Can you soak corn for popcorn?

[JMJ]

and if you can, then how?

[tanyalynn]

I'm guessing not, but if someone's done it successfully, I'd love to hear about it too.

The thing about popcorn is that the amount of water in the kernel is really important, that's what creates the steam that bursts the kernel open and we get fluffy corn.  Dried out kernels won't pop, and I'd think water-logged ones would be problematic too, so I'd think that soaking and then drying to get just the right amount of moisture inside would be really, really tricky. 

[JMJ]

Hmm... then how do they get it the right dryness in the first place?

[tanyalynn]

I don't really know, I figured it was part of the inherent properties that make popping corn different than the varieties of corn meant for other uses.  I'm just worried that soaking it, and getting it wet all the way through, would be problematic.

[bodhitree]

Originally Posted by tanyalynn 

I don't really know, I figured it was part of the inherent properties that make popping corn different than the varieties of corn meant for other uses.

I believe that is true. The popcorn dries to a certain point naturally, then you have to keep it in an airtight container so it doesn't dry out completely over time, which would make it so it wouldn't pop. OP, you could always try it and see what happens. It's not like popcorn is super expensive.

[JMJ]

True, and I could always try to grind it into cornmeal if it doesn't work.

[cristeen]

The dryness is inherent.  You can buy popcorn still on the cob from farm stands around halloween.  They didn't do anything special to it.

And you can't grind it to cornmeal - cornmeal comes from a different type of corn entirely.  Popcorn pretty much has one purpose - to pop. 

In fact, I'm not even sure what would happen if you soaked popcorn - can it absorb all that water even? 

[krankedyann]

I tried it when I started TF and it didn't work. Cornmeal is made out of dent corn, not popcorn.  They're two different varieties of corn.

[bremen]

what happened when i accidentally soaked some popcorn: it sprouted!

regular popcorn sprouted, grew, and actually grew ears of popcorn on the plant.