Unpopped popcorn mystery solved

[nebula]

And people don't believe science gives them anything useful!

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Scientists solve unpopped popcorn <<--LINK

To pop or not to pop lies in the hull

Thursday, April 21, 2005 Posted: 11:42 AM EDT (1542 GMT)

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (AP) -- Eat your way to the bottom of almost any bag of popcorn and there they are: the rock-hard, jaw-rattling unpopped kernels known as old maids.

The nuisance kernels have kept many a dentist busy, but their days could be numbered: Scientists say they now know why some popcorn kernels resist popping into puffy white globes.

It's long been known that popcorn kernels must have a precise moisture level in their starchy center -- about 15 percent -- to explode. But Purdue University researchers found the key to a kernel's explosive success lies in the composition of its hull.

Unpopped kernels, it turns out, have leaky hulls that prevent the moisture pressure buildup needed for them to pop and lack the optimal hull structure that allows most kernels to explode.

"They're sort of like little pressure vessels that explode when the pressure reaches a certain point," said Bruce Hamaker, a Purdue professor of food chemistry. "But if too much moisture escapes, it loses its ability to pop and just sits there."

The findings may help popcorn breeders select the best varieties -- or create new ones -- with superior hulls that yield few, if any, unpopped kernels. But for now, there's no way to screen out potential old maids before they end up in bags of popcorn.

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(For the rest of the article, click on the link above.)

[Ovedya]

What???? No more grannies???

[LOVE SONGS]

OVEDYA.....grannies have kids....old maids don't.

I never heard of them called OLD MAIDS before.....

I LOVE POP-CORN .....favorite snack.

LOVE and PEACE to everyone,

[O'Dannyboy]

And here I thought I had it figured out. Being a popcorn lover I would like to empart the little bit of wisdom I have gained.

You know those husks that get caught under your gums or between your teeth? Well, some brands are better than others and it all seems related to the quality of the corn i.e......kernals. The bast brand I know of is Orvil Redenbachers. Very few of the kernals go without being popped and the have some really tastey butter flavors. Other brands like Pop-Secret and ActII are very low grade by comparison. I guess if you liked popcorn enough you could by a popper and the kernals and do it like that. I am still micowave dependant so I will stick with Orvils......at least till I run through this box of ActII I got at Sams Club.

[hmh]

And how much tax dollars were spent to solve this mystery? Oh well, I'd rather see it spent on this than abortion any day of the week.

[irishcowboy]

I knew that at least 30 years ago, on my own....

how many millions of dollars went into this scientific research?

we grew pop corn for years, and we had hardly any unpopped kernals....

also,

we have even fewer unpopped kernals by using a hot air popper then micro wave or other type of popper....

mike