Frequently Asked Questions

Healthy, easy and quick. Learn how to make healthy stove top popcorn at home with Popcorn Board's POP Video! Find more delicious recipes at popcorn.org.

Nutritious, low-calorie and crunchy, popcorn naturally appeals to all ages. Primarily a carbohydrate, it contains a surprising number of nutrients and is a ready source of energy. In fact, popcorn contains more iron than spinach, eggs, peanuts or even roast beef. Popcorn is low in calories -- only 31-55 calories in one cup of unbuttered, and when lightly buttered, one cup still only has 133 calories. (Source: National Popcorn Institute)

There is not a standard answer because it depends on end use of the product. All of our varieties serve a specific purpose. Platinum bulk popcorn is best for concessions because of high # of servings per unit. It is an excellent choice for theaters, ball parks, or even high school concessions stand. Gold popcorn is best for its large flake size, taste, and eye appeal. Gold kernels are larger in size than platinum kernels. Silver popcorn is the best value in a price sensitive market. Mushroom is best for processing and the addition of flavored coatings.

Mushroom popcorn requires a higher popping temperature in order to achieve the best results. We recommend using hot air instead of oil to pop this specific type of popcorn to maximuze the percentage of ball shaped kernels. 

Expansion rate measures the number of popped popcorn servings produced from a specific amount of unpopped popcorn. For example, the standard expansion machine pops 250 grams of kernels and measures the volumetric result. A typical rate would be 42-44. This means 1 cup of popcorn kernels in the popper will yield 42 cups of popped corn.

The primary difference between mushroom popcorn and butterfly popcorn is the shape of the popped kernel. A mushroom kernel is round in shape like a baseball, perfectly suited for coatings of caramel, cheese, or even chocolate. The round, even surface of our mushroom popcorn allows coatings to adhere evenly and consistently. Raw kernel sizes are often large which results in a large flake size (the popped kernel). Therefore by pure physics, mushroom popcorn expansion rates are lower than those of butterfly popcorn. The round balls fit tightly together and create less volume in the bag. This is an advantage for processors because it adds weight or density to the retail product.

Popcorn pops best when it maintains a percentage of moisture near 13.5% to 14%.   Popcorn kernels are a little bit like a sponge.  If the ambient humidity is 60% or higher, the popcorn will absorb moisture, possibly causing it to mold over time.  If the humidity is 50% or less, the popcorn will dry out, hindering its ability to pop.  Therefore, a sealed container is best for maintaining a more constant moisture content.

YES! We absolutely do. All of our popcorn is naturally produced with minimal tillage, leaving organic matter undisturbed. Minimum tillage also means reduced:

• soil erosion
• water erosion (and better moisture conservation since the soil isn’t dried out)
• carbon release into the atmosphere fuel usage and farmer, fuel and labor costs due to fewer trips back-and-forth across the field 

And - the natural usage of old plants as mulch, and healthy natural plants that perform well by growing right in last year’s root zone.

Preferred Popcorn also encourages its farmers to use other green farming practices such as crop-rotation, soil- and water-testing and minimal use of fertilizers. All Preferred Popcorn production remains under the close scrutiny of professional agronomists who scout the fields weekly making recommendations to producers.

No! All of our popcorn is non-GMO. It's a commitment we've made to our customers around the world, and we are joined by the popcorn industry as a whole in planting only non-GMO seeds.