The most important points at a glance:
- BBQ popcorn is a delicious alternative to the classic sweet or salty varieties
- Barbecue and popcorn have gone hand in hand since the days of the cowboys
- The first sweet popcorn recipe comes from German settlers
- Popcorn sales were originally banned in movie theaters
- Popcorn is the perfect alternative to bread for diets and weight loss
Salty or sweet?
Popcorn fans around the world are divided on this question. But did you know there is more than just these two classic ways to enjoy freshly popped corn? BBQ popcorn combines the snacking pleasure and addictive potential of munching on popcorn with the spicy, smoky, comforting flavor of classic American barbecue.
But popcorn and barbecue – what could they possibly have in common?
Popcorn – a typically American snack
We love deliciously fresh popcorn, though not nearly as much as our friends in the USA, where each person snacks on an average of 50 kg per year. And while for many of us popcorn is still primarily a cinema snack, Americans polish off the majority of their popcorn at home on the couch.
In fact, the movie theater popcorn that is so popular in our country today was a later invention of cinema owners. At first, theaters didn't want to sell popcorn at all because of the extra work involved. Instead, it was street vendors who set up their stalls in front of local cinemas to sell a bag of popcorn to moviegoers before they went inside. Over time, theater owners realized the business they were missing out on (and likely resigned themselves to the cleaning that was necessary anyway), and today, popcorn is an integral part of the movie-going experience.
But popcorn has a very long history beyond the silver screen. There is evidence that as early as 4,700 BC, the indigenous people in Peru not only processed one of the earliest forms of agricultural corn into flour but also popped it over an open fire. Archaeologists have even found 1,000-year-old corn kernels in some Peruvian burial sites from which it was still easy to make popcorn even after all that time. The Aztecs were also familiar with popcorn and used it not only as food but also threaded the white flakes onto strings and wore them as jewelry or even used them as doors and room dividers, similar to the bead curtains that were fashionable in the 70s. Popcorn was of such high value to the Aztecs that it was regularly used as an offering to their gods – all clear evidence that even early Americans shared our modern hype for this delicious snack.
Unfortunately, popcorn was likely not served at the first Thanksgiving. The indigenous people in Virginia were unfortunately not fans, unlike their tribesmen in the south.
Fortunately, today we can easily make fresh popcorn ourselves using great mechanical tools (such as the Whirley Pop popcorn popper) instead of relying on pre-packaged convenience products.
Things were more spartan for the North American indigenous tribes, for whom popcorn was popped on sand. For this, a fire was burned on the sand, and then the corn kernels were spread out on the hot sand. The residual heat stored in the sand was sufficient to make the kernels explode.
And this is exactly where our barbecue comes into play.
Barbecue – a smoky tradition
What is typical American besides popcorn? You guessed it: barbecue.
But be careful: real American barbecue has very little in common with our grilling here in Germany. While Americans also like to throw sausages, steaks, and similar small portions of meat on the grill, that is called "grilling" in the USA and is clearly distinguished from traditional barbecue.
Unlike quick grilling, barbecue focuses on indirect heat and cooking the meat using smoke instead of flames. Traditionally, large cuts of meat such as brisket (German: "Brustspitz") are used for barbecue, and smaller cuts like steaks, etc., are rather rare. Since it involves smoke and indirect heat, barbecue is also a more time-consuming affair, and it can easily take half a day before the meat lands on the plates.
The origin of today's barbecue lies with high probability in the West Indies. Here, meat was traditionally preserved by drying and smoking it over small, smoke-intensive fires. This technique (or alternatively the racks used for it) are traditionally called "barbacoa".
Modern barbecue was developed by European settlers by copying the indigenous people of Virginia. Over time, they changed the process by adding butter and vinegar to keep the meat juicy during the smoking process instead of drying it out for storage – American barbecue was born.
A whole blog of its own could be written just about the different barbecue styles in the USA (perhaps more on that in the future?), so let it be said here briefly that barbecues differ greatly in terms of sauces, spices, and meat. North Carolina, with Caribbean roots, mostly uses vinegar-based sauces (depending on the style, sometimes with or without tomato paste) and pork. South Carolina also uses pork but employs mustard-based sauces, based on the recipes of German immigrants. Memphis barbecue clearly prefers pork, but wouldn't object to the occasional brisket, and uses a molasses-based sauce. Kansas City Style uses the same sauce as in Memphis, but for just about all types of meat, including beef and chicken.
The well-known Texas barbecue, on the other hand, uses almost exclusively beef (especially delicious briskets) and opts more for dry rubs than the sauces found in the other variations.
For those who want to give it a try, we have a wide selection of delicious rubs and sauces in our shop:
BBQ Popcorn – of cowboys, fire & corn
But what does this have to do with our popcorn?
As mentioned, Europeans developed barbecue from the smoking of meat over fire pits, which they had learned from the indigenous people. If we remember how the indigenous people made their popcorn, the connections become clear. It may have taken a while (as the indigenous people in Virginia likely didn't use popcorn), but the further the settlers pushed into the south of the continent, the more likely they were to observe how the indigenous people used the still-warm fireplaces after smoking to pop popcorn in a very traditional and natural way.
This duality of barbecue and popcorn could also be traced later in American history – for example with the cowboys. Barbecue, i.e., smoking meat over an open fireplace, was an everyday occurrence on the long cattle drives in the nineteenth century. This variant, with a strong focus on beef and rubs (similar to today's Texas barbecue), even became known for a time as "cowboy barbecue". Besides that, the cowboys were also known for their love of kettle corn, which is popping corn in a pot hung over a fire. Here, too, the settlers had naturally adapted the traditions of the indigenous people to their tastes, and so the cowboys' popcorn was refined with sugar based on the practices of German settlers. And when there was no sugar at hand, the cowboys simply reached for the rubs typical of their barbecue – and thus BBQ popcorn was born.
But you don't need an open fire or the wide prairie for the perfect taste. Bring the delicious taste experience home in a traditional American way with the tasty blend of Salt & Vinegar.
For the perfect taste experience, however, you need not only the right flavor combination but above all the right corn. In fact, corn is not just corn, and even though corn is the second most cultivated food in the world (surpassed only by rice), only 2 thousandths of a percent of it is popcorn corn.
What distinguishes popcorn corn from other corn and grain varieties is above all its hull. It is waterproof, and that is the key to its explosive character. Grain kernels contain water, which turns into steam under heat. In most grain varieties, this steam escapes through the permeable hull. Since it cannot do this with popcorn, the steam expands inside the kernel, and the pressure inside rises until it finally causes the hull to explode – and the popcorn is ready.
However, it is quite normal that not all kernels pop. This can be due to dehydration from cold storage, but also damage to the hull. Nevertheless, with quality popcorn, the proportion of such unpopped kernels (colloquially referred to as "old maids") should not exceed 2% of the heated popcorn amount.
But what about the right seasoning?
What many people might not know: popcorn flakes come in 2 distinct varieties: "snowflakes" (sometimes also called "butterflies") and "mushrooms." Mushrooms are the varieties that are almost round on one side, while snowflakes, like their name suggests, usually consist of several small branches. Both varieties are better suited for certain flavor enhancements than the other. The "mushroom" shape absorbs liquid coatings like caramel or chocolate much better. The "snowflake," on the other hand, has a much rougher surface, to which dry seasonings like powder stick better.
If you can't make head or tail of that right away, we suggest simply popping some popcorn yourself and taking a close look at the result. For this, we recommend, for example, our delicious gourmet popcorn in various varieties for individual tastes:
By the way: who doesn't know the problem of annoying hard hull remnants while trying to enjoy fresh popcorn? Our popcorn varieties are not only delicious but also have a particularly thin hull that virtually dissolves in the mouth and thus in no way hinders the taste experience.
Popcorn – the healthy snack?
Most of us naturally know popcorn as a sweet snack, so it might sound strange to call popcorn healthy. But if we leave aside all additives like sugar, salt, and butter, pure popcorn is surprisingly healthy.
It contains more protein than any other grain variety and even provides the body with more iron than, for example, eggs or roast beef. Popcorn is also rich in fiber, which we need for digestion, and is clearly ahead of other popular snacks like pretzels or potato chips in this regard. Additionally, popcorn contains many useful vitamins and minerals. All this combined means that popcorn helps not only with digestion but also with building muscle and bones. Furthermore, pure popcorn is low in calories.
All these features make untreated popcorn a perfect snack for diets for weight loss and also a great grain product for diabetics. For example, the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association recommend consuming popcorn instead of eating bread.
This even has historical roots. During the Great Depression in the early twentieth century, popcorn sales skyrocketed because, at just 5 to 10 cents per bag, it was an inexpensive alternative to other staple foods made from grain (such as bread). Popcorn also enjoyed great popularity in America during the Second World War, as it could be effectively sweetened with relatively little sugar and was therefore the perfect snack in times of sugar shortages.
As you can see, natural popcorn has many advantages, but most connoisseurs would likely agree that for the right popcorn pleasure, the extra flavor kick (and perhaps a touch of butter) is simply part of it. The butter is not just a flavor carrier, but also allows salt and other powder seasonings to adhere to the mushroom-shaped flakes for a uniform taste experience.
But what is better? Barbecue? Salty? Or perhaps classic sweet?
For all those who are undecided, here is a great suggestion for the next football game or movie night:
Three kinds of popcorn – simple and quick to make yourself.
For sweet popcorn, simply melt butter, let it cool slightly, and then stir in powdered sugar. Pour the mixture over the freshly popped flakes and shake everything well (careful: hot butter) – add a handful of mini marshmallows and M&Ms (perhaps in the colors of your favorite team) and mix – done.
Try it out for yourself and decide.
