# Does popcorn go bad ?



## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

I haven't stored any popcorn ( you know ,before its popped), but I been seriously thinking about it.

Hey, I love the stuff, I mean after its popped, I love it.

I just wonder if it would hold up for long period of time if I vacuum sealed it in canning quart jars.

Think about it, small amount , stores easy, but makes a lot to eat, 
I think its nutritious, I dunno. 
It will keep you from starving, why not?

Anybody stored it?




and btw, what makes Black Forest Ham taste so good?:ghost:




Jim


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I seriously hope not. I love popcorn. It is my my favorite snack. 

Actually from what I understand long term storage of popcorn is all about keeping the moisture content as low as possible. I have several bags of yellow popping corn and a few bags of white popping corn double bagged and vacuum sealed with food-grade desiccant packs. They seem to be holding up well, although I have not cut one open to test it yet.

As far as Black Forest Ham goes, I imagine it's woodland elf magic.


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

Properly stored Pop Corn should last a very, very long time. Ancient Pop Corn has been found in Primitive burial sites, stored in Earthen Ware Vessels, and when heated it popped well and tasted fine.


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## phideaux (Nov 7, 2015)

I think I'm gonna seal up some,,
I just love the stuff, its filling, 

Sounds like it would make a good survival food.



Jim


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## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

The "old fashion" kind keeps but that microwave crap won't pop if it's old..Nothing smells like burnt popcorn in a microwave....YUCK


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Properly stored popcorn is good for decades. As with all grain, corn keeps for extended periods IF it is kept whole. You can take you corn and grind it for corn meal. You can use the same mill you have for your wheat but the feed system is slightly larger. Just make sure you order both when you buy your mill.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

I am a super fan of popcorn. I wore out a popcorn maker in college. I have made it on the stove top in a heavy pan, but my favorite way to make it is with a hot air popper. I'm on my third one.

I do think that all corn is good indefitinitely as long as it is stored properly. The one thing about popcorn is that when it gets older it will lose the moisture inside which is what causes it to pop. You can actually restore the moisture by putting some popcorn in a jar, adding a little water, and letting it set for a day or two. See below.

http://www.chefdoughty.com/blog/?p=44



> When popcorn loses its pop there is a fix
> rehydrating popcorn
> 
> To understand the fix for popcorn that has lost its pop we need to quickly understand the basic anatomy of popcorn.
> ...


http://www.800mainstreet.com/corn/pop1.html

This link has much more information than I copied. There is information about doing a science experiment to weigh your popcorn. You can go to the link above to see all the information about that. This might be a great science fair project!



> Popcorn is a modern day snack but it has been around for a long time. Ears of popping corn dating back 5,600 years were found in New Mexico in 1948-1950. A 1,000 year old popped kernel of popcorn was found in a dry tomb on the east coast of Peru. More history can be reviewed using this source.
> 
> Popcorn kernels are corn seeds consisting mostly of the carbohydrate starch; they also contain small amounts of other substances, and a variable amount water. In the popcorn kernel, the water molecules are found in between the granules of the starch. All substances are enclosed in a hard shell forming what we call the kernel of popcorn. This link provides background and history about popping corn.
> 
> ...


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

gabbyj310 said:


> The "old fashion" kind keeps but that microwave crap won't pop if it's old..Nothing smells like burnt popcorn in a microwave....YUCK


You got that right, there is nothing worse than the smell of burnt microwave popcorn! I have worked with people who kept trying to make it and burned it every time! In my lifetime, I have eaten more than my share of microwave popcorn. I heard that it is really not that good for you, so I quit buying and eating it.

When I was teaching, I did have a hot air popper at school, but I also used to make popcorn in the microwave. One year for our Harvest Festival (instead of Halloween), I set up the hot air popper on a large table and the children gathered around to watch the popcorn pop. As it popped, the oohs and aahs from the children was very interesting. In a survey of the children, not one of them had ever seen popcorn pop before that. Did they eat microwave popcorn? Did they buy bags of popped popcorn from the store? I don't know, but we all know it is also a very inexpensive and delicious snack, especially when you pop it fresh.

You can buy large bags of popcorn at Sam's Club and Costco, 25 or 50 pound bags. I have some buckets of it in my basement. I also buy it in a large container with a handle. I keep a quart canning jar with a lid from a milk carton with the screw on lid that I cut out and fit the ring of the lid. I just open the screw top and pour the popcorn out easily.

Popcorn can be ground for cornmeal, corn flour and probably made into grits. That is another reason it is good to store popcorn.


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

phideaux said:


> I think I'm gonna seal up some,,
> I just love the stuff, its filling,
> 
> Sounds like it would make a good survival food.
> ...


Just don't forget to store some butter and salt powder to go with it!opcorn1:


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> Just don't forget to store some butter and salt powder to go with it!opcorn1:


Just keep regular salt and use a mortar and pestle to grind it fine. It's cheaper than buying popcorn salt and is good for the pestle.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

But why stored pop corn? When a little heat a little oil and a pot and you have popcorn in a flash and fresh....or we are talking about un-pop kernels because in that case airtight containers ,moisture absorbers will come handy for the long haul.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

readytogo said:


> But why stored pop corn? When a little heat a little oil and a pot and you have popcorn in a flash and fresh....


Store the unpopped pop corn. It lasts longer and has more uses that way.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

readytogo said:


> or we are talking about un-pop kernels because in that case airtight containers ,moisture absorbers will come handy for the long haul.


yes yes yes


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

i planed on stocking up on pop corn,especially after i got me a stove top popper,that can be used at home,and on camping trips..the pop corn i buy,comes in a plastic bottle.in which it's sealed to begin with.and i also plan on getting some food grade buckets with lids to keep such stuff in..


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I'm sure it will last the longest in a cool, dry environment. I'm guessing that if it isn't then less and less of it will pop. It would be interesting to know what the "half-life" of popcorn is based on how it's stored.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

There was popcorn found in bat caves in central NM that were thousands of years old and it still popped.

https://specialcollections.nal.usda.gov/popcorn-exhibit

Scholars agree that corn, and popcorn, originated in the Americas. Precisely how it originated, however, is a topic of debate. It is believed by many experts that corn was developed by centuries of breeding and crossbreeding wild grasses like teosinte. There has also been much speculation about how popcorn may have been prepared or used by the native Americans, fueled by findings of popcorn in archeological digs. According to the Popcorn Board (link is external):

The oldest known corn pollen is scarcely distinguishable from modern corn pollen, judging by an 80,000-year-old fossil found 200 feet below Mexico City.

The oldest ears of popcorn ever found were discovered in the Bat Cave of west central New Mexico in 1948 and 1950. Ranging from smaller than a penny to about 2 inches, the oldest Bat Cave ears are about 5,600 years old.

In tombs on the east coast of Peru, researchers have found grains of popcorn perhaps 1,000 years old. These grains have been so well-preserved
that they will still pop.

In southwestern Utah, a 1,000-year-old popped kernel of popcorn was found in a dry cave inhabited by predecessors of the Pueblo Indians.

Kernel image courtesy of Ricardo Salvador, Iowa State University


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

Family Survival Planning/
What Is the Shelf Life of My Food Storage?
http://www.family-survival-planning.com/long-term-food-shelf-life.html
National Center For Home Food Preservation.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_canning.html


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

good links there readytogo..i've saved the links to my canning folder bookmark..


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