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POPCORN. Popcorn was an early variety of maize, whose range in pre-Columbian times extended from the American Southwest to Chile. It was introduced into New England about 1800 and almost immediately became popular. Its main advantage was that, when heated, it exploded. While this trait is not unique, popcorn expands to a much greater extent than other varieties of maize and other seeds. This explosion fascinated children, and popcorn became increasingly associated with children and children's holidays, such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, and particularly Christmas, when it was given to children and employed as tree decorations. Popcorn was also used in children's confections such as popcorn balls, which were sold at circuses, baseball games, and fairs. Cracker Jack, a popcorn, peanut, and molasses combination, became the most famous confection in the world by the early twentieth century.

Movie Popcorn

Until the 1930s, popcorn was not sold in movie theaters. To some owners, vending all concessions was an unnecessary nuisance because profits were negligible compared with the trouble and expense of cleaning up spilled popcorn and scattered boxes and sacks. Theater owners shifted their perspectives dramatically during the Depression, when popcorn's profit margin of almost 80 percent generated more income than did the box office sales.

During World War II, sugar and chocolate were rationed, and popcorn was the obvious alternative. Popcorn sales soared. By 1945, almost half of the popcorn grown in America was consumed in theaters. By 1949, surveys showed that 86 percent of the movie theaters in the United States sold popcorn, which six out of every ten patrons bought.

When television took America by storm in the 1950s, movie popcorn sales declined. Despite initial misgivings, however, the advent of television gave popcorn producers a boost unparalleled in their history. Americans who bought popcorn in movie theaters also wanted popcorn when watching television. The first product for the home market, "TV Time" popcorn, was unsuccessful. However, it triggered a convenience revolution in popcorn. Frederick Mennen experimented with an aluminum package to which he attached a wire handle. (Electric poppers were manufactured shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. They did not become big sellers until major retail stores began offering them in their catalogs.) In October 1959 the newly created Mennen Food Products Company launched "Jiffy Pop." It was marketed as a fun food that youngsters could easily prepare and parents could conveniently tidy up, and a national advertising campaign made it an immediate sensation. In 1960 Jiffy Pop sales exploded. American Home Products acquired Jiffy Pop, which continued to sell well throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s.

Microwave Popcorn

Percy Spencer of Raytheon discovered the heating properties of microwaves when he leaned in front of the microwave tube with a candy bar in his pocket—it promptly melted. He then popped corn using the microwave tube. Spencer's discovery led to the birth of microwave ovens. Spencer's first patent application for heating food with microwaves was submitted in 1945. However, the cost of the early microwave ovens was simply too high to justify buying one to pop corn.

During the 1960s, two major events turned the microwave oven industry around. The first was the invention of a compact, low-cost magnetron. The second was the invention of the self–stable microwave popcorn, "Micro-Pop," which had a multilayered film package that kept moisture in and oxygen out. Today, the majority of popcorn consumed in America is popped in a microwave oven—its second major use in the United States.

Orville Redenbacher

Before the 1950s, popcorn was sold at the regional level, rather than on a nationwide basis. It was considered a generic item, and quality was not a key factor in selling the product. It was promoted as an economical snack. High poppability of all the kernels in a package was the main claim advertised to consumers. Orville Redenbacher and Charles Bowman singlehandedly introduced the concept of "gourmet" popping corn, proving that consumers would pay more for a product that popped up "bigger, fluffier, and more tender." At first, Redenbacher literally sold Red Bow out of the trunk of his car. He and Brown visited Gerson, Howe and Johnson, a public relations firm located in Chicago, who convinced them to change the name from Red Bow to "Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn." As the price was higher than that of other popcorn, the agency argued that consumers needed to be convinced that Redenbacher's popcorn was of a better quality than its competitors. With virtually no advertising, they had achieved their success through word-of-mouth promotion. But Redenbacher and Bowman could not market their product nationally without additional assistance. In 1973 they teamed up with Blue Plate Foods, a subsidiary of Hunt-Wesson Foods based in Fullerton, California, to market their gourmet popcorn nationally. This connection permitted national advertising and a widespread distribution system. Appearing on numerous television shows as part of a massive advertising campaign, Redenbacher became a television personality. He made hundreds of personal presentations a year and appeared in scores of television commercials. Redenbacher was one of America's most unlikely television stars. His bow tie, dark-framed spectacles, and Midwestern accent convinced many that he was just an old country hick. Consumers easily recognized the glass jar and simple label adorned with Redenbacher's folksy image. It lent the product owned by a corporate giant a homey, small-town aura.

Popcorn represents less than 0.02 percent of the entire maize crop. Of all the types of maize, however, none is more commonly recognized than popcorn. Americans eat popcorn in movie theaters, amusement parks, and sports arenas, and around campfires. As a snack food, we feast on ready-to-eat savory and candied popcorn confections. American intake of popcorn in all forms has more than doubled during the past two decades, and consumption abroad has expanded at an even faster pace. As trivial as popcorn may appear when compared to the total maize crop, Americans annually devour 11 billion popped quarts, an average of about forty-four quarts per person. By volume, popcorn is America's favorite snack food. And, partly aided by the spread of American popular culture overseas—including the export of American films—popcorn consumption has also increased in Europe and Asia.

See also Art, Food in: Film and Television; Fast Food; Halloween; Maize; Snacks.

Andrew F. Smith