Americans consume some 15 billion quarts of this whole grain, good-for-you treat. That’s 45 quarts per man, woman, and child.

Popcorn is a type of maize (or corn), a member of the grass family, and is scientifically known as Zea mays everta.

Popcorn differs from other types of maize/corn in that it has a thicker pericarp/hull. The hull allows pressure from the heated water to build and eventually bursts open. The inside starch becomes gelatinous while being heated; when the hull bursts, the gelatinized starch spills out and cools, giving it its familiar popcorn shape.



Compared to most snack foods, popcorn is low in calories. Air-popped popcorn has only 30 calories per cup. Oil-popped is only 35 per cup.





Popcorn is a whole grain. It is made up of three components: the germ, endosperm, and pericarp (also know as the hull).

Cultivating Popcorn

Most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest, primarily in Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri.

Many people believe the acres of corn they see in the Midwest during growing season could be picked and eaten for dinner, or dried and popped. In fact, those acres are typically field corn, which is used largely for livestock feed, and differs from both sweet corn and popcorn.

The peak period for popcorn sales for home consumption is in the fall.

Popping Popcorn

Popping popcorn is one of the number one uses for microwave ovens. Most microwave ovens have a "popcorn" control button.

"Popability" is popcorn lingo that refers to the percentage of kernels that pop.

Popcorn needs between 13.5-14% moisture to pop.

There is no such thing as “hull-less” popcorn. All popcorn needs a hull in order to pop. Some varieties of popcorn have been bred so the hull shatters upon popping, making it appear to be hull-less.

Most popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it's popped: snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger. Mushroom is used for candy confections because it doesn't crumble.

The world’s largest popcorn ball, according to Guinness World Records 2015, was created in 2013 at the Indiana State Fair. With the help of Pop Weaver, Snax in Pax, and Indiana's Family of Farmers, the popcorn ball weighed in at 6,510-pounds, 8 feet in diameter.



