Popcorn and Other Types of Corn Back to Pop Science

Many people will ask the question. “What do you do to make corn Pop? The quick reply is “Heat it”. What many do not realize is that popcorn is a particular kind of corn, only popcorn will pop. Other types of corn can be puffed with special mechanical processes but only Popcorn or a close relative can be popped on its own without special equipment.

There are basically six kinds of corn which fall into two basic groups, Soft or Hard. This is determined by the amount of hard or soft starch contained in the corn kernel. The most common soft corn is Dent corn and it has many uses. From making baby powder, Tortillas, breakfast cereal, and cattle feed to making ethanol used to improve the performance of gasoline. Other soft corns are Sweet Corn and Flour Corn.

Popcorn falls into the category of Hard, or Flint corns. The multi colored corn seen in the fall of the year and often called Indian Corn is a flint corn.

Popcorn is a form of flint corn and is different from dent and other soft commercial corn varieties in two ways. The first is that it is almost entirely hard starch. The second is that it has a very hard pericarp that permits the internal pressure and temperature to rise high enough to pop.