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chrisdh79 OP t1_j1yo7cf wrote

From the article: Most of us rely on counter-top air poppers or microwaves to whip up a tasty popcorn snack. But infrared cooking offers another viable alternative, according to a September paper published in the journal ACS Food Science and Technology.

Popcorn is the only grain in the corn family that pops in response to the application of heat—specifically, temperatures above 180° C. It has a lot to do with the structure of the kernels. Each has a tough outer shell, called the pericarp, within which lies the germ (seed embryo) and the endosperm. The latter holds trapped water (popcorn kernels need about 14 percent water to pop) and starch granules.

Last year, Mahdi Shavandi and his coauthors at the Iran Research Organization for Science and Technology in Tehran successfully demonstrated the proof of principle for their approach to making popcorn with infrared heat. With this method, a heat source like fire, gas or energy waves is in direct contact with the food, rather than a heating element like a pan or grill grate. It's often likened to broiling or cooking food over a campfire. Fans argue that this method is fast, highly energy efficient, and environmentally friendly when compared to more conventional means of heating.

It's already used for such purposes as heating, drying, roasting, cooking, baking, and even microbial decontamination, per the authors. And infrared grills are increasingly popular. But could you use infrared cooking to produce popcorn with all the desirable characteristics we know and love, and convince us to switch from our beloved microwaveable brands? Shavandi et al. thought it might be possible.

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FuturologyBot t1_j1yqnhr wrote

The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:

From the article: Most of us rely on counter-top air poppers or microwaves to whip up a tasty popcorn snack. But infrared cooking offers another viable alternative, according to a September paper published in the journal ACS Food Science and Technology.

Popcorn is the only grain in the corn family that pops in response to the application of heat—specifically, temperatures above 180° C. It has a lot to do with the structure of the kernels. Each has a tough outer shell, called the pericarp, within which lies the germ (seed embryo) and the endosperm. The latter holds trapped water (popcorn kernels need about 14 percent water to pop) and starch granules.

Last year, Mahdi Shavandi and his coauthors at the Iran Research Organization for Science and Technology in Tehran successfully demonstrated the proof of principle for their approach to making popcorn with infrared heat. With this method, a heat source like fire, gas or energy waves is in direct contact with the food, rather than a heating element like a pan or grill grate. It's often likened to broiling or cooking food over a campfire. Fans argue that this method is fast, highly energy efficient, and environmentally friendly when compared to more conventional means of heating.

It's already used for such purposes as heating, drying, roasting, cooking, baking, and even microbial decontamination, per the authors. And infrared grills are increasingly popular. But could you use infrared cooking to produce popcorn with all the desirable characteristics we know and love, and convince us to switch from our beloved microwaveable brands? Shavandi et al. thought it might be possible.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zx6v2m/some_day_soon_we_might_be_making_popcorn_with/j1yo7cf/

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UniversalMomentum t1_j1yx6wh wrote

Meh, this reads like some silly gadget advertising. How would direct infrared radiation really evenly cook popcorn better than an air popper and who really wants another kitchen gadget just for popcorn. I don’t think the cost of my air popper is a problem that needs fixing, nor will direct infrared be much different since it’s just resistance heating most gadgets.

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Flash635 t1_j1z6mq4 wrote

I use an air popper which I think is heated by IR. I've had it for years.

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Blakut t1_j1zthpm wrote

We already have microwave ovens so what's the catch? The microwave also has other uses.

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could_use_a_snack t1_j1zyywz wrote

I'd buy this if it popped them on at a time.

You fill a hopper. It funnels the kernels into a little cup that heats it with IR and when it pops it shoots out into a bowl, letting the next kernel in. It would need to be quick though, maybe a minute to fill a bowl. Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop.

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RedSarc t1_j1zz6bj wrote

As long as we also switch back to loose kernel popping, on the stove for instance.

Turns out bagged, ‘microwave’ popcorn is laced with 3M and DuPont’s PFAS cancer chemicals.

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SwordHiltOP t1_j200lko wrote

I'm not a scientist, but how tf is is popcorn not environmentally friendly?

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crazy_gambit t1_j208ax1 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,122,558)

Nah, I'm serious about my popcorn. I have a professional machine at home and there's a significant difference in flavor. And I'm just talking about your regular sweet popcorn. The microwave can't get close. Sure, it can make an edible product in the same way it can make edible meat. I'd rather avoid it.

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jeho22 t1_j20cd4m wrote

Finally, the once in a life time scientific breakthrough I've been waiting for

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BeeExpert t1_j20dsht wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,122,978)

Probably a stove top popper. Definitely produces better popcorn than microwave. It's not that it imparts a special flavor so much as it doesn't require a load of nasty "butter" to cook. I've never had a microwave popcorn that isn't wayyy too greasy (or "buttery").

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crazy_gambit t1_j20eov4 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,122,978)

It's the same the use in theaters. It's a pot with a stirrer inside. So you add oil (I mostly use coconut oil) that coats the kernels and the sugar. The machine will stir while it cooks so every kernel gets a uniform coating. Cooking with oil vs just microwaving something is significantly different or do we need to debate this?

The final step, which is actually very important, is drying them with the light the machine has. It will heat the bottom of the machine and get the popcorn extra crispy as it comes out slightly wet from the pot.

I got the machine pretty cheap more than a decade ago, but I'm sure they're not hard to find nowadays.

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Gagarin1961 t1_j20hwxm wrote

In the future we won’t worry about the environment when cooking things because it will all be powered by clean energy.

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King_Hamburgler t1_j20qv7v wrote

No fuck that I want combustion powered popcorn

Every bag has a ripcord like a lawnmower

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euph_22 t1_j210e2j wrote

Ok, reading the paper, aren't they precisely describing how a commercial popcorn popper works? You have a vessel that is heated, you stir the kernels until they pop. I think they usually use an electric element in the vessel to heat it but not universally and that really isn't a major change.

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sleeppyboii t1_j21ncyu wrote

As a citizen I'm happy that they're going environmentally responsible as a scientist I'm disappointed such a simple discovery is just now being used.

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sleeppyboii t1_j21o2sv wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,124,780)

I have made popcorn(n kettle corn) before sadly this dickhead arguing with you about popcorn is Slightly correct but the application of heat really isn't what matters. Also not all popcorn enthusiasts are like this dweeb

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DukeLukeivi t1_j21oqgt wrote

60% of the time, guerilla marketing works every time.

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shostakofiev t1_j21zq3y wrote

Microwave popcorn is like the fourth biggest polluter in the world, after transportation, manufacturing, and hot pockets.

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coleosis1414 t1_j223clp wrote

This is goofy as hell.

  1. no, changing the way we all make popcorn (and just popcorn) will have no environmental impact.

  2. the energy saved in cooking is almost certainly offset by the manufacture of these single-purpose kitchen tools.

  3. unitaskers in the kitchen are just bad news all around. If it’s a machine that makes only one kind of food, it’s wasteful.

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euph_22 t1_j22cit2 wrote

Replying to coleosis1414 (#1,134,521)

This MIGHT be intended for commercial scale. Though even then, it's literally the exact same popping method commercial poppers use, just using an IR heat source rather than a resistive heating element.

Also for home use, you can use a pan or metal bowl over your stove.

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BraceThis t1_j2356xv wrote

Because it’s not been convenient or easy at all…

Infrared. Finally. The real problems being solved.

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