It’s POP-corn!

You might remember back in August when we peeled back the layers (or should we say husk?) on how corn on the cob gets from our fields to your summer festivities. Now, as we all cozy up during the holiday season, we’re sharing how one of our favorite snacks comes to be: popcorn!

Many folks are surprised when they buy popcorn from us and see it still attached to the cob. That’s because we harvest it that way – once the popcorn we plant has reached optimal maturity, we harvest the ears by hand straight from the field. This usually takes us a couple of days. Once harvested we allow the ears to dry for around four weeks, with kernels still attached, which helps pull out any remaining moisture. Once the kernels on the cob are ready to be popped we put them in our shop, just as they are. Some like to go ahead and pop the cob right away while others at this stage choose to remove the kernels from the cob before popping them. 

Here at Elmwood we grow an organic, yellow variety of popcorn called “Mushroom” which gets its name from the round, mushroom-like shape of the kernels when popped. We like this particular variety because it’s easy to grow, has a good yield on the cob and has a well-rounded, reliable flavor (popcorn flavor can easily change with even minor, unintentional adjustments to soil, temperature, etc.) No matter how you choose to enjoy it, it’s a hard snack to put down! We typically like it served simply with a sprinkling of sea salt but here in our test kitchen we’ve been experimenting with different flavorings and seasonings including our chile and coffee spice blends with delicious results!

Our farm fresh popcorn is only available for a limited time, so now’s a great time to gather round the fire and heat up a batch of popcorn to enjoy this holiday season. And tell us your favorite popcorn toppings in the comments below!