Homegrown popcorn

[Iceblink]

So this year I decided to grow my own popcorn. It matured, I shucked the ears, now what? The kernels are too hard to dent with a fingernail, but I can tell they aren't as dry as popcorn should be. Do I leave the cobs sitting out for a while? Can I put them in my dehydrator? It's so humid here that I'm afraid they would never dry otherwise.

Is it best to store it on the cob or can I remove the kernels and store them in a jar?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

From a MEN article:
Popcorn stored on the ears takes up a lot more space, however, than do loose kernels. I've found that the quickest way to process a good harvest is to husk and shell the ears after they've stalkdried for two months and thensetting aside some seed for next year's cropoven-dry the kernels to perfection. (Hand-shelling, it's true, is a slow and often painful process ... but you can still find small, old-timey corn shellers at farm auctions and such for around $5.00. Or, if you have a large "modern" shellerand a lot of popcornit might be worth your while to get out the tractor and pulleys to do the job.)

To ovendry your shelled popcorn, just preheat the stove to 300F and put a large pan (a turkey roaster will do) of kernels on the rack. Then, turn the oven down to its lowest setting immediately, and dry the cornstirring it occasionallyfor five hours. After that time you can turn the heat off and leave the kernels in the oven to cool overnight. They'll be "poppin' perfect" by morning.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/1979-01-01/Growing-Popcorn.aspx

 

[me&thegals]

We husk and desilk the cobs, then leave them in a box next to our wood stove (we do this in Oct/Nov). It can also dry down a lot on the stalks if you don't need to get the corn out to make room for something else...

Then, we do test batches for poppability. If it doesn't pop well, we add about 2 tablespoons of water per quart jar, let it set a while and try again. Once we get the correct moisture content, we freeze all the popcorn in jars to maintain the moisture content and freshness.

Good luck!

 

[Iceblink]

Well, hmm. The stalks blew down in our last storm, so I decided to harvest all the ears and plant fall peas in that row. I'll try the oven drying though. Thanks!

 

[FarmerDenise]

I dry them in the house in the winter. Ours won't be ready for months yet, the corn is barely beginning to tassle. I keep them near the heater and shell them in the evenings while watching tv. It is definitely worth the work. They taste so much better.
We are growing three kinds this year. Japanese hulless, red strawberry and regular yellow.

 

[me&thegals]

We grow the Japanese hull-less and tried the strawberry for fun last year. It's a fair amount of work and popcorn from the store is cheap, but this stuff is GREAT! We will be growing it again, too

FD--How do you like the yellow? And which variety is it?

Does anybody know of a great non-hybrid variety that I could save seeds from? The seed is pretty expensive for us.