Half-popped corn

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Mar 11th 2006 @ 3:07PM

I recall hearing about this a few years back and thinking, "Man, I hate those half-popped kernels at the bottom of the bag." I guess some people like them though, because Popnots are still around. For those unfamiliar, these are whole bags (or cans) of the semi-popped kernels of corn that occasionally show up in bags of popcorn. The folks at Popnots try to diss regular popcorn, saying it has no flavor, but I'm not buying it. As a side note, my girlfriend, who manages a dentist's office, says that some of the most common patient complaints are broken teeth and crowns that happened when people were eating less than fully popped corn. I'm sure that these kernels have their fans. Anyone care to speak up in defense of Popnots?

Tags: corn, half popped, kernels, popcorn, popnots, unpopped

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-19-2008 @5:04PM chris said... I actually work for very fast expanding buisness called Corn Digz. We make half popped corn. the method we found on making this stuff makes the corn to were it dose not break your teeth. but of course there is that possibility. I can't speak on how we make it but it is really clever. we are primarely on the west coast for now. But if you find us try it out.
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3-11-2006 @3:51PM DanGarion said... This is crazy, just last night my uncle said he liked eating the half popped kernels!
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3-11-2006 @4:37PM Nick V said... I love these things... they used to carry them years ago at TJ's but they got the axe after a while.

As for the flavor, I they do have a stronger "corn" flavor than regular popcorn, almost like popcorn crossed with Corn Nuts. I'm not a big fan of normal popcorn, but these things have a nice strong flavor.

As for eating them, yeah, they're gonna get bits stuck in your teeth and they could screw up any work you have back on those molars. I just brushed my teeth afterward, but I don't have any crowns or anythign that they could mess up. Be careful I guess...
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3-11-2006 @5:09PM Fash said... I like picking out the half popped kernels when I eat popcorn, although I don't think I'd actually buy a bag of them. Gladcorn is one of my very favorite snacks - I don't know how they make it, but I love it.

http://gladcorn.secure-mall.com/shop/?shop=1&cart=16257&cat=1&PHPSESSID=bb39de7100a4b18745fc52e5cdb0e921
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3-11-2006 @11:41PM Dmnkly said... They're awesome. It's like an entire bag of those 2-3 perfect half-popped kernels that you'd normally find at the bottom of a bag of popcorn.

The flavors are hit and miss. Some of them are overpowering and very artificial tasting, and some contain MSG. But the plain ones are fantastic. And you're not going to have the dental damage with these that you might have from unpopped kernels. Unlike the bottom of a popcorn bag, where some are slightly popped and some are still rock hard, these are all very uniformly half-popped... just right.
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10-27-2009 @12:51PM Alan Thomas said... Popnots are not, properly speaking, the half-popped
kernels on the bottom of the popcorn bag/bowl. They are a special variety of popcorn that only pops "half-way", therefore they are not the hard tooth-breakers that one may have experienced in the past. Popnots are a really great snack food. Most people are amazed, as was I, that they are not more popular when trying them for the first time. Poor marketing,I suppose. They should be right up there with pretzels and potato chips (and popcorn of course) in my opinion.
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