Hi all! It's the first snow of the season here on the farm. It's icy cold outside and we are already dealing with our winter farm problems. Despite all of that, I decided it was a good day to snuggle with the little guy and have some of our homegrown popcorn. Here's how we did it:
Growth
Growing the popcorn was easy. You just grow it like you would regular corn. Just like sweet corn, it can be planted in rows or hills. The popcorn took a little longer to reach maturity. The variety we grew was an heirloom variety called Strawberry Popcorn. So named for its resemblance to strawberries in size and color.
Harvest
Allow the popcorn to dry out on the corn stalks and harvest when the stalk is completely dry and brown. Avoid harvesting after a rain, snow, or frost. Afternoon is probably the best time. This is all to avoid extra moisture. The popcorn kernals should be dry and hard. If a kernal is milky when punctured, it IS NOT ready.
Drying
You want to let the popcorn dry out further for at least 1-2 months. You can husk them all and store them in a container with plenty of airflow. I used a metal fruit bowl with lots of openings and kept it on our table. Alternately, you can peel the husks back like a banana and tie them in bundles of three and let them hang from the husks.
Eating
This is the best part! Once your popcorn has dried out completely, it's ready to be eaten. I had read that my variety could be popped right on the cob, while this was true, it isn't the best way. Otherwise you'll end up with something looking like this:
Some of the kernels came off but mostly I just had popcorn on-the-con. Not so great and it stayed lava hot for a while.
The best method is to shuck the popcorn kernels off the cob prior to popping. This is actually pretty easy and I achieved it using my thumbs. Be sure to shuck into a deep container as those kernels like to fly. Once you've shucked the popcorn kernals throw your cob into the compost heap and pour your kernels into a brown paper bag. I popped mine anywhere between 1:30 to 2:30 in the microwave. You'll know they're finished when you hear long pauses between pops. You can season with butter and salt, caramel, cheese powder, or any other favorite popcorn topping. It also tastes good plain. The Strawberry Popcorn variety we grew made enough for a small bowl, enough for one person to snack on.
If you want to package them up for home use or as gifts you can shuck 1-2 cobs into a brown bag, fold the top down, label with the popcorn name, directions, and even a message. Put the folded bag into a ziploc and voila!
I was so thrilled about how this turned out. I can't wait to grow more next year. I think we may experiment with another variety. I forgot to note that this popcorn popped up so...cute! The kernels were miniature!
Thanks for reading!
