Evening star., 1945-01-19
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceUeIl.
"33rd STREET.

1s
Dear Sir:
'Pish and tosh. indeed! No true
lover OF popcorn has ever been content
with the accepting of cans of popcorn
either popped or unpopped as q. perma-
nent solution to the popcorn supply
problem. =
And it is indeed a problem in Wash
ington. Our first autumn in Washing
ton-and that was before the war-we
searched in vain for popcorn on the
cob-for that is the only way it can
be kept at its proper moisture content
over period of weeks or months.
I'VE first went to neighborhood groc-
cries. The shopkeeper looked rather
puzzled at the suggestion that popcorn
in cans is not really popcorn. We next
went to the markets-one man had
some ears of yellow popcorn that he
was selling more or less as oddities at
10 cents an ear. By the bushel? He
didn't know there was such a thing he
had never raised so much, but if he
ever did it would cost pretty penny.
Next We secured the countryside.
No, we didn't grown none, but Hank
Jones, down the road a piece, growed
some 10 years ago. Mebbe he'd have
some Well, Hank didn't; neither did
any one else. But call to the popcorn
country-a cry of anguish, brought
forth the desired results so that now,
each year at Christmas time our best
present is to find on our front steps a
big burlap bag full of popcorn on the
ear-that incest variety, the white ljce,
or hulless.
"This lasts pretty well until the next
Christmas. And white corn, say, for
1t is dufder, better favored than any
yellow corn ever grown. True, the
popped kernels are smaller than the
best yellow corn, but they are larger in
proportion to the original kernel, and
hence f1uffier.
Now then, popcorn pepper, if you
have more than three or four unpopped
kernels in the bottom of skillet full
of popped corn, there is something
wrong with your technique, or else
(ana perhaps more likely the moisture
content within the kernel is not right,
Three small ears of white, hullness
popcorn should produce three large,
over1owing skillets full of fluffy pop
corn. Well, after drying to the popping
stage, Dad always (and he really knew
kept the corn in an unheated shed the
interior Of which was much like the
out-of-doors, except that the rain and
most of the snow were kept out. Not
too wet to induce molding, not too
dry to cause further drying, and espe-
cially not too warm. This is rather
difficult to duplicate in our modern
city homes.
But we have found that placing the
popcorn when it first arrives in heavy
paper sacks, tying the top tightly and
placing on bench in our unheated
garage does the trick during the entire
heating season. During the rest of the
year, leave the corn in the same paper
bags, move it to the basement and let it
dangle by heavy cords from the over
head pipes
This seems to keep it in pretty good
shape for year round popping. 1t is
best to have quite bit in sack, and
If one gets low, add it to that in an
other sack-and if it should tend to
pop less WE'LL it is getting too dry. A
dash OF water, not enough to make
damp spots on the sack, and a weeks
cool. not too dry storage, will bring it
back.
Sincerely yours. w. e. S."
X
This expert on popcorn gives us some
good hints
One reason why many city dwellers
do not like popcorn on the cob is be-
cause it must be shelled.
This means that the thumbs catch it.
Or maybe Mr.. s. knows better way.
Gloves might be worn at the job, but
who wants to fool around with gloves?
Cracking walnuts on Sunday after
noon used to be favorite diversion.
f1atiron was held between the knees,
f1at side up, and both walnuts and
hickory nuts were cracked with ham
| mer
There was and is an art in cracking
them SO that the kernels can be got
out comparatively whole.
How fine these brief glimpses into
Americas past! Let us never permit
any one or any group Of any ones to
J make Us ashamed Of II.