Popcorn, the most popular snack today, was known even to the inhabitants of the caves. The oldest find that has been discovered, dates back to 3600 BC and it was discovered in 1948 – 1950 in Bazacharit cave in New Mexico. The conversion of corn seed during the heat treatment has been known since then. It was used not only for the preparation of soups and drinks, foods with nutritional value, but also as a ritual tool in religious ceremonies. We find it in rituals of Aztec Indians in New Mexico and in Peru. The natives were editing it either placing corn seeds onto branches and then putting them on a flame or mixing the seeds with sand, which then were heating it up with fire.
Much later in the early of 18th century, fats were used during the thermal processing of corn e.g. fats and oils. Its significance in the religious ceremonies of Natives was big as they made necklaces and jewelry with it, that adorned statues of their gods and the crowns of the women taking part in these ceremonies. There were even specialized religious dances which used it as an accessory to worship ceremonies Goddesses of water, fertility, etc. It is considered that as a product born in the American continent and spread to Europe via the European colonialists who traveled to the new continent and came into contact with the natives and their culture.
Specifically in 1519 AD when Cortes invaded Mexico learned about the product by the Aztecs and the Natives and likewise the product became familiar to Christopher Columbus, too. There is a written report that on February 22, 1630, a native Indian name Kouantaneka from the tribe of Gouampanoak, transmitted the art of preparation of popcorn to UK in Plymouth, Massachusetts. So it became known to Europe, captivating with its taste the Europeans, which there were consuming for breakfast accompanied with sugar. The expansion in the American continent was even greater and the cultivation of corn for popcorn very soon captured a large part of the agriculture, giving up the lead today for being the largest producer worldwide. Later, the popcorn was made the necessary accompaniment to the dinner of Thanksgiving Day.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, the popcorn was already made in America very popular by outdoor – itinerant who were selling the product at fairs, carnivals, parks and generally areas where there was a world rally. In product development contributed the construction of the first mobile popcorn machine by Charles Creators presented for the first time in 1893 at an exhibition in Chicago. During the recession in the early 19th century, while the unfavorable economic climate made difficult the survival of businesses, companies dealing with popcorn flourished due to the low selling price of the product. A typical example is the known banker from Oklahoma who, the selected period because of the economic crisis, lost both his bank and all its properties. Buying a popcorn machine and selling popcorn from a small store near a theater he managed, by saving money, in two years to regain three out of his holdings, that he had lost.
But the requirement of the world for popcorn during the projection forced exhibitors to adopt the manufacture and sale of popcorn in cinemas and even bringing them considerable profits. This is something that has not changed until today. During the second world war the taste of popcorn changes and becomes salty than sweet. This happened due to the lack of sugar created in the market, all stocks of sugar used for the needs of the war.
Replacing sugar with salt boosted literally the popcorn sales and made Americans consume three times more quantities than before. In the 1950s and later, following the spread of television in people’s homes, cinemas experienced a deep recession and this had as a consequence, the reduction of popcorn consumption since the cinemas were now connected with the consumption of the product.
Its consumption is combined with the provision of entertainment (cinema – theater – stadium, etc.) but not only that. The biggest consumption is in his homeland. America annually consumes about 16 million cubic meters of popcorn. That means that the average American eats about 51 litters of popcorn per year. Regarding Greece, the average annual per capital consumption is about 4 liters of popcorn per year.
