
but won't burst In the feathery mass
which is so desirable. A little ex-
perimentng will show you the kind
OF fire you want.
It's easy to have too much heat and
it's disastrous not to have enough.
Conditions should be such that the
first kernels will burst open at the
end of about three minutes and two
minutes after that should see the job
finished. Good corn, skillfully pop
t ped, should increase in volume about
twenty-seven times.
Corn is at the maximum of it's pal
atability and digestibility when tho
roughly popped and freshly eaten.
The unpopped or partially popped
kernels won't kill anybody but they
are not always assimilated and i'm
pose an unnecessary, strain upon the
stomach and other digestive organs.
Well popped corn is edible even if it
sets around for a few hours or long
err, but it loses its crisp condition
and is not so palatable and digestible.
Considering its food value ana~del-
icious taste it is rather odd that it
Is not more constant article of diet.