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X-ray diffraction could lead to a much more satisfying experience next time you settle down with a bucket of popcorn. The technique is providing new insights into why some popcorn kernels pop and why others are dysfunctional. According to Bruce Hamaker, crystallographer Rangaswamy Chandrasekaran and colleagues at the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research and Department of Food Science, Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana, moisture loss from popcorn kernels is the underlying cause of much disappointment and broken teeth for fans of the puffed corn product. There can be no worse sensation than when reaching the bottom of a bucket of popcorn you pluck out a few unpopped kernels rather than the expanded seeds. Indeed, unpopped kernels could be said to be one of life's great tragedies. Microwaveable popcorn is very popular with about half a million tonnes produced each year in the US alone. According to Hamaker, genetics and year-to-year variability in popcorn hybrids affect overall popping performance. Growers would like to produce uniform kernels that give a much higher popping rate, as the number of unpopped kernels per bag is one of the most important quality control issue for consumers. Various studies have looked at the physical characteristics responsible for such variations in popcorn quality, but scant information has been available regarding the properties of the biopolymer. The Purdue team has now investigated the pericarp properties of popcorn hybrids using XRD to help them understand the factors affecting moisture loss rate during microwave heating. Their results indicate that the cellulose component of the pericarp is responsible for the development of exothermal events and increased crystallinity and so the tendency of cellulose to form crystalline structures in the popcorn pericarp during microwave heating improves moisture retention and so reduces significantly the number of unpopped corns. "Crystallography, along with calorimetry, was essential for the study," Hamaker told X-factors, "We wouldn't have been able to make the same conclusions without XRD." Related Links:
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