There’S No Snack More American

It’s Super Bowl Sunday and with it comes plenty of hootin’ and hollerin’ and good food. One of the mainstays of these Super Bowl fortifiers is popcorn. That’s right, popcorn. No sporting function would be worth its salt without a tub of popcorn. So, in keeping with the festivities, today we honor popcorn — that high-fiber, low-fat (so long as we avoid the butter), All-American snack food.

I say All-American because it’s native to the Americas. Corn is the product of a wild grass called Teosinte (Zea Mexicana) which has been traced to Mexico. The oldest known remains of corn are more than 7,000 years old. (This is what you might classify as over-mature corn, and a bit beyond starchy.) Corn was a staple food for the Native Americans and the early settlers.

But the corn of yesterday is nothing like the corn of today — at least not the eating corn. Since those early times, hybridizers have developed literally hundreds of varieties and types.

All corn grows the same way and looks the same as it grows. What makes the difference in the corn is what’s found in the kernel. Corn that is ground into flour has starchy kernels, sweet corn has more sugar than starch, popcorn kernels contain water and a balance between starch and protein.

Of all the corn that is consumed, it’s the ancient popcorn that is by far the favorite. Yet very few of us actually raise it. I am sure one of the main reasons is that our growing season is simply too short. Most popcorn varieties take 80 to 120 days to mature. If we can get by September without a killing frost, we should be able to raise popcorn. If you have the room, it’s worth a try.

The cultural requirements for popcorn are the same as for any other type of corn — the plants need full sun, the soil should be moist and rich with compost. Since popcorn has a longer growing season than most sweet corn, we need to get it in the ground as soon as possible. Of course, it can’t be planted unless the soil is warm. Nudge the warming process by covering the soil for a few days with clear or black plastic.

One point we must keep in mind is that popcorn will cross-pollinate with other corns. For this reason, sweet corn and popcorn must be separated by at least 50 feet, 100 is better. If your neighbors have their corn growing near where you intend to plant, be considerate. Share with them what you intend to do. This will give your neighbor the opportunity to move his or her planting or for you to move yours. You can also try to time the plantings so that pollination occurs at different times. Remember, it’s the wind that drops the pollen from the tassel onto the silk. If the silk has formed at the same time on both the popcorn and the sweet corn, and the two varieties are close together, there will be cross-pollination. Crossed corn tastes like dent or field corn - starchy and tasteless.

Popcorn is ripe when the husks and stalks turn brown and the corn itself is shiny and impervious to being pierced by a fingernail.

However, that is not the time to harvest. The water content is what makes popcorn pop. The kernels must dry just at the right speed to trap just the correct amount of water in the kernel - not too much and not too little. The best method to achieve this balance is to allow the corn to dry on the stalks.

However, by October, we can be into our cold and rainy season. I recommend drying the ears on a screen in a warm and dry room.

Then the corn has to be shelled. This chore is easily handled by holding the tip of the corn in one hand and twisting the other hand over the kernels. The freed kernels should fall easily from the cob. Store the shelled corn in an air-tight jar in a dark cupboard. Some people store their popcorn in the freezer with great success. If you’re left with a lot of unpopped kernels, try the freezing method.

You can tell if the corn is ready to pop by testing a handful. All the kernels should pop within one minute. If not, let them dry a week or so longer. When popcorn kernels are heated, the water stored in the soft starch near the center of the kernel becomes steam and expands. Steam causes the outer surface to give way, exploding the kernel and literally, turning it inside out.

There are many methods for popping corn. Hot-air poppers produce the healthiest popcorn because oil is not required. If however, you wish to pop the corn the old-fashioned way, simply heat a pan, but do not add oil. The kernels will pop more gradually without it. When it’s good and hot, throw in a handful of kernels and cover the pan loosely to let the steam escape. Rotate the pan so that you don’t scorch the corn.

Enjoy the game, good friends and the popcorn. Go Denver. (I wish it were the Jets.)