National Caramel Popcorn Day

April 6th is National Caramel Popcorn Day in the United States.

Popcorn is the expanded kernel of maize, a type of corn. The kernel expands when heated with a distinctive "pop," hence the name.

Popcorn by itself is a healthy snack, low in calories and fat, free of sugar and sodium and is high in dietary fibre and antioxidants, but often quite tasteless. To make it more interesting, quantities of other ingredients are mixed in to add flavour, which destroys much of the nutritional value.
Caramel popcorn, also called caramel corn, is popcorn that has been coated with sugar or molasses. A similar type is toffee popcorn. Needless to say, popcorn that has been coated in a sugar derivative is not the healthiest thing to eat - even if it does taste nice.

National Popcorn Poppin' Month

October is National Popcorn Poppin' Month in the United States.

Popcorn comes from a type of corn called maize. It is the kernel, which puffs up when heated. Popcorn is quite an old dish; examples have been found dating back to around 4700 BC.

Today, popcorn is strongly associated with entertainment, particularly with the cinema and watching films.. It is usually bought pre-made, but it can also be cooked at home, using either popcorn machines, on the hob, or possibly in the microwave.

At its most basic, popcorn is actually a healthy snack, as it is high in fibre and antioxidants and low in calories and fat and free from both sugar and sodium. That is before anything is added to it, and it is rare for it to be actually served like that.

Popcorn is quite a neutral dish; it can be made into a savoury one by adding salt, or a sweet one by adding toffee or butter and sugar. As an alternative to sugar, artificial sweeteners could be used.

National Popcorn Day

National Popcorn Day is on January 19th in the United States.

Popcorn, or popping corn, is a type of corn - maize - that has been heated until it explodes, or "pops," hence the name. Not all types of corn are able to pop and make popcorn.

Popcorn is not, as you might think, a modern food - it is in fact a very old one. Maize has been grown for over 11,000 years in Mexico and popcorn has been found dating back over 5,500 years - perhaps much longer.

Popcorn is actually quite a healthy food, in its normal state. It's high in fibre, low in calories and fat and free from sugar and sodium. This is generally found to be quite boring and tasteless, and most modern popcorn is doused in much more unhealthy ingredients, such as salt, butter and toffee.

Popcorn can be made either savoury or sweet, depending on what, if anything, is added to the dish.