Where do the calories go when you pop corn?

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In summary, the calories in a popped corn kernel may be lost due to the steam that leaves the bag, and the butter in the bag may not be included in the "pre-pop" figure.
  • #1
DeepSeeded
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I was reading the back of a pop corn bag and noticed that corn has twice as many calories before you pop it.

C = kc = 1000xcalories:

The bag claims that there is 120C in 3 tablespoons of unpopped corn and 6 tablespoons total. That is 240C for the unpopped corn in the bag.

The bag also claims that there is 7.5 cups of pop corn after popping it and there is 15C per cup. That is 112C.

More than half the calories are missing (128,000 calories to be exact)! I had someone tell me that mabey it goes into heat energy though all the heat energy should be coming from the microwaves.

The steam that leaves the bag should only be H20 with no calories. This is a lot of calories to be missing and certainly way beyond the point of uncertainties in manufacture measurments.

Does anyone know where the calories go?
 
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  • #2
DeepSeeded said:
I was reading the back of a pop corn bag and noticed that corn has twice as many calories before you pop it.

C = kc = 1000xcalories:

The bag claims that there is 120C in 3 tablespoons of unpopped corn and 6 tablespoons total. That is 240C for the unpopped corn in the bag.

The bag also claims that there is 7.5 cups of pop corn after popping it and there is 15C per cup. That is 112C.

More than half the calories are missing (128,000 calories to be exact)! I had someone tell me that mabey it goes into heat energy though all the heat energy should be coming from the microwaves.

The steam that leaves the bag should only be H20 with no calories. This is a lot of calories to be missing and certainly way beyond the point of uncertainties in manufacture measurments.

Does anyone know where the calories go?

This is just a wild idea but...what about the calories contained in the butter? I wonder if it's included in the "pre-pop" figure. I am thinking about this because of the amount of butter and salt that stays in the bag after we microwave popcorn. Could that explain the "missing calories mystery"? Only a fraction of the butter in the bag actually gets spread on the popcorn. So if they include the mass and calories of the butter put in the bag in the figure of 3 tbsp at 120 C per tbsp, and if the figure of 15C per cup of popcorn obtained was actually measured from popcorn coming out of the microwave, it would make sense that all the calories contained in the butter that remained in the bag would be lost.


Just a crazy thought...
 
  • #3
Your bag could very well contain a misprint =)
I think a popped kernel weighs less than an unpopped one, but also takes up more room. So depending on which they used as a measurement, they might've botched the calculation.
 
  • #4
I would first suspect the measurement techniques.
1] First, tablespoons of kernels and cups of popcorns (packing problems) are very inaccurate in determining how much actual food there is in each portion.
2] You are then deriving (which has its own errors) how much there is in total of each.
 
  • #5
Popcorn does have fewer calories. The kernel contains oil as well as water.
 
  • #6
Phlogistonian said:
Popcorn does have fewer calories. The kernel contains oil as well as water.

Water does not contain any calories, it is the product of spent calories right?

We are talking about 535,552 joules of energy disapearing after popping the corn. It takes about 2 minutes to pop the corn in a 11kw Microwave, 535,552 joules is enough energy to power the microwave for almost half of that time. The pop corn can almost pop itself!
 
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  • #7
Water doesn't contain any calories, but oil does. I don't know how many calories the oil accounts for. A lot of the stuff dissolved in the water probably gets released when the kernel explodes also.
 
  • #8
Oil isn't dissolved in the water... :tongue:

But here's some food for thought. I believe that you maybe have seen a piece of meat in the fryingpan? It will contract and the proteins will coagulate, thus leaving you with a somewhat different state of meat, than raw meat that is. When you cook, heat, boil, electrocute or whatever thermodynamical device you use to process food. You will lose nutritional value of the food-stuffs.

What happens (my theory) is that as previous authors have been foretelling, the oil leaves the corn. The water leaves the corn too. The oil in the corn would probably be around 2/3 or more of the total calories lost. The rest will probably be heat. (now I assume your way of describing the process is true).

We could get increasingly technical and use PDE for heat-eq and stuff like that. Dissintegrateing matter and such. Obviously the only thing that happens is that entropy increases in the process and matter/energy/table spoons of corn will form another state of matter, one of less energy than the unprocessed corn.

I hope this was helpful, if I am wrong, please point that out so I may learn.
 
  • #9
I didn't say oil was dissolved in the water.
 
  • #10
That's true... my bad. :redface:
 
  • #11
According to wikipedia ratio of carbohydrates to fat in maize is about 19:1.2 (w:w). Assuming that fat energy content is twice that of hydrocarbons, removing all fat will strip around 12% of the calories. Not 50%.

I bet on misprint, miscalculation or misdetermination.

Borek
 
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  • #12
I can't help but wonder why they put the calorie content of unpopped popcorn on the bag. Surely no one is going to eat it that way!
 
  • #13
Ok, I think it is about time for me to call the number on the back of the bag for questions. I have a feeling it isn't going to be pretty though.
 
  • #14
How many angels dance on the head of a pin! Burn The un-popped and then the popped in a calorimeter and develop your own numbers!
 
  • #15
HallsofIvy said:
I can't help but wonder why they put the calorie content of unpopped popcorn on the bag. Surely no one is going to eat it that way!

You never know, stranger things have actually happened :rofl:

Borek: I checked your numbers and found something rather funny.

Sweetcorn (seeds only)
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 90 kcal 360 kJ <.. look at this.

Popcorn, air-popped, no additives
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 380 kcal 1600 kJ <.. look at this and compare.

So after you popped the corn it is actually roughly four times as much calories in the popcorn as in sweetcorn. Although this gives me the conclusion that the seeds are prepared with some form of additive. Although the numbers for the popcorn are without additives, I believe that OP's popcorn has that.
 
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  • #16
DeepSeeded said:
Ok, I think it is about time for me to call the number on the back of the bag for questions. I have a feeling it isn't going to be pretty though.

The kid on the end of the phone is not going to have a clue what you're talking about! Perhaps you should just put it down to a typo/incorrect info, and go and find something else to waste your time on!
 
  • #17
Fearless - perhaps sweetcorn numbers are for the fresh (high water content) corn? Pop corn is made from dried out seeds, so there will be huge difference.

Borek
 
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  • #18
Borek: Yeah that is true, but a engineer takes the data as close he can to the real deal. I don't feel like stuffing a calorimeter with dried out maize. :smile:

But you are right, it is not that exact.
 
  • #19
You just added air, reduced the density, and ensured a more efficient burning!
 

1. Where do the calories go when you pop corn?

When you pop corn, the calories are primarily used to heat up the water inside the kernel. This causes the water to turn into steam, which creates pressure and causes the kernel to burst open. The energy from the calories is also used to expand the starch and protein molecules, making the popcorn fluffy and light.

2. Do the calories disappear when you pop corn?

No, the calories do not disappear when you pop corn. They are simply transferred into the steam and heat that is produced during the popping process. The popped corn still contains the same amount of calories as the unpopped kernels, but the volume and texture of the popcorn may make it seem like it has fewer calories.

3. How many calories are in a bag of popped corn?

The number of calories in a bag of popped corn can vary depending on the brand and type of popcorn. On average, a 3-cup serving of air-popped popcorn contains around 93 calories. However, if the popcorn is cooked in oil or coated in butter, the calorie count can increase significantly.

4. Can you reduce the number of calories in popped corn?

Yes, you can reduce the number of calories in popped corn by using air-popped popcorn instead of oil-popped popcorn. You can also limit the amount of oil or butter used when popping or seasoning the popcorn. Additionally, choosing a lower-calorie seasoning option, such as herbs and spices instead of butter or caramel, can also help reduce the overall calorie count.

5. Is popped corn a healthy snack option?

Popped corn can be a healthy snack option when prepared in a healthy way. Air-popped popcorn is low in calories and fat, making it a good alternative to other high-calorie snacks. However, it is important to pay attention to portion sizes and avoid adding excessive amounts of oil or butter. Additionally, choosing popcorn without added salt or sugar can make it an even healthier snack choice.

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