Popcorn

 

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Uploaded by Cbro10

An early popcorn machine in a street cart, 

invented in the 1880s by Charles Cretors in Chicago.

Old Fashioned Popcorn

Utensils

Pot with lid

Large bowl

Tablespoon

Optional - large spoon to toss finished popcorn

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons of olive or canola oil

popcorn

sea salt

Assorted toppings such as parmesan or romano cheese, brewer's yeast, various herbs or spices such as paprika, freshly ground black pepper, basil.

Courtesy of Wikipedia
Photographer:  Spedona 
 "Corn male flower AKA corn tassel. The stamens of the flower produce a light, fluffy pollen which is borne on the wind to the female flowers (silks) of other corn plants."

Procedure

1.  Put your oil in a pan and add popcorn, at maximum, thinly covering the entire bottom of the pot, but not so much that the kernels lie on top of one another.

2.  Put the lid on and heat on low medium to medium.  Occasionally "shuffle" the pan back and forth over the heat, perhaps holding down the lid with one hand (while you hold the pot handle with the other - and using a towel or heat mitts of course), and so that you hear the kernels "shuffle" around, as well.

3.  As the kernels begin to pop, continue occasionally shuffling the pan until the popping slows down and almost completely stops.  Be careful not to heat too long, or the popped corn will burn.

Then, immediately turn off and remove the pot from further heating, and by dumping the corn into a large bowl.  Sprinkle with a bit more oil and sea salt, and toss with clean hands or a large spoon.

Add additional toppings, as preferred, or nothing else.

Serve and enjoy!  Great with a beer and movie.

Discussion

History.com reports recent discoveries indicating popcorn was popular in ancient Peru as far back as 4700 B.C. - about 1,000 years earlier than previously believed, and predating pottery use, showing that experimentation with corn was happening before the development of ceramics.   

Findings appeared January 17th in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Evidence was unearthed over the past three years at Paredones and Huaca Prieta, two coastal sites that were once prehistoric settlements. The earliest versions of the snack were prepared by roasting the corn cobs directly over fire, without the pot, and with later inhabitants of Peru’s northern coast developing the world’s oldest known popper around 300 A.D. -- a shallow vessel with a handle and a hole on top.  Researchers determined how the corn cobs were used by studying their characteristics indicating inhabitants were grinding the corn into flour as well as popping, as we modernists enjoy.

Photo credit/courtesy of History.com, photographer: Tom D. Dillehay, picture of ancient corn recently discovered, and predating earlier estimates for the first popcorn.