From my archives...
Although popcorn is still well loved today its history dates back many centuries. It is believed that popcorn originated in Mexico, with the oldest ears of corn ever found coming from a Bat Cave in west central Mexico in 1948. Here Cachise Indians dating back to 2,500 B.C. are thought to have grown and eaten popcorn. A funeral urn also found in Mexico from 300 A.D. shows a picture of a maize god with some form of primitive popcorn head-dress. Popcorn kernels have also been found in tombs on the east coast of Peru, some of which still pop after 1,000 years.
By the time Europeans began to settle in America popcorn had spread to almost all Native American tribes. The English colonists were introduced to popcorn at the first Thanksgiving feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where one of the chief's brothers arrived with a goodwill gift of popped corn in a deerskin bag. After their introduction the colonists had the idea of eating popcorn with milk and sugar and so was born the breakfast cereal. At this point there were more than 700 varieties of popcorn.
When Columbus first arrived in the West Indies he found the natives eating popcorn as well as using it for decoration. Cortes also discovered, after invading Mexico in 1519, that popcorn was just as important to the Aztecs, who used it for decorating their ceremonial head-dresses, necklaces as well as for food.
One of the earliest ways to pop corn was to toast it over an open fire or even to throw the cob directly into the fire until it began to pop. American Indians would pierce the centre of the cob with a sharp stick then spread oil over the corn and lay it near a fire, causing the kernel to pop attached to the ear. Another way was to use a clay or metal cooking pot containing oil held over a fire, much like today. It wasn't until the 18th century when popping in oil really began to take off as the results and taste produced were far superior to that of toasted popcorn.
