Friends, I have to tell you, the Internet is absolutely idiotic on this question. I don't even want to dignify the places we went trying to figure this out. (OK, fine: absurdly inane video; Yahoo! Answers distinguishes between corn and popcorn; Instructables has no idea; actually somewhat helpful eHow.)
So in the name of science, we dropped a cob in a paper bag and put it in the microwave on the popcorn setting. It popped a bit in the center (some flew off the cob and some stayed stuck) and then started burning while the ends stayed unpopped.
Perhaps most unexpectedly, what did pop came out with an oddly non-popcorn-like texture -- much more like puffed rice. (This got me onto a tangent researching puffed grains -- popped quinoa, anyone?) Not sure if this was our popcorn or our method; we'll try some off the cob tonight and see how it goes.
Our recommendation: try it once for the fun, but make the popcorn you want to eat off the cob.
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This happened to me, too! Only a few kernels popped, and then the bag actually caught fire. I tried it at work because I didn't have a microwave at home, and I was so embarrassed that the scorched smell lingered in the kitchen for days.
ReplyDeleteOh, no!
DeleteWe've been popping the rest off the cobs. (Twisting the cobs over a big bowl, as if wringing them, gets the kernels off quickly.) I popped some on the stovetop last week -- it was good, but the kernels were a little tougher and smaller than commercial popcorn.