From wild grass in Africa to cinema house staple: Story of evolution of popcorn

Tarannum Pasricha never enjoyed watching movies when she was on the all-protein, Dukan diet. What's the connection, you ask. "I cannot watch a movie if there's no popcorn. Isn't that normal?" poses the filmmaker, disturbed at the suggestion that movie watching need not involve popcorn.

Whether you are a matcha-drinking Japanese, a kaapi-sipping Tamilian or a cola-guzzling American, popcorn and movies are inextricably linked across cultures. And yet there was a time when theatre owners wanted nothing to do with this fluffy-crunchy snack. In his book, Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America, first published in May 1999, food writer and lecturer Andrew F Smith recounts that cinema hall owners in the US only allowed sale of popcorn inside the hall during the Depression years. Up until then, owners permitted popcorn stalls outside so as not to dirty their premises, the interiors of which mimicked those of ornately decorated theatres whose audiences they were trying to lure. When the owners realised that the inexpensive popcorn was the only commodity whose sales were consistently increasing, they installed popcorn machines in their lobbies. "Movie theatres cemented the popcorn businesses during the Depression in the 1930s, and the microwave oven in the 1960s-70s made popcorn a household treat," says Smith in an email exchange.

Kernels, caves and caramel
Popcorn is perhaps one of those rare food items that has remained unchanged over centuries. The exterior of the corn kernel is so hard that not only does it preserve the water and starch inside, but also protects it from the elements. The oldest popcorn ever found, in a cave in New Mexico, US, is said to be 5,600 years old.

There've been claims that colonisers discovered popcorn when they saw natives in Mexico and West Indies eat popcorn, but Smith refutes that. "Popcorn was the first maize variety. It was domesticated at least 10,000 years ago," says Smith. "It is a small seed and the ears on the popcorn variety are very small. As soon as other varieties were developed, popcorn largely disappeared except in isolated areas, such as pre-Columbian Chile." Smith adds that popcorn was not consumed by colonials. "It was imported most likely from Chile during the early 19th century. It really didn't become a business until the late 19th-early 20th centuries, when popcorn popping machines were commercialised," says the New School University, New York, faculty member. "As far as I know, Americans were the first to commercialise popcorn. Other visitors liked what they saw and exported it to other countries. I suspect it caught on there in the same way as in the US — it was a child's snack."

Taking popcorn from a child's snack to "the next level" is what Chirag Gupta and his partner, Ankur Gupta have been doing since the last three years. As founders of Zea Maize, they've been trying to counter the 'popcorn is for kids' mindset to sell 'gourmet popcorn' — popcorn coated with caramel, cheese and chocolate and flavoured with seasonings. "Eating popcorn while watching movies is a habit," says Chirag. "So while popcorn has been a movie staple for years, nobody has thought of innovating and taking it to the next level. It is an equally compelling, ready-to-eat snack at picnics, while travelling or even as a healthy treat at the office desk." The company has been selling 25 varieties of flavoured popcorn,with flavours such as Tex-Mex Salsa and Mocha Country Caramel, under the 4700bc brand name, through online ecommerce platforms and outlets in Delhi and Punjab.

The X-factor
When they pop, corn kernels expand to take the shape of a 'mushroom' or a 'butterfly' depending on the seed variety. "The 'pop' still amazes me. How is it possible for a small seed to expand to 40-50 times its size?" poses Smith, whose childhood fascination with popcorn in the 1950s led him to research and write Popped Culture over a period of two years.

But not all kernels offer the same crunch. Orville Redenbacher, the founder and owner of a successful US popcorn brand of the same name, famously noted: "Every once in a while, someone will mail me a single popcorn kernel that didn't pop. I'll get out a fresh kernel, tape it to a piece of paper and mail it back to them." While Redenbacher's verve has inspired an annual popcorn parade in Valparaiso, Indiana, his company was sold many times over and found new owners, the latest of which is ConAgra, which with its Orville Redenbacher, Act II and five other popcorn brands, is one of the leading popcorn retailers in the world.

Even before Act II became available in India, Delhi-resident Vinod Kansal saw the potential of the popcorn market and has watched it expand from less than 4 metric tonnes back in 1998 to roughly 2 lakh metric tonnes now.

As owner of Banaco Overseas, a company that distributes corn, ingredients and popping machines to leading theatre and multiplex chains in the country, the 44-year-old explains a key difference between the Indian and American corn. "Corn from the American nations is very fluffy and light. Even a tub-full won't make you feel satiated," says Kansal. "The Indian corn, on the other hand, is a heavy product. It doesn't pop evenly and is not too fleshy. Upon popping, corn from Argentina, for instance, will be double the size of Indian corn."

This explains why popcorn sold by vendors on roadside pushcarts, lacks the feel and appeal of the fluffier variant of popcorn sold in theatres or popped in microwave ovens at home. Add butter and flavours, and it is easy to understand why munching on popcorn is so irresistible, that it is almost an involuntary impulse.

"The appeal is a combination of various factors. Popcorn's aroma, for instance, which is very similar to the aroma of basmati rice, holds much flavour and makes your mouth water," says food writer and The Real Food podcast host Vikram Doctor. Besides it's a convenient food — it's easy to produce, process, store and consume. "It's dry and therefore easy to eat as a street food, in cinema halls or at home. Especially for theatre managers, the grains are easy to store unlike ice-cream or drinks, which require special, freezing cabinets. And popcorn is salty. Salt makes you feel thirsty, which directly impacts the sale of soft drinks — the other items sold in cinema halls."

Made in India
Doctor points out that popping grains is an old technique in India but concedes that no other grain pops as dramatically as popcorn does. "Makhana is a really delightful alternative. I would love it if we could get fresh popped makhana in cinemas! A lot of what is available in cinemas now, like those buckets of gourmet popcorn, aren't cheap and makhana would be a lot healthier," he says while adding jowar and muri to the list of popping grains.

Pinky Chandan-Dixit, the owner of Soam restaurant in Babulnath, agrees. She too cites muri, makhana and jowar as Indian alternatives to popcorn. "Jowar pops have been served as prasad in Indian temples for centuries," she says. "And makhana too is a healthy, crunchy alternative. Although it is mostly used as a fried snack during fasts, many health food stores have now started selling flavoured makhana."

Ask movie buff Pasricha if she'll be game to replace the popcorn tub with makhana, and she pauses momentarily: "Yeah... it's healthier, right?"