popcorn colour changing
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laura-kate
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:02 pm
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: how can you change the colour of popcorn before it is popped?
- Project Due Date: august 10 2008
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
popcorn colour changing
how would i change the colour of popcorn before it pops. like i don't know boil it in something then dry it out and pop it maybe, would it change colour?
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laura-kate
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:02 pm
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: how can you change the colour of popcorn before it is popped?
- Project Due Date: august 10 2008
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
Re: popcorn colour changing
it might maybe you should just try it and see if it changes, you could just do that for a project i'm not really sure aye, have you asked like your science teacher or something cause they might know.
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laura-kate
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:02 pm
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: how can you change the colour of popcorn before it is popped?
- Project Due Date: august 10 2008
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
Re: popcorn colour changing
lol
Last edited by laura-kate on Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tdaly
- Former Expert
- Posts: 1415
- Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2003 11:27 pm
- Occupation: Planetary Scientist
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- Project Due Date: N/A
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: popcorn colour changing
laura-kate,
Welcome to the Ask an Expert Forums. What do you know about the internal structure of a popcorn kernel (the outer hull, the pericap, etc)? Knowing the structure of the popcorn kernel and how it pops will help you figure out how you might be able to change the color of the popcorn. Are you trying to change the color of the popcorn once it is popped (e.g. from white to another color) or change the color of the kernel before it is popped? Do some research about how popcorn pops and post back with a hypothesis about whether or not you think you could change the color of the popcorn. Once you've posted your hypothesis, we'll answer your question further and help you brainstorm ways to test it.
Good luck on the project!
Welcome to the Ask an Expert Forums. What do you know about the internal structure of a popcorn kernel (the outer hull, the pericap, etc)? Knowing the structure of the popcorn kernel and how it pops will help you figure out how you might be able to change the color of the popcorn. Are you trying to change the color of the popcorn once it is popped (e.g. from white to another color) or change the color of the kernel before it is popped? Do some research about how popcorn pops and post back with a hypothesis about whether or not you think you could change the color of the popcorn. Once you've posted your hypothesis, we'll answer your question further and help you brainstorm ways to test it.
Good luck on the project!
All the best,
Terik
Terik
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laura-kate
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:02 pm
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: how can you change the colour of popcorn before it is popped?
- Project Due Date: august 10 2008
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
more popcorn changing
i want to change the colour of the popcorn from white to a different colour when it pops so it will pop into a different colour. 
i also want to see if boiling the popcorn kernels in fruit juice or flavoured water will change the flavour of the popcorn. and should i boil them or just let them soak.
i also want to see if boiling the popcorn kernels in fruit juice or flavoured water will change the flavour of the popcorn. and should i boil them or just let them soak. -
agm
- Former Expert
- Posts: 289
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 10:34 am
- Occupation: graduate student
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- Project Due Date: n/a
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: more popcorn changing
Hi laura-kate,
Your question about whether boiling or soaking would work better for flavoring popcorn is a good idea for a project -- go learn about the structure of popcorn and develop a hypothesis stating which you think will work better and why. Then try it and see what happens! Even if your hypothesis is wrong, you will still learn something by figuring out what actually happened. One thing that's nice about your project is that the materials are pretty cheap, so if something doesn't work out, you can form a new hypothesis and try again.
Some things you might want to think about as you read: Is the amount of moisture inside a kernel important? How easy is it for water to pass through different parts of the kernel's cover? Are there solvents besides water that might do better? (You'd want to pay attention to whether solvents, dyes, etc are safe to eat.)
A few links to get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/n ... s-identify
http://www.physorg.com/news3722.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Does-Popc ... id=1186474
Keep us posted on your plans and progress!
Amanda
Your question about whether boiling or soaking would work better for flavoring popcorn is a good idea for a project -- go learn about the structure of popcorn and develop a hypothesis stating which you think will work better and why. Then try it and see what happens! Even if your hypothesis is wrong, you will still learn something by figuring out what actually happened. One thing that's nice about your project is that the materials are pretty cheap, so if something doesn't work out, you can form a new hypothesis and try again.
Some things you might want to think about as you read: Is the amount of moisture inside a kernel important? How easy is it for water to pass through different parts of the kernel's cover? Are there solvents besides water that might do better? (You'd want to pay attention to whether solvents, dyes, etc are safe to eat.)
A few links to get you started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/n ... s-identify
http://www.physorg.com/news3722.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Does-Popc ... id=1186474
Keep us posted on your plans and progress!
Amanda
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tdaly
- Former Expert
- Posts: 1415
- Joined: Sat Nov 08, 2003 11:27 pm
- Occupation: Planetary Scientist
- Project Question: N/A
- Project Due Date: N/A
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: more popcorn changing
laura-kate,
Just so you know, we ask that you keep all you posts about your project on a single message topic; this helps the Experts keep track of your project. I have gone ahead and combined this message topic with your other one.
Just so you know, we ask that you keep all you posts about your project on a single message topic; this helps the Experts keep track of your project. I have gone ahead and combined this message topic with your other one.
All the best,
Terik
Terik
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laura-kate
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 4:02 pm
- Occupation: student
- Project Question: how can you change the colour of popcorn before it is popped?
- Project Due Date: august 10 2008
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
Re: popcorn colour changing
i have decided to soak the kernels instead of boil them as heat makes popcorn pop. i am not sure how long to soak them because i have just read that popcorn kernels have liquid in them, and i don't know how long i should dry them out. should i dry them out at all oh and thanks for the help already. you guys are great. 
oh and thanks for the help already. you guys are great. -
agm
- Former Expert
- Posts: 289
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 10:34 am
- Occupation: graduate student
- Project Question: n/a
- Project Due Date: n/a
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: popcorn colour changing
laura-kate,
As I was hinting at before, any "which would work better" question that you have is a good basis for an experiment -- it's nice to have several things to compare rather than trying just one procedure and saying whether it works or not. In this case, you could use unaltered kernels as the control and compare to soaking for 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours -- or whatever intervals you decide to try. You could try a mini experiment beforehand to see whether the color looks like it's getting inside after minutes, hours, days, or what. Or, you could soak them all for the same amount of time and make your independent variable the length of time kernels are dried before you pop them. Then you'd want to look at one or more dependent variables, like the percentage of kernels that pop, how dark the color is, etc.
Amanda
As I was hinting at before, any "which would work better" question that you have is a good basis for an experiment -- it's nice to have several things to compare rather than trying just one procedure and saying whether it works or not. In this case, you could use unaltered kernels as the control and compare to soaking for 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours -- or whatever intervals you decide to try. You could try a mini experiment beforehand to see whether the color looks like it's getting inside after minutes, hours, days, or what. Or, you could soak them all for the same amount of time and make your independent variable the length of time kernels are dried before you pop them. Then you'd want to look at one or more dependent variables, like the percentage of kernels that pop, how dark the color is, etc.
Amanda