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Why popcorn pops: a sealed kernel, trapped steam and a 180 °C tipping point A popcorn kernel is a seed with a sealed hull and a little water inside. Heat it and the water can't boil away, so steam pressure builds, like a tiny pressure… Food Science4 min read Why popcorn pops: a pea-sized pressure cooker that gives way at 180 °C A popcorn kernel is a pressure cooker the size of a pea. Its tough hull seals in about 14% water, so as the pan heats, the water cannot boil away and the… Food Science3 min read Stale bread isn't dry: its starch has quietly turned back into crystals Bread left on the counter turns hard and crumbly, and it looks like it dried out. It mostly didn't. In 1852 Jean-Baptiste Boussingault showed that bread sealed… Food Science4 min read Why popcorn pops, and why some kernels never do A popcorn kernel is a tiny, sealed pressure vessel. Its hard shell traps water inside the starchy core until heat turns that water to steam, and pressure… Food Science5 min read