Indian Popcorn

I was asked to share more about the Indian Popcorn that Morgan is nibbling on in a previous post and I would love to!

Either my brother or I discovered Indian Popcorn well over 10 years ago now in the Jung's Seed Catalog and I've been growing it on and off ever since. I absolutely love the stuff! It is really easy to grow-it's just like growing any type of corn. I've actually only bought seed once and I've been using seed from old crops every time I plant it. I should probably get new seed, but as long as it keeps coming up, I'll probably be cheap and forgo buying new as long as possible. :-)

My favorite part of growing Indian Popcorn is opening up each ear when it's time to harvest them in the fall. It's like opening a little present with every ear I husk, because every ear of corn is different and they are all so pretty! Take a look at some of the popcorn I grew this year.

The variety of color in just one ear of corn is amazing to me! They make great fall decoration. You can put them in a bunch and hang them up near some corn stalks bunched together and a few pumpkins and it makes for a great addition to autumn decor! I like Indian Popcorn better than regular Indian corn, too. Besides the fact that you can eat it after it dries, it has a cleaner look to it. The Indian Popcorn is also small and cute. They are probably on average about 5-6 inches long.

The hardest part of the whole process is shelling the popcorn after it is dry. Not that it's that hard, but it is really hard on your thumbs! If you don't naturally have calluses on your thumbs to protect them, they will end up quite raw by the time you're done. It's all worth it, though, when you get to eat it!

As far as popping it, you can pop it on the stove and I've even popped it over a bond fire. Apparently it can be popped in the microwave, though I've never tried that. I would not recommend popping it with an air popper. The kernels are quite small and they'll just blow out before they get a chance to pop.

In the end, I personally love the taste of the Indian Popcorn and I really can't say enough good about it. I might be a little biased, though :-)