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Ignore the snark from the sibling comments. You have to study the grain. Most kernels have a left to right grain, and they will pop between 140-150C, because t
by smallerfish 3y ago
Ignore the snark from the sibling comments.
You have to study the grain. Most kernels have a left to right grain, and they will pop between 140-150C, because the cell structure of the skin is weak in several places. A relatively rare genetic mutation leads to around 1-2% of kernels having a right to left grain, and because of this orientation the skin is actually more robust in the typical popping spots, meaning that temperatures as high as 450C are required to pop these! That's why they typically will remain unpopped when cooking popcorn in this legacy manner.
To detect the right-to-left kernels, you can actually use a UV flashlight - you will see that they have a softer glow compared to the bright left to right kernels.
Hope that helps!
- fullspectrumdev 3y agoThis is probably the most interesting thing I’ve read all day. Now where did I leave the UV torch…
- rainbowzootsuit 3y agoYou can get them at auto parts stores used with dye to detect leaks, often in the HVAC system.
- waste_monk 3y agoOr at most pet supply stores, for a similar but not identical purpose.
- _aavaa_ 3y agoI want to believe, but I don't have a UV light handy to verify this.
- nerdchum 3y agoI dont know if this is true or if this is a brilliant and creative troll.
- rrrrrrrrrrrryan 3y agoIf this is true, does this mean that it's technically possible to pre-sort out most of the kernels that won't pop easily? Do expensive popcorn brands do this? Would it be possible to breed out this mutation? So many questions.