Popcorn History
Although Europeans first learned of popcorn from the Native Americans, popcorn history goes back much
further than that. Popcorn has been found in ancient caves and tombs in Peru. It is believed that the
history of popcorn started in Mexico where it is thought that Indians used corn dating back to 2500 BC.
Popcorn history for America started with the very first Thanksgiving where the colonists were presented with a bag of
popcorn as a gift. The colonists loved it so much that they mixed it with milk and sugar for breakfast!
Popcorn was also found to be used by native tribes in the west indies and by the Aztecs in the 1500's.
The history of popcorn is not only about where it was consumed, but also about the methods used to pop it.
Native Americans where known to put the corn on a stick, lay it near the fire and let it pop on the cob.
Most early methods in popcorn history, involved toasting it and it wasn't until the 1800's where popping it in oil was
introduced, thus improving the flavor greatly!
More modern popcorn history has seen this snack sold at street corners, fairs, ball games and almost any event where
people gather. It is easy to display and has one of the most wonderful smells every (of course, it never does taste as
good as it smells!). In the late 1800's popcorn was sold either popped or in kernels by street vendors in anything from
steam powered machines to horse drawn vending carts. Popcorn was eaten by everyone with popcorn balls being quite popular.
During the depression, popcorn became quite popular as it was an inexpensive snack and during WWII sugar was sent
overseas so popcorn consumption replaced that of sugary snacks. The history of popcorn in the 1950's is a bit dampened
as the television had an impact on movie go-ers and thus the consumption of popcorn in theatres. Soon, however, people
began to realize it was just as much fun to eat it in front of the TV at home and popcorn sales were on the rise again.
One of the biggest events in popcorn history was, of course, the invention of microwave popcorn.
First introduced in the 1940's it has become quite popular today with microwaves present in almost every
home and office and many packaged brands sold on the market.
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