One of the appealing reasons of having the children start off the early weekend at the family homestead are the possibility of enjoying the late movie nights. While all their cousins gather for fun night followed by sleepover, we adults can enjoy a late night with either a marathon movie run with that huge tempting bowl of popcorn. Minus this combination, the movie runs feel incomplete. Along with the numerous flavourings and seasonings, each popcorn night lets the experimentation streak run free.
“Have you ever pondered the miracle of popcorn? It starts out as a tiny, little, compact kernel with magic trapped inside that when agitated, bursts to create something marvelously desirable. It’s sort of like those tiny, little thoughts trapped inside an author’s head that? in an excited explosion of words?suddenly become a captivating fairy tale!” Richelle E. Goodrich
One of the first use of the first use of wild and early cultivated corn was popping. Food historians believe that popped corn was integral to the South American regions as well as a part of the Aztec Indian ceremonies (early 16th century). As recorded by Bernardino de Sahagun, “And also a number of young women danced, having so vowed, a popcorn dance. As thick as tassels of maize were their popcorn garlands. And these they placed upon (the girls’) heads.” To date, the oldest ears of popcorn ever found were discovered in west central New Mexico(Bat Cave, 1948 and 1950) and dated to about four thousand years old.
Not just for basic food, popcorn was also used as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods (Aztec Indian), including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility. Following the traditions of Peruvian Indians, “They toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla, and they use it as a confection (Spaniard Cobo, 1650).” Accounts of French explorers wrote of Iroquois people popping tough corn kernels in pottery jars filled with heated sand.
Early Spanish accounts write of various ceremonies honouring their gods as, “They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water.” Finding it’s place among burial grounds as well, these kernels of popcorn were so well preserved that they would pop even though they were a thousand years old.
With colonization, trade imports and exports, popcorn had entered into the food patterns of the settlers and colonists. Initially through the 19th century popping of the kernels was achieved by hand on the stove-top. In fact the term “popped corn” first appeared in John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms(1848) with the very early years seeing them popped by hand and added as ingredients to various products. Although popcorn was beloved by families as a late-night snack in front of the fire, or at picnics and sociables; mass consumption of the treat took off after Charles Cretors, a Chicago based entrepreneur who had built the first popcorn-popping machine (late 1890s) with the arrival of street carts with fully equipped steam-powered popcorn makers.
Adding to the ease of availability was the fairly inexpensive cost, such that it became a popular snack especially during the Great Depression. With the snack being popular especially at the movies as well as drive in shows, carnivals, fairs and matches, it became an essential part of these events. Over time popcorns have evolved from their basic style to a varied range of flavoured variants like caramel chipotle, coffee caramel and kettle, cheddar; although the classic butter and salt still stays ahead on the favoured list.
“Of course life is bizarre, the more bizarre it gets, the more interesting it is. The only way to approach it is to make yourself some popcorn and enjoy the show.” David Gerrold
Not just for the basic munch time, popcorn has found it’s place in numerous recipes like cheesy popcorn bread, power bars, glazed into sweet treats, muffins or as an add on to the salads, cereals, healthy mixes or simply into edible or inedible art, going beyond the food zone. Little wonder then why this kernel of delight has stayed on since it’s evolution from the very early years, still being a favourite then and now, with age never being a barrier.
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