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Home » Popcorn Varieties

Popcorn Varieties

By Marybeth Feutz 11 Comments

Did you know that popcorn comes in many different varieties? Corn (and most plants) are sort of like dogs. (Bear with me here.) We all know that there are many different breeds of dogs – everything from Great Dane to Labrador Retriever to Cocker Spaniel to Chihuahua. Well, within those breeds of dogs are different varieties. For example, Labrador Retrievers come in yellow, black, and chocolate. All three types of colors are Labs, and all the different breeds of dogs are still dogs. Corn works the same way.

Did you know that popcorn comes in many different varieties? See some of the differences between popcorn varieties.

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Think of sweet corn, field corn, and popcorn as different “breeds” of corn. Within each of those “breeds,” there are different varieties. That’s why some sweet corn is all yellow, some is all white, and some is bicolored. That’s also why some field corn is good for making animal feed, some is good for making people food, and some is good for making high-fructose corn syrup (and many other uses for different varieties of field corn). And, there are many different varieties of popcorn. These are a few I could find in my local stores.

I popped two tablespoons of kernels from each of these varieties of popcorn, and this is what I ended up with.

Not all varieties of popcorn pop exactly the same.

Why the difference? Let’s take a look!

Here is the regular popcorn. This is the variety that is in most microwave popcorn bags. This is also what you can easily find in bulk in your grocery store. The kernels pop into nice-sized pieces of popcorn, with a slight yellow tint. These also have relatively thick hulls. (Hulls are the outer coating of the popcorn kernel, the same as the bran in this diagram of a whole grain. It’s also the stuff that gets stuck in your teeth when you eat popcorn.)

regular popcorn

Rainbow blend popcorn is a mixture of a few different varieties of popcorn. It comes in similar-sized kernels, and will give you similar-sized pieces of popcorn as the regular kernels. The popped popcorn may have slightly different colors, depending on which variety of popcorn is used.

rainbow blend popcorn

This variety is called “medium white hulless.” You can see that the kernels are smaller than the regular popcorn, and the popped popcorn is also a little smaller. There are two other difference here. First, the popped popcorn is very white, without the slight yellow tint of the regular popcorn. Second, the hulls on these kernels are much thinner and softer than regular popcorn.

medium white hulless popcorn

Yes, it is called “hulless,” but it does still have a hull. The hull is what holds the popcorn together and lets it pop. But the hulless varieties have a thinner, softer hull. When the popcorn pops, the hull breaks up into smaller pieces. These pieces are easier to chew and digest, and you may not get them stuck in your teeth quite as badly.

This is “baby white hulless” popcorn. The kernels and the popped corn are even smaller than the “medium white hulless” popcorn. The smaller kernels tend to give you a more tender piece of popcorn when they are popped.

baby white popcorn

Finally, this is “midnight blue popcorn.” The kernels here are very small, around the size of the baby white popcorn, and have this beautiful blue color. The popped popcorn is very white, but the blue hulls are still visible (and may give the popped popcorn a slightly blue tint). This variety of popcorn has a little extra “crunch” to it, but the hulls are still soft.

midnight blue popcorn

All the varieties of popcorn taste about the same, but the size and texture of the popped popcorn are a little different from each other.

Did you know that popcorn comes in many different varieties? See some of the differences between popcorn varieties.

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There are many other varieties of popcorn available, but these were the ones that I could easily find in stores near me. Did you know that popcorn comes in different varieties? Which is your favorite?

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Filed Under: Grains, Kitchen Tips, Tricks, & More, Where is My Food From? Tagged With: corn, field corn, food, grain, popcorn, sweet corn, variety, whole grain

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Comments

  1. Danny says

    11/30/2015 at 12:14 pm

    Awesome info site for school projects and for people that want to know about the different varieties of popcorn

  2. AleylaObari says

    03/20/2016 at 12:45 pm

    Thank You for sharing.

    I appreciate you.

    More Accomplishments…

  3. Jack says

    08/18/2016 at 9:25 pm

    I didn’t see mushroom popcorn listed.

  4. Ida Torres says

    08/30/2016 at 6:43 pm

    I am a science teacher. I am trying to create a lab using a variety of corn. Can you tell me if there is any difference when I pop the corn using an air popper verses a traditional oil popper or should they all pop the same?

  5. Marybeth says

    09/08/2016 at 9:19 am

    Using an air popper or an oil popper should give you the same result. Different varieties of popcorn may look different from each other when you pop them, but the same variety should pop the same with air or oil. When you pop in oil, you are adding a few more calories to the popcorn.

  6. Marybeth says

    09/08/2016 at 9:21 am

    You’re right! Mushroom popcorn pops into a very different shape – it is nearly round, and is the type of popcorn most often used for caramel corn or kettle corn. The round shape means that it holds up better when it is coated with the flavors.

  7. Teresa Mason says

    10/07/2017 at 9:37 pm

    Man got envy ideas for school project

  8. popcorn is life says

    01/30/2018 at 2:07 pm

    you forgot yellow popcorn

  9. Taylor Bishop says

    10/08/2018 at 7:57 am

    Thanks for helping me learn more about different types of popcorn. I didn’t know that baby white hulless usually use smaller kernels. You mentioned it could give a tender piece of popcorn, and I’m interested to learn if this could be a good type of popcorn for those who have a sensitive mouth.

  10. Marybeth Feutz says

    10/22/2018 at 10:04 am

    It’s worth a try! It depends on exactly what “triggers” your sensitivity.

Trackbacks

  1. Popcorn or Field Corn...What's the Difference? - The Farmwife Crafts says:
    01/09/2018 at 1:29 pm

    […] from My Fearless Kitchen recently wrote a post that talks about the different varieties of popcorn.  I didn’t realize […]

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