Generality
The pop corn or "popcorn" or "popping corn"is a cooked food based on corn seeds belonging to the genus Zea, Species mays, Variety Everta.
As many will know, varying amounts of seeds do not burst and produce popcorn. This phenomenon can be mainly due to:
- leaks or cracks in the lining of the grain;
- carbonization of the coating during cooking;
- uneven heat distribution;
- too slow heating which leads to the evaporation of the water through the area where the grain is inserted on the cob.
The home cooking techniques of popcorn are the pan or the microwave oven, respectively equipped with a lid or a hermetically sealed bag (to prevent the popcorn from bouncing all over the place). Currently there are special household appliances on the market for the production of popcorn even if, like the microwave, they require the use of pre-processed corn.
Curiosity: popcorn, in addition to being a very popular food, in the USA are frequently used for holiday decorations or, recently, as shock absorbers to be inserted inside the packaging.
Background
Although it may seem an "avant-garde" food, the finds indicating the first popcorn maize crops date back to 4,700 BC and have been discovered in the regions of present-day Peru and Mexico; however, popcorn is now considered a typical American food.
Incredibly, in the period of the great depression of the "900, popcorn (unlike all other foods) acquired an excellent commercial value that continued to grow until the Second World War (consumption increased up to 300%, greatly damaging the confectionery industry. ). Currently, the area of the new continent that has the largest production of popcorn is the Midwest, in particular: Ridgway (Illinois), Valparaiso (Indiana), Van Buren (Indiana), Schaller (Iowa), Marion (Ohio) and North Loup (Nebraska). Texas is also growing strongly.
Types
Popcorns are not all the same; many differ in the color of the pericarp (purple, orange, yellow, red), while the foam is always white or yellowish. The shape of the seed distinguishes the varieties rice (elongated) from pearl (more spherical); moreover, the same panicle can originate seeds capable of producing flakes of two different shapes: butterfly And wings; this last form (often obtained uniformly from botanically selected plants), is more suitable for storage in bags, while the butterfly is undoubtedly more pleasant to the touch.
Sweet and Colorful Pop Corn
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Consumption
Popcorn can be eaten plain or with the addition of other ingredients. In Italy, popcorn is simply salty and, at most, greased to prevent it from sticking to the pan during cooking. In the USA, on the other hand, pop corn is often seasoned with melted butter, caramel, sugar, topping etc; in Mexico they accompany it with jalapeno (chilli) sauce, cheese and melted butter; in Peru, in addition to the classic salty popcorn, they consume it with condensed milk and sugar.
Nutritional characteristics
Nutritional values (per 100 g of edible portion)
Let's start by specifying that the "American Academy of Pediatrics" has long included popcorn among the foods NOT to be given to children under the age of 4, due to the high risk of suffocation. In addition, in many popcorns to be cooked in the microwave there is an ingredient that is still being studied: "l"artificial butter-flavorants"; this, containing diacetyl [butanedione or butane-2,3-dione - (CH3CO) 2] can be responsible for the triggering of respiratory diseases.
As for the consumption of "natural" popcorn, there are no particular contraindications to consumption, even if the recommendation not to exceed the portions is always valid. On the other hand, popcorn is certainly one of the foods to AVOID for those suffering from intestinal diverticulosis, since the residues of the fibrous pericarp tend to trigger acute, therefore diverticulitis.
Given the tendency of Italians to consume salted popcorn, it should also be remembered that sodium is a potential risk factor for the onset of arterial hypertension, thus increasing the cardiovascular risk.
As for all other forms of popcorn seasoning: melted butter, chocolate, various toppings, caramel, etc., these are foods to be avoided as much as possible. They all bring excessive quantities of calories, saturated fats, cholesterol and simple sugars, unbalancing the nutritional balance of the diet and favoring an increase in blood sugar, cholesterolemia, as well as dental caries.
By itself, natural popcorn is NOT a food that you have to give up. It mainly provides starch and some proteins of medium biological value, even if the scarce presence of water favors the increase in the caloric density of the meal (high) and tends to increase the portions of consumption due to reduced satiating capacity. The fiber is abundant but mostly NOT viscous.
From a vitamin point of view, popcorn seems rich in B-complex vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin and niacin), while as regards the mineral salts, excellent amounts of iron, potassium and phosphorus are found.
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