Different Kinds of Popcorn and Their Uses
It’s All About The Flake!
Put "different kinds of popcorn" on hold for a second. What's a flake?
A piece of popped popcorn is known as a “flake”. Which isn’t so strange once you remember that you already talk about and hear about “Corn Flakes” all the time as a breakfast cereal. So whether the corn kernel is smashed then baked or popped under extreme heat, it’s known as a “flake”.
Two Very Different Kinds of Popcorn Flakes
Popped popcorn has two major shapes, Mushroom and Butterfly.
Mushroom Popcorn explodes into a round ball-shape that looks like a button mushroom, hence its name.
Mushroom flakes are excellent for recipes that coat the popcorn, such as
Caramel Corn
,
Chocolate Popcorn
and
White Chocolate Popcorn
. The smooth outer surface is perfect for evenly covering with candy coatings or cheesy sprinkles.
A different kind of popcorn, “Butterfly”, has exploded roughly in half and has starch thrown out in two opposite directions. These starch projections look a bit like wings, so this type is termed “Butterfly”. This is also referred to as “Snowflake” popcorn.
Expansion Ratio And Taste
Another way to categorize popcorn is to compare varieties and their kernel's expansion ratios.
The expansion ratio compares the volume of 1 gram of unpopped popcorn with the volume of the same ammount after it has been popped. This ratio tells us how big the kernel popped as well as how light and fluffy the popcorn flakes will be.
The expansion ratio also tells us a great deal about the popcorn’s taste. Varieties of popcorn that have large expansion ratios (big flakes) tend to be less flavorful than kernels that pop smaller.
Knowing which kind of popcorn you have, i.e. high or low expansion ratio popcorn, plays a large part in what you do with it.
So What DO I use, Large or Small?
Varieties that pop really large are great for recipes where the flavoring is in the coating syrup. Using large popping corn also minimizes the hull content of the finished product.
Varieties that pop small but are full of taste are best for everyday eating. These may taste fine in say, a popcorn ball recipe, but because of the flake’s small size, the popcorn ball might seem full of hulls compared to popcorn balls made with large flake popcorn.
What To Do? . . Stock a Variety of Different Brands of Popcorn!
Having a number of kinds of popcorn on hand allows you to choose the right corn to use for popcorn recipes and everyday munching. Different types of popcorn also provide taste and texture options that let you create a flavorful bowl of popcorn for any occasion.
So, you now know all about the different kinds of popcorn and why some have more taste than others. Now it’s time to refine that knowledge and discover all the different kinds of popcorn grown in America.
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