AGRICULTURE REPORT -July 9, 2002: Popcorn
By George Grow
This is the VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT.
Americans love popcorn. They eat it at home, at sports events, and in movie theaters.
Popcorn has smaller pieces or kernels than other kinds of corn. The kernels have a hard
outside shell and a soft center. When the kernels are heated, the outside shells burst. The soft
centers expand and become filled with air. The resulting popcorn looks like small, white
balls of cotton.
Corn grows on the parts of the plant commonly called
“
ears.
”
Corn, including popcorn,
was developed in North and South America thousands of years ago.The oldest ears of
popcorn were discovered in the American state of New Mexico. They were reported to be more than five thousand
years old. In Peru, scientists discovered one-thousand-year-old popcorn kernels in a human burial area.
Early explorers to the Americas were the first Europeans to see popcorn. Four hundred years ago, French
explorers saw members of the Iroquois native American tribe make popcorn with heated sand in a clay container.
They said the Iroquois used popcorn to make a liquid food, or soup.
The Europeans who settled in North America loved popcorn. Some colonial families ate popcorn with sugar and
milk for their first meal of the day.
In the United States, popcorn became very popular during the first part of the twentieth century. Large and small
businesses sold popcorn wherever crowds gathered.
Today, the United States produces almost all of the world’s popcorn. Farmers must choose the right time to
harvest popcorn. It is best to delay harvesting until the corn is fully developed. However, farmers also must guard
against corn plants falling down or becoming too wet.
American farmers use machines to pick the ears of corn from the plants. After picking, the corn must be dried.
There are different ways to dry and store popcorn for future use. Some growers like natural air-drying. Others use
large machines.
After drying, the corn is taken to a processing center. Machines remove the kernels from the ears. Separators and
other equipment remove damaged kernels or other material. Then, the kernels are sent through machines that
clean them. After that, the popcorn is prepared to be sent to stores.
This VOA Special English AGRICULTURE REPORT was written by George Grow.
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