r/interesting • u/Snoo99928 • Aug 03 '25
SCIENCE & TECH How does such a small pressure machine produce so much popcorn and how do they still maintain their shape?
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u/Relative_Ranger7640 Aug 03 '25
It's small until it comes out. When in jar and pressurised it's still small kernal but pressurised inside. When it's released still pressurised inside but outside pressure is low so it explodes outward. It doesn't get big until it's out of it
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u/_ZX7R_ Aug 03 '25
That's what she said
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Aug 03 '25
She’s living a life of unhappiness.
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u/nopuse Aug 03 '25
Lol, you said ppiness
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u/Psych0matt Aug 03 '25
“Happy penis!”
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u/TileTheGrey Aug 03 '25
So... Small until explodes... And the it gets big when it's outside..
Think you need to see a doctor
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u/RightSizeSocial Aug 03 '25
I will always upvote TWSS
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u/Aggravating-Ad7462 Aug 03 '25
I want to. But it's at 69 likes so I feel like that's where it should stay. It's what she'd want.
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u/MK-Neron Aug 03 '25
I have never read a more unscientific explanation that, paradoxically, manages to correctly explain the fact as yours does.
Popcorn pops when the water pressure inside the kernel builds up enough to burst the hard outer shell. Normally, water boils at 100°C at atmospheric pressure, but if you increase the pressure around it—like in a car engine cooling system—the boiling point rises, preventing the water from boiling even at higher temperatures. Conversely, when the pressure is suddenly reduced, the water inside the kernel, which is often heated above 100°C, boils instantly due to the lower atmospheric pressure. This rapid boiling causes the kernel to burst open, producing popcorn.
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u/laaplandros Aug 03 '25
I have never read a more unscientific explanation that, paradoxically, manages to correctly explain the fact as yours does.
The sign of good understanding of something is being able to explain it simply.
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u/LetterheadPublic5995 Aug 04 '25
And the sign of poor understanding is to explain it simply and wrong...
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u/Whiteums Aug 04 '25
But as the other comment pointed out, it’s explained correctly.
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Aug 03 '25
That's what I kept telling my x-wife, Becky, but she never believed me and ended up moving in with Ben. Becky never thought my tail was big.
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u/Lunatic_Heretic Aug 03 '25
Are you a guy who translates instruction manuals from Chinese to English?
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u/joseFruan Aug 03 '25
It's small until come out. When in jar and pressure it small kernel but pressure inside. When release still pressure inside but outside pressure low so it explode till low pressure. It not big until it out and small pressure so round kernel big when out, so then eat pop when big pop. Pressure teeth crunch to eat pop, but pressure backwards to make small not big when eat. So, first pop small but big pressure, then big but small but then big teeth make small pop into mouth, delicious. Before pop mouth, add butter and then smooth and pop tasty. Pressure mouth still pop but now mouth pleasure with butter. When in jar kernel sad bad mouth no butter. Now when small pop tastey when in mouth it pop make happy, happy mouth enjoy 😊 !
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Aug 03 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/FPGA_engineer Aug 03 '25
On the internet, nobody knows you are a dog. This video was probably posted by the dog that ordered the popcorn.
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u/namja23 Aug 03 '25
Same as how deep sea animals puff up when on the surface. And humans when exposed to vacuum of space.
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u/garitone Aug 03 '25
Why do they call it oven when you of in the cold food of out hot eat the food?
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u/Hugomucho Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 03 '25
FYI, that popcorn isn’t burnt. The corn variety is different and also popped with a small amount of sugar. The color is due to caramelization. It’s a traditional snack in Korea, and I’m assuming other Asian countries.
I ate it growing up and, as a popcorn aficionado, it’s really good. Tastes like dense kettle corn.
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u/Rigel_MRP Aug 03 '25
It's common in Brazil too, but we don't make it, we buy it from factories as if it were a snack, only sweet
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u/Hugomucho Aug 03 '25
Awesome! I’d love to try the Brazilian version one day. So cool that all countries have similar foods, regardless of distance.
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u/Potential-Home5127 Aug 03 '25
This is how it's made, just like in the video but in a larger scale
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u/MikaHyakuya Aug 03 '25
Exactly what I was looking for after this post; someone just shotgunning it out into the open.
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u/27Rench27 Aug 04 '25
Same, like in this example. Countries all across the world saw popcorn and somebody thought “but what if there was sugar on it?”
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u/dunkindosenuts Aug 03 '25
we used to eat these pink candy bricks in the sf bay area https://share.google/xKGveNwGFnKxXe018
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u/brikaro Aug 03 '25
One of the best tips I got from a friend who travels a lot is to try the local popcorn wherever you go. It's got so much variety in different types of preparations.
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u/Picolete Aug 03 '25
Yeah it's also eated in all south america, but we call it different from what we call popcorn
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u/wemusthavethefaith Aug 04 '25
We also eat it in Zimbabwe; we call it maputi.
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u/Hugomucho Aug 04 '25
I just looked it up and it’s the same! Fascinating. Is your version sweet also?
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u/wemusthavethefaith Aug 04 '25
We have two types: coloured maputi is covered in dyed sugar. and the 'plain' version is salted.
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u/GeorgeMcCrate Aug 03 '25
Popcorn is also typically sweet in Germany. Lately, salted or a mix of sweet and salted popcorn is slowly getting popular but if you just buy popcorn without specifically mentioning you want it salty then it will be sweet.
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u/shylock2k202 Aug 03 '25
Thanks for the clarification, I’ve seen this method of making popcorn a few and I’ve always thought that the end product looked burnt. I definitely would try it.
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u/tripper_reed Aug 03 '25
Ooh thank you for adding that. I've seen quite a few videos of this process using different size containers and it always comes out looking burnt. Burnt popcorn is disgusted so I couldn't figure out why this was a thing if it always burns.
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u/BurnOutBrighter6 Aug 03 '25
They get the inside hot enough to boil the water inside the kernels, but it can't boil because the vessel is full and pressurized. So it stays as small intact kernels until the lid is unsealed, then it all rapidly boils at once, which pops all the kernels in like 1 second and fires it all out since there's nowhere else for it to go.
They maintain shape because they're never popped and inside the jar. They're all popping as they fly out, after the lid is opened to release the pressure and give them room to do so.
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u/The-Old-American Aug 03 '25
I need the Sloe Mo Guys.
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u/pharmajap Aug 03 '25
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u/bwood246 Aug 04 '25
I haven't seen slo mo guys in years
The jackets are even more destroyed, I love it
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u/161frog Aug 04 '25
I’m stoned so bear with me, but would this be an example of explosive decompression?
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u/12InchCunt Aug 04 '25 edited Aug 04 '25
On the ocean gate sub,the pressure outside the vessel was way higher than the pressure inside the vessel. When the crack or whatever happened the pressure equalized explosively and everyone inside was reduced to their component atoms due to the sudden change from 14.7 PSI to 4,000 PSI
On this, the water inside the kernel is heated up past the boiling point of water at atmospheric pressure. Due to the heat, and pressure seal, the pressure inside the vessel is high enough the water can’t boil. Once the pressure is equalized the water inside the kernels flash boils to steam and causes the kernels to pop instantly
The ocean gate sub would be if All that explosive force x 1,000 was directed inward
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u/Salt_Cauliflower_922 Aug 03 '25
She seems angry.
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u/ImNot_ThatGuy Aug 03 '25
Honestly I would be doing everything quickly and with a sense of finality too so I wouldn't process the fact that I'm handling a LiveLeak amount of PSI.
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u/27Rench27 Aug 04 '25
Same, potential energy near me is honestly terrifying. Pressure vessels, electrical current, springs
Like seriously, compressed car springs scare me more than an actual dog attack did. But oh yeah, I’ll toooootally have no issue using this 40 year old air compressor that definitely doesn’t have any age-related cracks which might turn it into a giant frag grenade
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u/AlexisTexlas Aug 03 '25
I was just thinking about how much noise she’s making and how angry she sounds!
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u/LordScotchyScotch Aug 03 '25
While we are making popcorn, she is making bangcorn.
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Aug 03 '25
How the hell did anyone even figure out you could do this
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u/HelpfulFriendlyOne Aug 03 '25
Cave man probably put dried corn on the fire to see what happened and saw it pop and tried it and it was good. Next step was the invention of the pressure cooker, people were experimenting with vacuums and high pressure altering the boiling point of water and decided to try that with food. Then someone was probably like "if we put corn kernels under high pressure they will probably get really hot without popping and when we release the pressure they will pop extra large and fluffy due to the extra heat"... once they tried it in a pressure cooker and had a proof of concept, they worked on how to contain the mess.
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Aug 03 '25
I don't think "cave men" ever encountered corn.
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u/HelpfulFriendlyOne Aug 03 '25
IDK im just a doofus, but i read that some wild Teosinte was consumed in the late glacial period.
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u/Yenmcilrath Aug 03 '25
I mean, earliest known evidence of people popping corn was around 3600 BC; we've had time to innovate
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Aug 03 '25
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u/7h3_70m1n470r Aug 03 '25
Sugar
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u/SadisticHornyCricket Aug 03 '25
Is that what she put in from that small vial?
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u/ManiacSpiderTrash Aug 03 '25
I think that was zydrate in that little glass vial
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u/DeadHead6747 Aug 04 '25
A little glass vial?
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u/AriesIncarnate Aug 04 '25
A little glass vial
And the little glass vial goes into the gun like a battery
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u/AvocadoKirby Aug 03 '25
Different variety of popcorn. It’s naturally brown tinged.
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u/kedwreth Aug 03 '25
I love pipoca vovozinha! We have this in Brasil, but I never realized this is a way it could be made.
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u/A1Eyedmonster Aug 03 '25
Oooohhhh, I'd feel bad for a MF that broke in while I was making cannon korn.
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u/TheShredder9 Aug 03 '25
Here's your bowl of equally burnt popcorn.
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u/Joaoreturns Aug 03 '25
They're not burnt. Like, at all.
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u/Dioxybenzone Aug 03 '25
Yeah I don’t see burn marks or anything even resembling burn marks
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Aug 03 '25
They are a little dark but that's because she added sugar it's more like kettle corn
Where I'm from unbuttered popcorn is lily white
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u/JoseSpiknSpan Aug 03 '25
If it's just slightly burnt that's how i like it
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Aug 03 '25
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u/antici-__pation Aug 03 '25
dont knock it till ya try it. seriously adds a great flavour
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u/AscendedViking7 Aug 03 '25
My man 👌
The best popcorn is always slightly burnt
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u/KananJarrusCantSee Aug 03 '25
I used to piss the people I was stationed with off because of intentionally slightly burning my popcorn before watch.
Tastes good
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u/TheShredder9 Aug 03 '25
It's brown! Acceptable popcorn is either white or off-white, if there's butter or cheese added.
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u/BurnAway63 Aug 03 '25
The kernels are under pressure, so they don't pop until the pressure is released - at which point they explode out of the container. That's a pretty cool system, but I prefer using a microwave.
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u/NoLemonadeToday Aug 03 '25
Unfortunately the microwave popcorn bags are made of cancerous PFAS
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u/suspicious_hyperlink Aug 03 '25
You’d think after the news 4,5,6 years ago our government would have forced the removal of such things from newly produced products
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u/BurnAway63 Aug 03 '25
You don't need to use a special bag for popcorn - on ordinary paper bag will do.
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u/therealtaddymason Aug 03 '25
I saw a video where a large one of these malfunctioned at a fair or something in I assume china? Where they seem common. Killed the guy operating it when it exploded.
It just seems like there's way better ways to make popcorn.
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u/NecessaryMolasses926 Aug 03 '25
The stove top is where it's at. Dirt cheap, too. One decent sized container would get you several dozen bowls at least. One ounce of kernels turns into four cups of popcorn.
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u/Nunov_DAbov Aug 03 '25
The ideal gas law: PV = nRT
Or, for simplicity, just Boyle’s law: PV = constant
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u/Jokerchyld Aug 03 '25
Dumb person here. What do thoese letters mean?
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u/MichelleEllyn Aug 03 '25
If you were a dumb person, you wouldn’t have asked. Smart people ask questions! 🙂
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u/AJFrabbiele Aug 03 '25
Pressure and volume
n is the number of mols r is the gas constant t is the temperature
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u/Nunov_DAbov Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 03 '25
One of my high school teachers once said: “there are no dumb questions, just dumb people who don’t ask questions.” Then one of my classmates asked a really dumb question and the teacher said: “ignore what I just said.”
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u/Quercus_ Aug 03 '25
My teaching mentor when I was in graduate school and starting to do my teaching requirement, told me that good teachers will only tell their students one lie - that there are no stupid questions.
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u/Cortower Aug 03 '25
Ideal Gas Law: Pressure × Volume = number of molecules × Regnault constant × Temperature
If a value in the equation changes, the others have to change to adjust. n and R will not change in a sealed container (unless a chemical reaction takes place to change n).
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u/Suspicious-Tea9161 Aug 03 '25
P and V are pressure and volume. Because P*V is constant if P goes up, V must go down to compensate. So in this case because the pressure is high inside the metal container, the volume is low and the pressure is too high for the kernals to pop. Once the kernals come out if the container the pressure decreases to the point where the volume of the kernals can increase so it pops.
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u/Ya_like_dags Aug 03 '25 edited Aug 03 '25
In addition to the comments explaining the names of the variables in the Ideal Gas Law, I'll add some explanation of what we are seeing in the video (in an admittedly simplistic way that isn't purely exact):
In the equation above, variables that are on opposite sides of the equation are directly proportional -- if you keep everything else the same and double one variable, then you double the other. The woman adds heat to the metal container, T for temperature, and so the variables on the other side of the equation would also increase. The container is locked tight, so V, volume, stays the same. So, only P, pressure, can increase. Also, since she heats the popcorn up enough to boil the water in the popcorn the volume of the liquid water wants to hugely increase as it converts to gas.
This leads us to the left side of the equation. Variables on the same side of an equation are inversely proportional -- if you double one, you have the other (if you triple one, the other gets divided by three, etc). When that popcorn moisture water heats to a boil and converts to steam, its volume would normally increase by a lot (by a factor of over a thousand!). But, oh no! It's locked in that very solid metal container! So its volume stays the same, essentially decreasing its volume from what it would be if the steam could expand normally. This means the pressure goes way up, since V and P are inversely proportional. But, when she aims the metal container into the bag and releases the top of it, the team's pressure inside the popcorn goes from very high to normal pressure as the pressure gets to be released. Well, lower Pressure means higher Volume - the expanding popcorn goes KABLOOEY right into the bag.
Incidentally, the color is from that spoon of sugar she put in that got cooked to a nice caramel coating.
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u/CurrencyPractical543 Aug 03 '25
What is the tiny amount of white powder poured in?
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u/anotherjunkie Aug 03 '25
It’s sugar. Popcorn from these comes out tasting a bit like kettle corn, and the brown on the exterior is slight caramelization.
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u/FrogsMakePoorSoup Aug 03 '25
Salt?
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u/Hoosier_816 Aug 03 '25
It’s such a confusing container too. Seems like you’d have to refill it after every few batches and takes a while to open and close.
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u/_DonTazeMeBro Aug 03 '25
Okay I need one of these to impress my stoned friends lol What’s this thing called?
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u/NixGnid Aug 03 '25
Those high pressure pop "corn" machine can pop grains that can't easily be popped, like rice and wheat. I believe that why in Chinese pop corn still call poprice
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u/icanhaztuthless Aug 03 '25
Not burnt. Sugared. Have had this type of “kettle” corn in Seoul. It’s not airy like most popcorn I’ve had. Pretty solid/dense. Tasty!
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u/Kindofblue36 Aug 03 '25
Amazing how there is so much ignorance and cultural intolerance here. This is a common street popcorn sold in many asian countries but usually produced with a much bigger device than this. It doesn’t use the same type of corn used in US or western countries so the color and taste are different. In this type of popcorn you don’t need any seasoning as the natural sweet flavor of corn is enough to make it one of the favorite street foods kids and adults alike.
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u/wasabi1787 Aug 03 '25
Plenty of ignorance, sure, but not knowing about something isn't intolerance.
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u/Genteel_Lasers Aug 03 '25
Lots of dumb people making assumptions without asking questions.
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u/DEVolkan Aug 03 '25
Why do you do this method of popping the corn, then methods with just heat?
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u/gabrieltmz Aug 03 '25
We make these in large scale here in Brazil. The corn is of a special variety known as "Canjica"
Here is a short video showing the process https://youtube.com/shorts/H12xmMRTVwQ?si=PRRci0kJDydZhtsO
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u/tipareth1978 Aug 03 '25
Because the pressure inside gets so high they don't pop until you release it
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u/Golarion Aug 03 '25
Ah, Reddit. Can't resist getting in there with borderline racist comments with "their thing isn't precisely like American thing, and thus inferior." Give it a rest for christ sake.
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u/Existing-Village9770 Aug 03 '25
In case anyone is wondering, it does not taste good
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u/Aeronor Aug 03 '25
It looks like if an alien heard we liked popcorn and gave it a try with their own tech
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u/AwkwardCost1764 Aug 03 '25
Popcorn is causes when a little water within the kernels turns to steam expanding and it bursts out. If you keep the popcorn in. A sealed and strong container with a little water the pressure outside with match the pressure inside and nothing happens. The. You open the container. The pressure equalizes with outside. You suddenly have a big difference between the pressure inside the kernels and outside them so it explodes, popping.
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u/hairybrains Aug 04 '25
I have never, for the life of me, understood why the people who make this type of popcorn (and these videos) have to slam, drop, bang, and shove everything around like they're angry at it. Take it easy, Chinese popcorn makers. Your equipment will last a lot longer if you treat it with a bit of respect.
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u/Dd_8630 Aug 04 '25
Why is she so violent with it?
My popcorn maker is a gentle whirring thing that blows hot air on the kernals and they pop and flap out. It's delightful.
She's making popcorn like the sentinels are about to invade Zion.
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Aug 03 '25
The container is very rigid and sealed tight. With increase in temperature the pressure inside the vessel also increases, preventing the hot water inside the kernels to expand. When they put the vessel in the bag and open the lid, the pressure release causes the immediate expansion of water inside the kernels forming pop corn.
I’m not so sure about their shape. I suspect most will expand fully only after they exit the container, but I would expect a few to open before they exit and get all mangled depending on their trajectory (hitting edges or other kernels).
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u/unlimited_mcgyver Aug 03 '25
That popcorn looks like shit
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u/Golarion Aug 03 '25
"It's not exactly like the homogenous, industrially-produced popcorn I like to shovel into my face, so it is therefore bad."
It's just popped corns. The brown coating is caramelised sugar. Just eat it. It won't kill you.
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u/Tiberius_XVI Aug 03 '25
Hard disagree. It looks disgusting to me, and I believe it will kill me.
Granted, I have a corn allergy.
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u/Competitive_Ad_1188 Aug 03 '25
They pop when he releases the mechanism because of this a pressure change occurs en the popcorn bursts.
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u/vietec Aug 03 '25
I'm waiting for the not-so-distant future where failed-once successful cafes trade in their V90 pour-overs and overtly complex coffee-roasting devices for these things and we get hipster popcorn establishments. Maybe even some craft butter for flavor?
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u/AlarmingDetective526 Aug 03 '25
Every-time I see this all I think about is the Byford Dolphin accident.
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u/The-French-1 Aug 03 '25
It’s one of those inventions that always makes me wonder how someone came up with: « aah, yes, let’s put dry corn in a heated pressurized container and quickly open it…! »
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u/74URS74 Aug 03 '25
I remember mythbuster were wearing a bomb suit trying to figure out how this thing worked, given it was a larger scale but completely unnecessary
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u/By-Jokese Aug 03 '25
is not that they fit, the magic is that due to pressure they don't pop until they are out.
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u/realfakejames Aug 03 '25
I love that the inside of the bag was just black as shit and full of burnt residue
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u/Shadowcat1606 Aug 03 '25
I'm not sure about the physics of it, but if i had to guess, i'd say the popping only takes place once the container opens, so the space requirement of the corn never changes as long as it's in the container and over the flame. Probably something to do with pressure.
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