engleski

Comparison of popping characteristics of several popcorn hybrids by different methods

Popcorn maize differs from other maize types by a possibility of grain volume change after high energy exposure, which is also referred to as popping. The characteristics that are measured for the evaluation of each maize hybrids, beside of the grain yield, are also the volume of popping expansion, the form of popped popcorn, and the incidence of unpopped grains, all of which are susceptible to genetic factors of the cultivar itself (grain size, chemical composition of grains), the content of grain moisture, and grain damages, but also the methods of grain exposure to high temperatures, as well as the duration of the exposure process itself. The standardized method of measuring the expansion is based on a heating oil in the pot, but it is slow and impractical. An alternative method of heating is by means of a hot air appliance, a quick method of examining the characteristics of popcorn popping during all phases of grain cleaning and storing of popcorn, and more popular in wide consumption of popcorn, the use of microwave ovens, which takes on primacy in the way of popcorn consumption due to the speed of preparation, as well as the length of keeping the desired properties of the product after packaging, together with the ability of adding different flavors. In this study, six commercial popcorn hybrids (Bulut OS, B12139, B1214, N1H262, B14262 and B0860) were scattered through three methods: heating by oil in pot, a hot air machine and a microwave oven, all done in four repetitions. For all three methods of popping, the same weight of grain (77 g) was used with the same grain moisture (13.5 %), while the same amount of oil (21 g) and kitchen salt (2 g) was used additionally for heating methods by oil in the vessel and microwave oven, in accordance with the normatives for the preparation of the microwave oven packages. The heating time for the heating method in oil and hot air depended on the appraisal of the end of the popping for each sample separately, while for cooking in the microwave oven the same popcorn setting of the cooking oven for all samples was used. The volume of expansion was measured by measuring vessel, while the number of unpopped grains was measured by counting the same. The results showed that there were differences in the volume of popping and the number of unpopped grains among cultivars, where the largest volume of popping was achieved by N1H262 and the smallest by B0860, which also had the most unpopped grains. The differences between the popping methods were not significant, which suggests that methods of testing the volume of the popcorn expansion are complementary for the same grain mass.

popcorn maize; popping; volume of expansion; unpopped grains

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