What Is the Difference Between a Snowflake Popcorn Kernel & a Mushroom Popcorn Kernel? Home Guides

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Popcorn is a popular snack food that is thousands of years old. Not only do most of us enjoy it at movie theaters and for a homemade snack, it is also relatively easy to grow in the residential garden. Depending on what you want to do with your popcorn, you may prefer to grow a snowflake kernel or a mushroom kernel, so before deciding which type to purchase for planting, consider a few of their different traits.

Popped Shape Snowflake kernels are also known as butterfly kernels for their tendency to pop into complicated patterns with many limbs. These kinds are very airy, should be eaten quickly and can crumble easily. Mushroom kernels are harder and rounder, with far less protrusions and more chewiness to them. Although kernels of most types of popcorn are fairly close in size, snowflake popcorn tends to produce larger popped kernels than mushroom and is therefore often used in movie theaters.

Use Snowflake kernels are the light, fluffy kind we are accustomed to seeing at baseball games and movie theaters. Their many starburst-shaped appendages absorb butter and salt well, and the light texture melts in the mouth. On the other hand, mushroom kernels are typically much hardier and hold up to more than snowflake kernels. Because of their sturdiness, they are often used in making confectionery popcorn, as they are not as easily damaged by processing.

Type of Corn Although all popcorn is white after it is popped (the yellow of store-bought popcorn usually comes from butter), popcorn kernels are different colors before cooking. Though some varieties come in fancy colors suchas red, brown, blue and black, the most common kernel colors for standard popcorn are white and yellow. Yellow corn typically produces the lighter, airier snowflake or butterfly kernels, although white corn can also produce these and yellow corn can also pop into mushroom shapes.

Kernel Shape and Growth White popcorn is known for having more delicate, ricelike kernels, while yellow popcorn is often fatter and larger. Yellow does come in small and large varieties, but appear generally more robust and less delicate than white popcorn. Because white popcorn kernels are smaller, they may be slightly easier to grow to maturity. Either way, popcorn should be planted well after the last frost, when warm soil will germinate the plants easily and encourage growth.

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