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Question of the Day
Question:
"Dr. Hal, when I pop popcorn, how come some of them never pop?"Answer:
writes Zea Mays of Iowa City, Iowa. Well, Zea, all God's corn kernels aren't alike. The major influence of popping quality lies in the pericarp, the outer hull. During heating, this pericarp or seed cover locks moisture within the kernel, acting like a pressure cooker. Water becomes steam, which violently expands. The steam leads to a pressure buildup until-- pop! the kernel ruptures and explodes, essentially turning inside out to reveal its fluffy, absorbent texture. Although outer hulls are all made of the same cellulose material, recent research at Purdue University in Indiana by a team led by Bruce Hamaker and his colleague Regnaswami Chandrasekaran turned up structural differences between certain key kernels. According to their findings, the best poppers among popcorn kernels exhibit in the pericarp a more organized crystalline arrangement of cellulose molecules than is the case with the underachievers of the popcorn realm. This discovery indicates that selective breeding and genetic manipulation may, by increasing these factors, bring us to a future world where every kernel pops and no corn kernel is left behind.
Askdrhal.com by
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