A kernel of truth – The Hindu

There aren’t many everyday routines that are both overtly essential, while at the same time almost a form of art. Cooking, however, is one such routine that blends creativity, skill, and science to transform individual ingredients into dishes that are not just essential for our consumption and living, but also double up as unique, flavourful delights for our taste buds. Some take it to another level and make it a treat for the eyes as well with the way they present their dishes and make it visually appealing. 

Cooking, by no means, is an easy task (don’t let anyone convince you otherwise). Regardless of the quality of the cooking, doing it day after day takes a certain devotion and is often thankless. Not everyone is meant for cooking either. But for those who enjoy cooking, regardless of how often they are at it, the process could even be comforting and the results might be magical. 

It might not be a stretch to assume that it is these various cooks — be it the inspired magicians or the devoted daily practitioners — who are behind most of the recipes that we now enjoy worldwide. It is often impossible to trace back to one person who might have been responsible for a dish, especially those that have been around for time immemorial. One such dish is still a favourite snack… popcorn.

Not always a snack

One of the most popular snacks across the globe, popcorn has a history that traces back to thousands of years. It certainly didn’t have the many flavours that we now enjoy, nor did it even start out as a snack!

Corn was first domesticated nearly 9,000 years ago in Mexico. Even though it is a rather tough task, archaeologists have been able to piece together various pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to confirm beyond doubt that ancient inhabitants of these regions went on to eat corn in several ways, including popcorn and flour corn.

Cobs date roughly from 6,500-4,000 years ago from the “A” to the “C”. A is Proto-Confite Morocho race; B, Confite Chavinense maize race; C, Proto-Alazan maize race.
| Photo Credit:
Smithsonian Institution Archives

Popcorn’s discovery could rather well have been serendipitous, with maize kernels popping when dropped in a fire by accident. Those around wouldn’t have failed to notice what happened next, as popped kernels were easier to make, lasted longer and were a great way of preparing food. 

While the water content inside each kernel of corn provided a way for it to be spoilt, getting rid of the moisture content while preserving the edible starch was the perfect way to preserve these. As corns once popped could last longer, they provided the ancient people a rather intelligent way of both preserving these, and storing them for the future.

You might be used to having your popcorn buttered, salted, or even with some caramel. The initial people who had these very delights thousands of years ago surely didn’t have butter (milk came only after cows were domesticated, right?) and caramel, and even salt might have come much later. 

In all likelihood, the popcorn that they ate would neither have even been crunchy, nor served hot. With preservation and storage rating higher than taste and flavour, the popcorn that the ancients ate might have likely been chewy, the way it is when you let your open bowl of popcorn unattended for a period of time. 

The myth and the truth

The fact that corn was domesticated and cultivated in the Americas and that popcorn was eaten by the natives have been established beyond doubt. What is under suspicion, or maybe even baseless, is the story that European colonists were introduced to these on a certain date in 1630.

This historic legend goes something along these lines. A native Indian who went by the name Quadequina brought deerskin bags filled with popcorn as his contribution to a Thanksgiving dinner celebration held by the English colonists. The celebration with the settlers is believed to have taken place in the Massachusetts area, and the date for this is fixed as February 22, 1630. 

Most modern historians, and those who research corn extensively, believe that this is an urban legend. In addition to the corn grown in the areas usually mentioned in these stories being unsuitable for popping, there are no contemporary records from the 17th Century to back this claim. First mentions of such an incident appear in literature only late in the 19th Century.

The National Agricultural Library of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, however, makes it clear that European explorers were both introduced and intrigued by popcorn early in the 17th Century. French explorers of the Great Lakes region observed that the natives popped popcorn along with heated sand in a pottery vessel. They mention that the popped corns were then used to make popcorn soup, as early as 1612. 

The Europeans quickly took to popcorn themselves and colonial families are said to have sometimes had these popcorn for breakfast along with sugar and cream. For the centuries that followed, popcorn remained a small, home-grown crop. The explosion followed much later — about the end of the 19th Century — and coincides with the time when the Thanksgiving myth was likely propagated.

Few of the different flavours of popcorn that we get to enjoy these days.
| Photo Credit:
K.R. Deepak

Why does popcorn pop?

If you were under the impression that all types of maize give you good popcorn, then you are mistaken. Even though most varieties pop when heated, only one of them, popcorn, provides for the best popcorn!

When the corn kernels of popcorn are heated to about 180° C, the moisture inside the kernel is converted to pressurised steam, which then breaks the hull. The physical change that follows sees the inner starch expand and take a fluffy, edible form. 

If you’ve observed carefully, rather than just munching down them ruthlessly, you might have noticed that popcorn come in two basic shapes — butterfly and mushroom. With light, crispy texture, butterfly popcorn have a rather irregular shape with large bumps. These are prone to break pretty easily. Mushroom popcorn, on the other hand, are comparatively way more sturdy. This is because of their rough, round surface, thereby serving as a better fit when you want to add different flavourings and then stir the full container. 

Irrespective of the shape, popped popcorn takes up a much bigger volume than the kernels. That’s pretty obvious. In case you haven’t before, you can try to take some kernels, say 50 perhaps, and then see the space it occupies, just as kernels and then as popcorn. Popcorn usually takes up 40 times the space it did when lying around as kernels.

Published – February 22, 2026 12:54 am IST