National Popcorn Day comes on January 19 of every year. Popcorn or popping corn is expanded from the kernel and puffs when they are heated.
When kernel and puffs are heated pressure builds within them and results in a pop-like structure called Popcorn.
Popcorn strings at Christmas, balls at Halloween, and all year round at the Movie times. Popcorn is usually served salted or sweetened.
In North America, they are served with salt, sometimes with butter or butter-like topping. Some of the sweetened varieties of popcorn-like caramel corn, kettle corn are also commonly available.
Corn plays a vital role in the diets of the different cultures and spreads worldwide phenomena. Hence National Popcorn Day is a day to have a taste of a big bowl of corn with a delicious treat.
History of National Popcorn Day:
The creator or inventor of National Popcorn Day was still unknown. Corn was first cultivated in Mexico over 9000 years ago. Archeologists have said that people knew about Popcorn 1000 years ago.
Some of the historians believe that popcorn is the first corn that the people knew. In the 19th century, the popping of kernels was first achieved manually and sold on the east coast of the USA under the names of Pearls or Nonpareil.
The term Popcorn first appeared in Dictionary of Americanisms which was written by John Russell Barlett. In cracker jack popcorn is an ingredient and in the earlier years, it was popped by hand.
Some people have said that popcorn is healthy food and some said that it is not healthy due to different reasons. They said how it was prepared and how it cooked.
Air-Popped Corns are rich in dietary fiber and antioxidants and are low in calories and fats. They are also free from sugar and sodium.
For people with dietary restrictions, popcorn is an attractive snack. Not only in food applications, but popcorns also have non-food applications which range from holiday decorations to packaging materials.
A lot of techniques are available for popping corn. Nowadays Americans consume over 13 Billion Quarts of popcorn per year and the majority of popcorn is cultivated in the United States of America.
The state of Nebraska leads the corn belt in popcorn production. Nowadays popcorn is a huge part of the movie experience. But initially, the theater owners were against serving popcorn in their theaters.
But people had forced the theater owners to start selling popcorn in movie times. And now they are a huge part of the film experience.
How to celebrate National Popcorn Day:
Celebrate the day by having a big bowl of Popcorn with your favorite toppings. You can mix the Popcorn with butter or salt for more taste.
People can celebrate National Popcorn Day by doing crafts with popcorn. Normally Popcorn Strings are wonderful decorations, and they can be used to make garlands.
Popcorns can glue it to construction paper for the college and then it can be painted with excellent decoration.
How to observe National Popcorn Day:
The National Day Calendar began on National Popcorn Day in 2013. Pop your favorite popcorn and share a bowl with a friend.
Educators and families, visit the National Day Calendar Classroom for projects and ideas to help you Celebrate Every Day with your students.
Popcorns fun facts:
- Americans eat about 17 billion quarts of popcorn every single year. That’s 52+ quarts for every man, woman, and child in the U.S.
- Every year, the amount of popcorn consumed by Americans increases by about 5%.
- Not surprisingly, popcorn is the number one snack food in the U.S.
- Approximately 66% of all the popcorn eaten in the United States is consumed in the home. The other 33% is served at various sporting events, festivals, and movie theaters.
- In Illinois, popcorn is the official snack food. The state also has its own Popcorn Day – which has been celebrated since 1958.
- The biggest popcorn ball in the world was 12-feet in diameter and weighed over 5,000 pounds. It required 2,000-pounds of corn, 4,900 pounds of sugar, and 280 gallons of corn syrup.
- If you’re popping corn at home, then you’ll want to know that two tablespoons of kernels cost about a quarter and make about a quart of popcorn.
- Americans buy about 90% of their popcorn in unpopped form.
- Most of the popcorn eaten around the world is grown in the United States.
- Popcorn has more iron than eggs and spinach. It also has more fiber than potato chips.
- Nebraska produces about 250 million pounds of popcorn – every single year.
- Nebraska produces 25% of all of the popcorn the United States produces every year.
- The Aztecs used popcorn during their ceremonies.
