American Kettle Corn’s Startling Import History

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Kettle corn is an all-American favorite salty-sweet snack. It has an off-and-on history of being being a popular item sold at festivals, carnivals, and other events.

But the origins of flavored arrived from a surprising source. Let’s start with a timeline history of popcorn that you can read at //localfoodeater.com/best-american-pop-corn-holds-year-end-contest/

Kettle corn as a sweet treat dates all the way back to the 18th century. Surprisingly, this All-American based treat was first documented in Europe, not in the land where it originated.

European farmers would cook corn in large cast iron kettles over an open fire. Then, as now, the smell was tantalizing.

Both lard and sugar were added while the popcorn was cooking, which resulted in a sweet snack that was often eaten at the end of the day. It was discovered during this time that kettle popcorn had a good shelf life because of the sugar in the kettle corn.

German and European immigrants brought this sweet treat to America in the mid to late 1700s. In America, this snack was first referenced in the diaries of Dutch immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. Kettle corn at this time was also made in Dutch ovens, in addition to cast iron kettles.

From the beginning to modern times, kettle corn was sold during festive events, such as fairs and festivals. Sometimes kettle corn was sweetened with honey rather than sugar.

In the early to mid 19th century, kettle corn was hugely popular in America. Over the next century, however it saw a lapse in widespread popularity.

Nevertheless, kettle corn made its comeback in the 2000s, particularly at historical reenactments of the Civil War and similar events.

Today, kettle corn is still in touch with its roots. The snack is sold during street fairs and festivals. Sometimes kettle corn is still made in the traditional way, with a cast iron kettle, but it can also be made in popcorn poppers or kettle-corn specific machines. Kettle corn in convenience stores, supermarkets, or online stores, like Popcorn for the People.

Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn

One of the newest trends is themed kettle corn. And one of the best we have tasted is Sweetzer Gourmet Popcorn. Founder Michael Norr created it as part of his family and friends outdoor movie night that had transitioned during pandemic lockdown from years of indoor game night.

It seems to be destiny because Michael has no culinary eduction. He is a fifth grade teacher at West Hollywood Elementary School, where he’s taught for 19 years. So it was not a surprise that his first batch was, according to him, ” overly chewy and not all that tasty.”

As someone who works every day to inspire kids to set goals, then work tirelessly to achieve them, Michael knew “he had to try again.” And again. And again.   And succeeded.

The popcorn comes in unusual but natural flavors. And all of them that we tried are delicious in the addictive popcorn. And yes, the name is after the street in West Hollywood.

  

 

Hatch Chili Pepper Corn

The wildly popular hatch chilis were the inspiration for Hatch Kettle Corn from Melissa’s Produce.

Made with in-house Hatch Pepper Powder, salt, oregano, cumin and garlic.Hatch peppers add mild to hot heat to the popcorn, as well as a flavor distinct to this pepper. The comparison is apt of as with adding a fine mustard, hatch chilies enhance and bring out flavor.

Named after the original growing area in Hatch, New Mexico, authentic Hatch Peppers have become a Southwestern almost cult favorite. This variety, which grows in the Hatch Valley, just north of Las Cruces is arguably the most prized of all peppers. The valley, which stretches along the Rio Grande’s southern-most bend before crossing into Texas and Mexico, is covered with row after row of these green leafy pepper plants for most of the summer.

Popcorn itself is made from a specific variety of corn, or maize, that was first domesticated by Pre-Columbian indigenous peoples around 5000 B.C.E. Popcorn itself did not appear in America until the 1820s, when the snack began to be sold in the eastern US under the name Pearl or Nonpareil. It quickly spread to other regions and by 1848, the word “popcorn” was included in Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms; the compendium claimed that the name came from the noise the corn made upon bursting open.