New York Times brought attention to today’s 386 year anniversary of popcorn as an all-American snack! Quadequina is to be thanked for that indulgence. He was the brother of Chief Massasoit of the Wampanoag Indians, and is said to have introduced popcorn to the English colonists on this day in 1630, by bringing them popcorn in a deerskin bag as a gift.
At the time, Native American tribes were making popped corn in clay pots. There’s evidence that the newcomers ate it for breakfast with milk and sugar, like puffed cereal. They would “pop” it on top of heated stones or by placing the kernels into the hot embers of a fire.
However, according to Indian Country, the oldest popped kernels were found in a bat cave in central New Mexico, and popped kernels were also found in Peru. Those in New Mexico are thought to be 5,600 years old.
The Aztecs in Mexico used in some ceremonies such as the popcorn dance, where young women wear popcorn garlands and tassels as headgear.
About 300 A.D. a funeral urn was found, depicting a Maize god wearing a popcorn headdress. To bless and wish departing Aztec fishermen good luck with much success, people sprinkled popcorn around the boats because they were thought to look like white flowers.
The Inka used popcorn to decorate bodies for burial. Further north in the 1600s there were reports that the Iroquois were popping corn in a clay vessel and used it to make a soup.
The spread of commercial popcorn in this country began in the early 1800s. It’s popularity soared quickly to become the beloved movie snack it is today. And popcorn may contain higher levels of healthy antioxidants known as polyphenols than some fruits and vegetables, according to CBS News.
So stock up on those kernels for Oscars night on Sunday, or pop some tonight to celebrate National Popcorn Day. Happy Monday!
Featured image by Pixabay. Used with Pixabay’s permission.
