Popcorn ???

Have grown strawberry popcorn, the little ears.  It was a fun thing for the kids, put it into a paper bag in the microwave and it really does pop right off the cob.

Looking at some of the larger popcorn varieties and I wonder if there is one that tastes like a sweet corn if you boil it.  Maybe a two function corn, eat it as is or pop it.  So far, none of the catalogs can give any help.  Popcorn is popcorn and sweet corn is sweet corn.

ajdrew said:

  Popcorn is popcorn and sweet corn is sweet corn.

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     ^This. Think of it this way - sweet corn is an anomaly. Other types of corn (dent, flint, pop...) start out sweet (think of those tiny ears in Chinese food), and as they mature, that sugar gets converted into starch - the plants preferred carbohydrate for seed energy storage. I guess you could pick your popcorn really early, before its sugar gets converted to starch, but those would be some pretty little ears.

Thank you.  You might know the answer to my next pop corn question.  Popcorn a person buys in the store is dried.  Popcorn I have grown gets microwaved on the cob in a paper bag.  Can I dry that stuff and fry it in oil like the stuff from the store?  Looking to turn a summer time oddity for the kids into a way of decreasing snack spending in the winter.

ajdrew said:

Thank you.  You might know the answer to my next pop corn question.  Popcorn a person buys in the store is dried.  Popcorn I have grown gets microwaved on the cob in a paper bag.  Can I dry that stuff and fry it in oil like the stuff from the store?  Looking to turn a summer time oddity for the kids into a way of decreasing snack spending in the winter.

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     Yup. I buy popcorn on the cob from a local veggie grower every year. My wife and I always shell it and pop it in oil. I got to talking to the guy about his popcorn once when I was buying from him and he seemed surprised that we went that route. He always tells customers to use the paper bag microwave method and was happy to hear that we got good results the old fashioned way. 
     You might find it interesting to read up on how commercial popcorn producers dry their kernels. I know that there is an acceptable range of moisture content for popcorn to achieve the best results. Moisture content plays a big role in how popcorn pops.

Ye, the microwave method doesn't add all that nummy fat.  Its funny, I am a vegetarian who tries to grow as much of the family food as possible.  People always seem to think I am a health nut too.  Nope.  I am the guy who wants double extra butter flavor on my pop corn.  Oh, and lots of salt.