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THE TANTALIZING SMELL OF FRESHLY MADE POPCORN FILLING A MOVIE THEATRE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN THANKS SAM THE POPCORN MAN FOR!
Before concession stands, movie theatres were commonly equipped with automated vending machines. But, one day, in a pinch, young Sam Rubin, born May 24 1918, began selling candy from the top of a broken vending machine when it rolled and broke against the stage, a precursor of the modern movie concession stand. Ruben was always interested in snack food. He sold pretzels at age 6 and took a job filling vending machines in movie theatres when he was 12. Sam was the first movie concession stand operator to incorporate popcorn into his product line, and, thus, the creator of the decades-long tradition of popcorn at the movies.
In 1930, at age 12, on a trip to Oklahoma City, Rubin witnessed popcorn being made. When he returned to the New York area, he began selling popcorn to audiences at various RKO, BRANDT, AND LOEWS THEATRES. He started by popping the kernels in Long Island City N.Y. and trucking it to theatres, but later made the treat in theatres. The product caught on like wild fire and spread across the country. His product allowed owners to recoup revenues they lost when they had to reduce ticket prices to attract viewers during the Great Depression. From 1934 to 1940, the nation's annual popcorn harvest grew from 5 million to 100 million pounds. Rubin was one of the first to sell fresh popcorn inside the theatres because he thought the warm, salty smell would entice buyers. For the next 60 years, he and his partner Marty Winter provided the concession stand refreshments to the major movie chains in the New York metropolitan area, including RKO, Brandt and Loews. His company ABC Consolidated, now part of the Ogden Corporation, introduced modern popcorn machines that reduced fire hazards. He also developed movie-size candy bars and boxes, which could be sold for $1.50 instead of 35 cents, and sold liquor in Broadway theaters. Rubin served in the Army during World War II, survived a murder attempt by a rival in his company and lived through an armed robbery in which the thief put a gun to his head. Rubin died on Feb. 5. 2004. He was 85.
How popcorn pops
As with all cereal grains, each kernel of popcorn contains a certain amount of moisture in its starchy endosperm. Unlike most other grains, the outer hull, or pericarp, of the popcorn kernel is both strong and impervious to moisture, and the starch inside consists almost entirely of a hard, dense type.[4]
As the kernel is heated past the boiling point, water in the kernel turns to superheated, pressurized steam, contained within the moisture-proof hull. Under these conditions, the starch inside the kernel gelatinizes, softening and becoming pliable. The pressure continues to increase until it reaches the breaking point of the hull: a pressure of about 135 psi, or 9.1 atmospheres.[4] The hull ruptures rapidly, causing a sudden drop in pressure inside the kernel and a corresponding rapid expansion of the steam, which expands the starch and proteins of the endosperm into an airy foam. As the foam rapidly cools, the starch and protein polymers set into the familiar crispy puff.
Expansion and yield
Popping results are sensitive to the rate at which the kernels are heated. If heated too quickly, the steam in the outer layers of the kernel can reach high pressures and rupture the hull before the starch in the center of the kernel can fully gelatinize, leading to partially popped kernels with hard centers. Heating too slowly leads to entirely unpopped kernels: the tip of the kernel, where it attached to the cob, is not entirely moisture-proof, and when heated slowly, the steam can leak out the tip fast enough to keep the pressure from rising sufficiently to break the hull and cause the pop.[5]
Producers and sellers of popcorn consider two major factors in evaluating the quality of popcorn: what percentage of the kernels will pop, and how much each popped kernel expands. Expansion is an important factor to both the consumer and vendor. For the consumer, larger pieces of popcorn tend to be more tender and are associated with higher quality. For the grower, distributor, and vendor, expansion is closely correlated with profit: vendors such as theaters buy popcorn by weight and sell it by volume. For both these reasons, higher-expansion popcorn fetches a higher price per unit weight. Popcorn will pop when freshly harvested, but not well: its high moisture content leads to poor expansion and chewy pieces of popcorn. Kernels with a high moisture content are also susceptible to mold when stored. For these reasons, popcorn growers and distributors dry the kernels until they reach the moisture level at which they expand the most. This differs by variety and conditions, but is generally in the range of 14–15% moisture by weight. If the kernels are over-dried, the expansion rate will suffer and the percentage of kernels that pop at all will decline. Over-dried popcorn can be rehydrated by introducing some water into the storage environment (consumers can do this at home as well), but the expansion rate will be less than it would have been had they not been over-dried in the first place. Two explanations exist for kernels which do not pop at proper temperatures, known in the popcorn industry as "old maids". The first is that unpopped kernels do not have enough moisture to create enough steam for an explosion. The second explanation, according to research led by Dr. Bruce Hamaker of Purdue University, is that the unpopped kernel may have a leaky hull.
Types
Popcorn varieties are broadly categorized by the shape of the kernels, the color of the kernels, or the shape of the popped corn. (Varieties of every color produce a white result when popped: only the pericarp is colored.) "Rice" type popcorns have a long kernel pointed at both ends; "pearl" type kernels are rounded at the top. Commercial popcorn production has moved mostly to pearl types.[6] Historically, pearl popcorns were usually yellow and rice popcorns usually white. Today both shapes are available in both colors, as well as others including black, red, and variegated. Commercial production is dominated by white and yellow.
In popcorn jargon, a popped kernel of corn is known as a "flake". Two shapes of flakes are commercially important. "Butterfly" flakes are irregular in shape and have a number of protruding "wings". "Mushroom" flakes are largely ball-shaped, with few wings. Butterfly flakes are regarded as having better mouthfeel, with greater tenderness and less noticeable hulls. Mushroom flakes are less fragile than butterfly flakes and are therefore often used for packaged popcorn or confectionery.[7] The kernels from a single cob of popcorn may form both butterfly and mushroom flakes; hybrids that produce 100% butterfly flakes or 100% mushroom flakes exist, the latter developed only as recently as 1998.[7] Growing conditions and popping environment can also affect the butterfly-to-mushroom ratio.
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