why does popcorn pop?

Question

I wonder how it happens and if all types of corn can pop
If not what is the name of the ones that does and can i grow it in my backyard?

Answer 1

As with all cereal grains, each kernel of popcorn contains a certain amount of moisture and oil in its starchy endosperm. Unlike most other grains, the outer hull, or pericarp, of the popcorn kernel is both strong and impervious to moisture, and the starch inside consists almost entirely of a hard, dense type.

As the oil and the water is heated past the boiling point, they turn the moisture in the kernel into a superheated, pressurized steam, contained within the moisture-proof hull. Under these conditions, the starch inside the kernel gelatinizes, softening and becoming pliable. The pressure continues to increase until the breaking point of the hull is reached: a pressure of about 135 psi, or 9.1 atmospheres. at a temperature of 180 °C. The hull ruptures rapidly, causing a sudden drop in pressure inside the kernel and a corresponding rapid expansion of the steam, which expands the starch and proteins of the endosperm into an airy foam. As the foam rapidly cools, the starch and protein polymers set into the familiar crispy puff.

Hope this helps! =)

Answer 2

You can grow popping corn, but it is the way it is prepared after picking that makes it able to pop. The kernals have to be dried in a certain way so there is still a small percentage of moisture in the kernal that is unable to escape the very hard shell. The heat causes the moisture inside to turn to steam and expand and when it explodes you have popped corn. You would probably be better off sticking to buying it in the store than growing it yourself.

Answer 3

(m) Popcorn" is an ancient type of corn that contains a hard, glassy (or "vitreous") type of starch on the outside, and a softer, "floury" starch on the inside. In fact, it is probable that popcorn was the original type of corn, and that the first human use of corn grain as a food item ocurred when people realized that when they parched this grain, a formerly hard kernel became soft and edible. Most of the inside of a kernel is composed of starch, which is a storage carbohydrate, or fuel. This starch is known as the seed's "endosperm" (meaning it is inside the seed). Its purpose is to provide energy for the living part of the kernel, the "germ" or embryo, once this embryo germinates and establishes a new plant. Starch has a large water holding capacity, and for this reason it has a number of industrial uses as a dehydrating agent in powder form. When you heat popcorn, the water that is ordinarily bound in the floury endosperm becomes a vapor and bursts through the fruit case, or "pericarp" of the kernel. In order for this to happen successfully and dependably, therefore, the kernel must be relatively small, and the hard, or flinty, outer shell of the kernel must be quite strong to resist the building pressure. This is why popcorn produces grains that are smaller than most field corn.

Answer 4

not all corn pops - must be popping corn. it pops because the water inside the kernel turns to steam as the kernel is heated. The steam creates pressure that cause the kernel to pop open.

Answer 5

Watch "Good Eats" on the Food Network.

There's a whole episode about popcorn, and about a 10 minute segment on why it pops.

Answer 6

Its a chemical reaction. Only certain varieties are pop-able. You can find them in a Gurney's seed catalog. You can grow it in a backyard garden depending upon where you live and if its season for planting it there or not!

Answer 7

Well, I cannot answer, exept if I should do some research which I can't be bothered with, but I think that is a good question. Many of us eat food and don't how it's made and the dynamics behind it.

Answer 8

Juuust collecting my 2 points,continue as you were.

Answer 9

there is moisture in the kernel, and when it turns to steam it explodes

Answer 10

to much air