#fitkin

Fitkin Popping Corn (Fit-Pop) - Cedar Falls, Iowa Harvesting: November 2013 Learn Around the year 1612, early French explorers through the Great Lakes region noted that the Iroquois popped popcorn with heated sand in a pottery vessel and used it to make popcorn soup, among other things. Cultivate Popcorn has a long agricultural history. Precisely how popcorn originated is a topic of debate, though it did originate in the Americas. Some experts believe that corn was developed by centuries of breeding and crossbreeding wild grasses like teosinte. When farmers are considering seed selection, expansibility and maturity are two key factors. Maximum popping potential hinges on the corn reaching full maturity and there are many factors that can prematurely terminate plant development such as drought stress, disease, and frost. When harvesting, farmers wait until the corn has cured on the stalk as much as possible, but not so long that it is damaged by fall moisture or by corn stalks falling over. Once picked, the corn must be dried until it reaches its optimum moisture level of 13.5% to 14%. Taste Popcorn is delicate and starchy, and depending on what topping you choose, sweet or savory. Jim Fitkin's popping corn is unique in that it has a subtle taste of the Iowa prairie where it was grown. Identify One of the more desirable traits of popcorn is expansibility; a measure of the volume ratio of popped corn to unpopped corn. Popcorn kernels can come in two shapes: "Butterfly" which are irregular in shape and have a number of protruding "wings", or "Mushroom" flakes which are largely ball-shaped, with few wings. Jim's popping corn is grown in northeast Iowa and is a hybrid variety with mushroom-like kernels. Prepare We all know that when popcorn is heated it expands from the kernel and puffs up. But why? The folklore of some Native American tribes told of spirits who lived inside each kernel of popcorn, and who grew angry if their houses were heated. The real expansion happens because the kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior and under the right temperature, pressure builds inside the kernel, and a small explosion - or "pop!" - is the end result. Once popped you can eat popcorn with whatever toppings you choose; salt, butter, chili flakes or cream and sugar. When it comes to Jim's popping corn, we're staunch traditionalists and hold true to this recipe complements of the McVay family.