Why Does Popcorn Pop? 🍿

Morning Kernels!

Umm, Durd?

Wowza, that's a lot of popcorn.

But, why the heck does popcorn… pop?

Well, firstly, popcorn isn’t anything special.

It's literally just a type of corn.

And the kernels are just the seeds from a corncob.  

So, basically, we harvest the corn and let the seeds dry out for a while to get rid of the water.

So, you're left with a whole load of rock hard kernels.

Ya, you really don’t wanna eat them yet Durd…

But how do these rock hard kernels turn into light, fluffy pieces of popcorn?

Well, the hardness is part of the secret.

You see, inside every dried popcorn kernel is TEENY tiny pocket of water:

And this small amount of water is super important.

Because when you heat up water, it tries to expand, turning into steam.

But the steam in the popcorn kernel has nowhere to go.

Because the rock hard shell is keeping it trapped inside.

So, the steam keeps expanding…

And expanding…

And expanding…

Until finally.

POP!

The kernel can’t take it anymore and bursts open.

Finally revealing the light fluffy inside.

Stay Cute,
Reece, Henry & Dylan 🌈

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