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Blakut t1_j1zthpm wrote

We already have microwave ovens so what's the catch? The microwave also has other uses.

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thesorehead t1_j22i50p wrote

Also bench top air poppers. Specialised gadget, but small, cheap, and very effective.

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UniversalMomentum t1_j1yx6wh wrote

Meh, this reads like some silly gadget advertising. How would direct infrared radiation really evenly cook popcorn better than an air popper and who really wants another kitchen gadget just for popcorn. I don’t think the cost of my air popper is a problem that needs fixing, nor will direct infrared be much different since it’s just resistance heating most gadgets.

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[deleted] t1_j1yw855 wrote

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AadamAtomic t1_j1zwnu5 wrote

Yeah. But have you tried adding an invisible flashlight that casts invisible shadows and will increase the poping time by a full 3%!

Now you can for a small payment of $1099.99!

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Flaky-Fish6922 t1_j21xxg1 wrote

well, maybe if they'd invent a bag that, when it's done popping... dissolves into a bowl....

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NotSamoaJoe t1_j220hi6 wrote

Easy yes, but it leaves a considerably higher amount of unpopped kernels compared to an air popper.

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crazy_gambit t1_j2049og wrote

You can cook steak in the microwave as well. Just as awful IMO.

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[deleted] t1_j206c8s wrote

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crazy_gambit t1_j208ax1 wrote

Nah, I'm serious about my popcorn. I have a professional machine at home and there's a significant difference in flavor. And I'm just talking about your regular sweet popcorn. The microwave can't get close. Sure, it can make an edible product in the same way it can make edible meat. I'd rather avoid it.

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[deleted] t1_j208kij wrote

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BeeExpert t1_j20dsht wrote

Probably a stove top popper. Definitely produces better popcorn than microwave. It's not that it imparts a special flavor so much as it doesn't require a load of nasty "butter" to cook. I've never had a microwave popcorn that isn't wayyy too greasy (or "buttery").

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crazy_gambit t1_j20eov4 wrote

It's the same the use in theaters. It's a pot with a stirrer inside. So you add oil (I mostly use coconut oil) that coats the kernels and the sugar. The machine will stir while it cooks so every kernel gets a uniform coating. Cooking with oil vs just microwaving something is significantly different or do we need to debate this?

The final step, which is actually very important, is drying them with the light the machine has. It will heat the bottom of the machine and get the popcorn extra crispy as it comes out slightly wet from the pot.

I got the machine pretty cheap more than a decade ago, but I'm sure they're not hard to find nowadays.

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CEOofTwitter2 t1_j20gtk9 wrote

You do understand when you microwave a bag of popcorn it has oil and popcorn inside and acts in basically the same manner as your popcorn machine that takes up like 4-8 sq. Ft of space.

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crazy_gambit t1_j20hz39 wrote

It does not. For one it spreads pretty unevenly, but the way they pop is completely different. I don't think anyone would confuse them in a blind taste.

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[deleted] t1_j20j4dq wrote

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sleeppyboii t1_j21o2sv wrote

I have made popcorn(n kettle corn) before sadly this dickhead arguing with you about popcorn is Slightly correct but the application of heat really isn't what matters. Also not all popcorn enthusiasts are like this dweeb

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Euphoric-Ask-9952 t1_j20ltuf wrote

I’m glad you’re having fun, but please understand that most people don’t care about or even notice the “difference.” A bag of microwave popcorn tastes about the same as the theatre’s.

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crazy_gambit t1_j21139u wrote

Some people might not care enough to go through the inconvenience of not using a microwave, and that's fair enough, but I'm pretty sure everyone can taste the difference.

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jeho22 t1_j20cd4m wrote

Finally, the once in a life time scientific breakthrough I've been waiting for

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RedSarc t1_j1zz6bj wrote

As long as we also switch back to loose kernel popping, on the stove for instance.

Turns out bagged, ‘microwave’ popcorn is laced with 3M and DuPont’s PFAS cancer chemicals.

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could_use_a_snack t1_j1zyywz wrote

I'd buy this if it popped them on at a time.

You fill a hopper. It funnels the kernels into a little cup that heats it with IR and when it pops it shoots out into a bowl, letting the next kernel in. It would need to be quick though, maybe a minute to fill a bowl. Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop Pop.

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Flash635 t1_j1z6mq4 wrote

I use an air popper which I think is heated by IR. I've had it for years.

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SwordHiltOP t1_j200lko wrote

I'm not a scientist, but how tf is is popcorn not environmentally friendly?

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euph_22 t1_j20z910 wrote

I'm assuming they are talking about the microwaveable packets. Which is hardly the only way of making popcorn.

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Gagarin1961 t1_j20hwxm wrote

In the future we won’t worry about the environment when cooking things because it will all be powered by clean energy.

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King_Hamburgler t1_j20qv7v wrote

No fuck that I want combustion powered popcorn

Every bag has a ripcord like a lawnmower

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euph_22 t1_j22c4p2 wrote

Paper bag of kernels with one of these would do the job:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/PULL-START-FIRE-Pull-Start-Fire-Firestarter-3-pack/1003177642?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-sol-_-ggl-_-PLA_SOL_237_Seasonal-Heat-Coolers-_-1003177642-_-online-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=CjwKCAiA76-dBhByEiwAA0_s9XpV4Djzuqj4-4bROla41iYdIuHs1ICMj9dJ_4X7ECJMHuCffpfUJRoC11cQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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shostakofiev t1_j21zq3y wrote

Microwave popcorn is like the fourth biggest polluter in the world, after transportation, manufacturing, and hot pockets.

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euph_22 t1_j22c70y wrote

We need to switch to high efficiency cold pockets.

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coleosis1414 t1_j223clp wrote

This is goofy as hell.

  1. no, changing the way we all make popcorn (and just popcorn) will have no environmental impact.

  2. the energy saved in cooking is almost certainly offset by the manufacture of these single-purpose kitchen tools.

  3. unitaskers in the kitchen are just bad news all around. If it’s a machine that makes only one kind of food, it’s wasteful.

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euph_22 t1_j22cit2 wrote

This MIGHT be intended for commercial scale. Though even then, it's literally the exact same popping method commercial poppers use, just using an IR heat source rather than a resistive heating element.

Also for home use, you can use a pan or metal bowl over your stove.

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FuturologyBot t1_j1yqnhr wrote

The following submission statement was provided by /u/chrisdh79:

From the article: Most of us rely on counter-top air poppers or microwaves to whip up a tasty popcorn snack. But infrared cooking offers another viable alternative, according to a September paper published in the journal ACS Food Science and Technology.

Popcorn is the only grain in the corn family that pops in response to the application of heat—specifically, temperatures above 180° C. It has a lot to do with the structure of the kernels. Each has a tough outer shell, called the pericarp, within which lies the germ (seed embryo) and the endosperm. The latter holds trapped water (popcorn kernels need about 14 percent water to pop) and starch granules.

Last year, Mahdi Shavandi and his coauthors at the Iran Research Organization for Science and Technology in Tehran successfully demonstrated the proof of principle for their approach to making popcorn with infrared heat. With this method, a heat source like fire, gas or energy waves is in direct contact with the food, rather than a heating element like a pan or grill grate. It's often likened to broiling or cooking food over a campfire. Fans argue that this method is fast, highly energy efficient, and environmentally friendly when compared to more conventional means of heating.

It's already used for such purposes as heating, drying, roasting, cooking, baking, and even microbial decontamination, per the authors. And infrared grills are increasingly popular. But could you use infrared cooking to produce popcorn with all the desirable characteristics we know and love, and convince us to switch from our beloved microwaveable brands? Shavandi et al. thought it might be possible.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/zx6v2m/some_day_soon_we_might_be_making_popcorn_with/j1yo7cf/

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euph_22 t1_j210e2j wrote

Ok, reading the paper, aren't they precisely describing how a commercial popcorn popper works? You have a vessel that is heated, you stir the kernels until they pop. I think they usually use an electric element in the vessel to heat it but not universally and that really isn't a major change.

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sleeppyboii t1_j21ncyu wrote

As a citizen I'm happy that they're going environmentally responsible as a scientist I'm disappointed such a simple discovery is just now being used.

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DukeLukeivi t1_j21oqgt wrote

60% of the time, guerilla marketing works every time.

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BraceThis t1_j2356xv wrote

Because it’s not been convenient or easy at all…

Infrared. Finally. The real problems being solved.

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chrisdh79 OP t1_j1yo7cf wrote

From the article: Most of us rely on counter-top air poppers or microwaves to whip up a tasty popcorn snack. But infrared cooking offers another viable alternative, according to a September paper published in the journal ACS Food Science and Technology.

Popcorn is the only grain in the corn family that pops in response to the application of heat—specifically, temperatures above 180° C. It has a lot to do with the structure of the kernels. Each has a tough outer shell, called the pericarp, within which lies the germ (seed embryo) and the endosperm. The latter holds trapped water (popcorn kernels need about 14 percent water to pop) and starch granules.

Last year, Mahdi Shavandi and his coauthors at the Iran Research Organization for Science and Technology in Tehran successfully demonstrated the proof of principle for their approach to making popcorn with infrared heat. With this method, a heat source like fire, gas or energy waves is in direct contact with the food, rather than a heating element like a pan or grill grate. It's often likened to broiling or cooking food over a campfire. Fans argue that this method is fast, highly energy efficient, and environmentally friendly when compared to more conventional means of heating.

It's already used for such purposes as heating, drying, roasting, cooking, baking, and even microbial decontamination, per the authors. And infrared grills are increasingly popular. But could you use infrared cooking to produce popcorn with all the desirable characteristics we know and love, and convince us to switch from our beloved microwaveable brands? Shavandi et al. thought it might be possible.

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wbjohn t1_j20r122 wrote

Sounds like the popcorn basket we used on a campfire. Been around a long time.

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