[PhotoChick]

Mine lists grams as well - 40g, which is also not 3T by my T measure. But then again, popcorn kernels are kinda hard to measure out. Ok, so tonight my mission is to measure out 40g of popcorn by weight, and then measure it after popped, also by weight and volume.

Yes, as I mentioned above. I'm a geek. I'm kinda looking forward to this. I wonder if the volume is different if air-popped. Hm. Maybe I should do that, too.

Hahahah. I get to put on my evil-scientist hat tonight.
*gleefully rubbing hands togther*

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[PhotoChick]

Ok, fellow chicks ... here you go. The definitive, documented popcorn analysis!

First step was to measure out 3T of popcorn. I put a 1/4 cup measure on my scale and zeroed it out. Then measured out my popcorn into the cup:

As you can see the weight of 3T = 33g. Using this T measure, btw. It looks like it's not full in the photo, but it was as full as I could make it w/out "heaping" the kernels and having them fall out.

Adding another 3/4 T made it exactly 40g - almost 1/4 cup:

BTW, this is the popcorn we're working with:

So I put the kernels in the pot with 1 scant teaspoon of peanut oil:

Using, of course, my favorite popcorn pot. Yeah, it's old. About 15 years old now. But it's the only pot I'll make popcorn in. It's perfect.

The finished product in an 8 cup measure on the scale (which was, of course, zeroed out):

I don't know if you can see in the photo above, but this is the interesting part to me - the scale reads 39g - only 1g lost to any escaping steam!! Here's a close up ...

And the volume? Right at 5 cups.

Oh, and the unpopped kernels - 4 of them.

So now ... who knows. Perhaps the chemical component of the popcorn changes which makes it fewer calories after popping? I think I'll stick with the 150 cal number just to be safe.

This was fun. Anything else I can go be a mad scientist about???


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[ladybugnessa]

GREAT photos... you need to blog this!

[raw23]

Hey... PC, you are good at photography!

I dont have any comments about your popcorn dilemma.... but good pics!

[WebRover]

Really cool. But, how much did the peanut oil weigh? Isn't that some additional weight that's not accounted for?

How do you calculate how much of it stuck to the popcorn and how much to the pan?

[PhotoChick]

But, how much did the peanut oil weigh? Isn't that some additional weight that's not accounted for?

Ooooh ... smart!

So I just measured the peanut oil. 1 T = 3g.

So assuming that 2/3 of the oil stuck to the popcorn (random guess), that would be 2g additional.

So popcorn weight drops to 37g
Oil adds back 2g.

That's still not a huge change in popcorn weight to allow for the change in calories. But I should have thought about that.

Obviously my mad scientist skills need some improvement!

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[healtheeme]

That is so awesome that you did that - because I use the same popcorn and can use your results :lol I love your popcorn popper, BTW. I use a "Whirleypop" pot and love it. I'll be eating some 150 cal popcorn (+calories in oil) tonight and I'm looking forward to it.

[WebRover]

Had to do a little research. According to the trustees of Indiana University, popcorn is 13 1/2 % water, which when brought to boiling, explodes the kernel. They don't say whether it's 13 1/2 % by weight or volume. But once that water is boiling, also unstated, it's going to escape as steam. There's some math to do there yet, but that accounts for the difference in weight. The difference in calories, dunno yet.

[cnasandy]

Originally Posted by ladybugnessa

i'm into those 100 calorie bags of smart pop... cause i don't do so well with portion control so I need someone to do it for me.

and yes popcorn without fat is low in calories... but it's NOT calorie free.

thats what i buy too