Kinetics of Popping of Popcorn

ABSTRACT The rate of popping of popcorn was measured in oil and in air. Kinetic data for lifetimes of individual kernels from a large population were obtained in oil at six constant temperatures (180–250°C) and also in an air-popper at 202°C. The data are characterized by an induction period, which is, significantly, followed by a first-order decrease in the number of unpopped kernels versus time. The activation energy for the first order process is 166.7 kJ/mol between 180 and 210°C, and 53.8 kJ/mol between 210 and 250°C. These data are consistent with a model that assumes 1) that the rate of heat transfer into a kernel follows Newton's law of cooling; 2) that in a sample of kernels there exists a distribution of critical pressures; 3) that for an individual kernel, the probability of popping is directly proportional to the difference between the internal aqueous vapor pressure and the kernel's critical pressure; and 4) that the measured rate constant at any temperature is an average overall of the kerne...