Pop Nots -- How do they do it?

[FrumpyJones]

For those not aware, go to www.popnots.com (http://www.popnots.com) [bold] to check them out.

It's basically a can full of half-popped popcorn! (Like what you find at the bottom of the microwave popcorn bag). They've softened them up as well, so you don't fear losing your tooth to them.

And they're delicious.

What I want to know is,

[bold]How the hell did they do it?

They deliberately DO NOT tell you.

grrr, I say. grrr.

So, TM's, how do they do it?

[According to Pliny]

Why don't you just read the outside of the can and find out?

From the link you gave:
How do we do it? (Our secret is revealed on every can of Popnots!™)

[ChiefScott]

And a polite round of applause (again) resounds about my room. Concise, brief and to the point. Bravo, Papa!

[FrumpyJones]

It was a good answer, execpt they DON'T tell you. To quote:
...first we kerpop the rascals and then we poppwenot the diggers...

They're being evil by not really telling you.

But that's my bad for not mentioning it first.

Sorry.

[According to Pliny]

What part of "kerpop the rascals and poppwenot the digger" don't you understand? :)

[moriah]

WAG: Probably soak 'em in water. Maybe even an acid bath (like vinegar). Once the hardened protein structures start to get mushy, you dry them up a bit (not too much) and coat with salt or sugar to make it palatable.

Peace.

[StrTrkr777]

Well, it is little known that the science of popcorn is not only quite old, but also quite advanced. Popcorn makers have known for years which kernals would pop fully and which would not. However, they did nothing about this due to the fact that they did not think that people would pay extra money for all their kernals to pop.

However, as with all things, the popcorn industry has changed over the years. When guys like Orville Redenbacher decided to sell popcorn that pops up fully, they had to do something with the kernals that were culled out as being non-poppers or small poppers. They originally were going to throw them away, since they did not want to use them as seeds and breed more small poppers. However, someone came along and decided that there was a market for the half-popped corn. This ingenious sole decided to use the culled kernals as seeds to create a half-popping corn. This they set about doing. It took some time and effort but eventually they created these kernals that only pop halfway. After the kernals are popped, they run them through a couple of filters, one to remove the unpopped kernals, those will be a later product offering, the second to remove those few kernals that pop fully. After they are filtered, they are put through a softening solution that is sort of a synthetic saliva (since we know how saliva softens popcorn, you can see how this works) to soften the kernals. One reason they do not tell you this is they do not want to disgust potential customers. (i.e. It comes pre-chewed). Then they flavor them as is necessary. Package them and ship them out.

Aren't you glad you asked?

Jeffery

[ChiefScott]

Sayeth Moriah:
"Once the hardened protein structures start to get mushy... "

Quoth the StrTrkr:
"It comes pre-chewed..."

Num-nums!!! Gimme hagis any ol' day.

[FrumpyJones]

I come from a LARGE Irish family.

Pre-chewed was a way of life while growing up :)

And thank you for the story on these guys. They're tasty as hell and my fellow ofice mates have now broken into two factions: Those that LOVE half-popped, and those that hate half-popped. The discussions are quite funny.

And finally,

StrTrkr7777: How do you KNOW all this? That's one "Kernal" of knowledge that you don't just happen by! L(

[StrTrkr777]

Frumpy,

I could tell you how I know but then it would cause me undue stress and I would have to go day-trader on you.

Jeffery

[Harmonious Discord]

I grew popcorn and it has to be dried to the proper moisture content. When too much water was present the kernels would just pop open a little bit. You kept them hanging and drying untill the kernels popped properly, then you sealed the corn in jars.

[DougForeman]

Hello,Doug Foreman inventor of Popnots here.We make Popnots by drying the popcorn.Less moisture in the kernel keeps the pop from popping so much.It is totally natural.It is not genetically modified or anything else.These are not the ones people throw out or the ones Orville doesnt use.We do it on purpose because it is the best part of the popcorn!Thanks!Doug Foreman http://www.popnots.com

[Revtim]

Wow, straight from the inventor's mouth! That doesn't happen every day.

Thanks for taking the time to answer, Doug!

[Dilbert]

Originally posted by DougForeman
Hello,Doug Foreman inventor of Popnots here.http://www.popnots.com

Do you just search for discussions on your product? I saw you chime in on Snopes as well.

[DougForeman]

No.Actually we have a site meter on the bottom left of the home pagewww.popnots.com which shows who came to the site.If you click on it and go to referrals it shows you where people come from.Our meter is ulocked ,meaning anyone can see all of our info.Other people block the info from the public.If we know where people come from it may give us ideas on how to spread the gospel of Popnots!I also like to see what people think of the product and give feedback if I can.Nothing sinister really just a fun tool.Thanks,Doug

[GaryM]

I purchase a product at Wild Oats natural foods that sounds like the same thing. They call it Glad Corn. Sold out of the bulk bin by the pound.

Is it the same?

[Ethilrist]

That's kinda weird. Is it, like, okay for people we're asking questions about to just barge in and answer them? Next thing you know, there'll be less ignorance in the world, and then where would we be? Hmm??

[Jodi]

I think this is so cool! Ask a question and the inventor himself drops by to answer it. How could we ask for more than that? Thanks for the info. :)

[handy]

I suppose the husk simply travels through your system without being digested?

"If we know where people come from"

Hmmmm.....I can see you'd pick up some IP numbers but what does that have to do with the Straight Dope Board? The board isn't an ISP so how do you know about it just from reading logs? Hmmmm.

[MannyL]

Slight hijack

Handy when you go to a website from another one, there is a peice of information sent on who refered you. I.E. what site you were just on. Thats how some sites block linking, if you go to a page and the referrer page is not on their approved list, they redirect you to their main page

[The Great Gazoo]

Originally posted by Ethilrist
That's kinda weird. Is it, like, okay for people we're asking questions about to just barge in and answer them? Next thing you know, there'll be less ignorance in the world, and then where would we be? Hmm??

I agree - it's a dangerous precedent :)

Next thing you know, George Bush will be dropping in to explain his tax rebate for the rich :)

Or Bill Clinton will comment on the whole Mona Lewinski thing :eek:

It's scary.

[manhattan]

DougForeman, thanks for stopping by, and thanks for the Straight Dope on your product!

[zut]

Originally posted by DougForeman
Actually we have a site meter on the bottom left of the home pagewww.popnots.com which shows who came to the site...But, but, but... all the previous post on this threads were from August/September 1999. Why the heck are people clicking through to popnots.com from a two-year-old thread? Or is this such a delicious food product that there's a two-year backlog on the official web site? Or am I seeing things?

signed, Puzzled in Popcorn-land.

[jab1]

My Mom always refers to half-popped corn as "pig corn."