It’s National Popcorn Lover’s Day, and ordinarily, I’d recommend that you celebrate by tossing a packet of your favorite brand in the microwave. (Or, if you’re at your grandma’s house, get out that old “Pop-Lite” air popper, with the plastic yellow hood.)
But there are two popcorn innovations you should know about:
1. Chinese scientists have developed a new variety of TOMATO, which has a “popcorn-like” aroma. They created it using gene editing technology, and the goal was fixing the fading flavor of tomatoes during transport and storage.
The science is complicated, but basically they were able to enhance the smell, while not changing anything else, like the way the tomato grows and its nutritional value. The next step is introducing it to commercial growers.
2. A University of Illinois professor and a pair of local brewers in Urbana, Illinois have created “SuperPop,” a “naturally savory popcorn with subtle nutty notes and a crisp crunch.” It’s supposedly “so good that it doesn’t need butter.”
They’ve spent about eight years developing it. And it’s already available at the Riggs Beer Company tap-house. They do have plans to make it available across the country, but there’s no timeline yet.
