Type of convenience food

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Microwave popcorn is a convenience food consisting of unpopped popcorn in an enhanced, sealed paper bag intended to be heated in a microwave oven. In addition to the dried corn, the bags typically contain cooking oil with sufficient saturated fat to solidify at room temperature, one or more seasonings (often salt), and natural or artificial flavorings or both.

Design

The bag is typically partially folded when it is placed in a microwave, and inflates as a result of steam pressure from the heated kernels.

Microwave popcorn bags are designed to avoid popped-kernel scorching, an undesirable effect that takes place when popped kernels are heated above 300 °F (150 °C).[1] A susceptor&#;usually a metalized film laminated onto the paper of the bag&#;absorbs microwaves and concentrates heat at the film interface, thus ensuring a heat distribution focused on the hard-to-heat flavor coating so that the unpopped kernels are evenly coated prior to popping, thereby ensuring even flavor throughout the product.

Some popcorn is flawed and will not pop because of possible damage to the shell, which allows the steam to escape. These unpopped kernels are known as "old maids" or "spinsters".[2]

An early susceptor popcorn bag design was patented by the American company General Mills in (US Patent #4,267,420).[3]

Safety issues

Care in package design is needed for food safety.[4]

A safety issue is that the cooking time given on the packaging does not apply to all microwave ovens. Setting the timer and coming back later, after the timer's alarm has sounded, could result in the popcorn being burnt and smoking badly. Microwave popcorn makers suggest that the person cooking the popcorn stay near the oven to observe the popcorn as it cooks, and take the popcorn out when the time between pops is more than a few seconds.

Some microwave ovens have a specific mode designed for cooking popcorn, which either uses factory-calibrated time and power level settings, or which uses humidity or sound sensors to detect when popping has finished.[5][6]

The concern about microwave popcorn bags has increased in terms of the waste and their harmful impacts on the environment. The coating materials used in microwave popcorn bags can have negative effects on the environment. Researchers have detected toxic chemicals in the bags, such as perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) and their potential precursors.

Harmful chemicals

Researchers have detected many PFCs in microwave popcorn bags used as coating materials for oil and moisture resistance. The amount of PFOA in some microwave popcorn bags is determined as high as 300 μg kg&#;1.[7] Besides PFOA and PFOS, Moral et al. also determined other perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) in popcorn packaging, including perfluoroheptanoic (PFHpA), perfluorononanoic (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic (PFUnA), and perfluorododecanoic (PFDoA) acids.[8]

Due to the toxicity of PFOA, major U.S. manufacturers volunteered to phase out production of PFOA by the end of . In addition, the use of perfluoroalkyl ethyl-containing food-contact substances are no longer allowed by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations in January .[9] However, although the production of PFOA and PFOS was reduced, the production of fluorotelomer-based chemicals applied to food contact papers is still increasing. Some compounds, such as polyfluoroalkyl phosphate surfactants (PAPs) or fluorotelomers (FTOH), have been used in some brands of microwave popcorn bags.[8] Those compounds are precursors of PFCAs, and evidence shows that they are more toxic than PFCAs themselves. Furthermore, they may also be degraded to PFCAs, and therefore leading to the increase of PFCAs concentrations in the environment and generating adverse effects.[8][10]

Environmental impacts

Because of the large amount of production of microwave popcorn bags, they have also become a significant contaminant source (PFCs) to the environment. Due to the disposal of coated paper and manufacturing activities, PFOA has also been detected in wastewater and biosolids.[11] Soil near disposal sites are contaminated by PFOA as well.[12]

See also

Notes

How to Pop Popcorn in a Paper Bag in the Microwave (It&#;s Simple!)

By Melissa

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19

Jump into my quick and easy guide on how to pop popcorn in the microwave using just a paper bag &#; no oil or equipment needed!

How to Pop Popcorn in the Microwave Using Just a Paper Bag

Making popcorn has never been easier! It&#;s one of my all-time favorite easy and healthy snacks for the whole family. And did you know you can make popcorn in a brown paper bag in the microwave? It&#;s so simple and doesn&#;t require any popcorn-making gear that you might&#;ve *thought* you needed to make popcorn at home (I know that&#;s what I thought!).

I&#;m not a huge microwave person, but this is completely an exception because this method is a lifesaver. You don&#;t need an air-popper, stovetop-popper, or any oil, and you can ditch the store-bought chemical-filled microwaveable popcorn, too! Making it in a paper bag in the microwave is silly easy, and you can have a whole-grain, fiber-filled snack on the regular with little effort on your part! Score.

(I also love adding a little butter and salt. So delicious.)

How do you know when the popcorn is done?

The goal is to pop as many kernels as you can, without burning the popcorn. The time that will take varies depending on the age and water content of the kernels, your area&#;s climate, and your microwave.

Be sure you stick close by while it&#;s popping so you don&#;t end up with burnt popcorn. Listen as it begins to rapidly pop, and when there&#;s a one-second pause in popping, it&#;s done. Go ahead an open the microwave and remove the bag.

What are some ways to spice up traditional popcorn?

Butter and salt are always a favorite topping, but you can also get creative and try recipes like my chili lime popcorn, my homemade Caramel Sauce, the best sticky caramel corn, or this fun (and non-sticky) spiced caramel corn with white chocolate. All of them are delicious!

What size paper bag do I use to pop popcorn?

You can use just about any size brown paper bag that will fit in your microwave. The little lunch sack size is easy to find, but there&#;s a size just a bit bigger which also works great.

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How to Pop Popcorn in a Brown Paper Bag in the Microwave

By:

A quick and easy guide on how to pop popcorn in the microwave using just a paper bag, no oil needed. Making popcorn has never been easier!

Prep:

5

minutes

mins

Cook:

2

minutes

mins

Total:

7

minutes

mins

Servings:

4

(Makes 2-3 cups)

Equipment

• brown paper bag

Ingredients 

• &#;

  1/3

  Contact us to discuss your requirements of microwavable paper bag. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

  Additional reading:
  Are spout pouches environmentally friendly?

  cup

  popcorn kernels

• &#;

  1

  medium brown paper bag

• &#;

  Melted butter and salt or other seasonings to taste

Instructions 

• Add the popcorn to the paper bag and fold the top over a time or two.

• Microwave on high until the popping has a one second gap in it, 1.5-2.5 minutes.

• Stop the microwave, dump the popped popcorn into a large bowl and season as desired.

• Repeat as needed to get the desired amount of popcorn.

Notes

• The goal is to pop as many kernels as you can without burning the popcorn. The time that will take will vary depending on the age and water content of your popcorn, your climate/weather, and your microwave.
• Don&#;t walk away from the popping or you&#;ll end up with a bag of burnt popcorn. Stand there and listen until, after the popping starts going rapidly, you hear a one second pause in popping. As soon as you hear that little break, stop the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving:

1

of 4 servings

,

Calories:

51

kcal

,

Carbohydrates:

10

g

,

Protein:

1

g

,

Fat:

1

g

,

Saturated Fat:

0.1

g

,

Polyunsaturated Fat:

0.3

g

,

Monounsaturated Fat:

0.1

g

,

Sodium:

1

mg

,

Potassium:

37

mg

,

Fiber:

2

g

,

Sugar:

0.1

g

,

Calcium:

1

mg

,

Iron:

0.4

mg

Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Looking for more healthy and easy snack ideas?

More popcorn recipes you&#;ll love:

This post was originally published in and has been updated in July .

I hope you found this hack for how to pop popcorn in the microwave using just a paper bag just as genius and exciting as I did! Enjoy fresh popcorn any day of the week and pop on.

For more information, please visit microwavable food paper bags.