Popcorn

For many years we have been making our own popcorn. Each year is different; both taste and texture. Each crop is like a vintage wine that has it's distinctive character. This is one of the things that makes this so much fun for someone like me who loves popcorn. We pick our corn each year at the Tree Farm vegetable farm (click here for web link).

I hang it in the basement to dry. We then shell it, winnow it, and bag it. The tricky part is figuring out when it is has the proper moisture content to pop into nice fluffy kernels. This year (March 2009) we were so busy with various things we missed the optimal moisture. It dried out too much before I tested it.

It has small kernels that don't pop out (the moisture trapped inside the kernel turns to steam and causes the kernel to explode in a fluffy mass.) You can hear it while popping - it is very quiet and pops into very small 'hully' corns (yuck).

I really didn't want to throw out the whole batch so I shelled out a few cobs, winnowed them to remove the chaff and then I did something I've never tried. I poured it into a bowl and filled it with warm water. Swished it around a couple minutes, dumped it in a strainer and then packed it in zip-loc freezer bags; STILL DAMP. I sealed the bags and placed them in a warm place over night.

SEE:

An added bonus discovery that I noticed during shelling process. These over-dried cobs were far easier to shell than those at 'proper' moisture. So I think I'll adopt this as standard procedure in future batches.

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