There is a snack I loved so much while growing up.I would spend so much on it.
It would never satisfy me and I would feel like I was eating air, but then,I loved it so I didn't mind.
Once I had the opportunity to buy snacks or take snacks,it was my first option.
There was something special about it. From the sugary sensation,to the abundance of milk, to the cripsiness and much more,I couldn't help loving it.
Yes,Your guess is as good as mine,Popcorn it was.
Popcorn goes with icecream,bottles drinks, canned drinks,fruit juices and even water.
Popcorn will always keep your mouth busy for longer without necessarily making you feek full or bloated.
Little wonder it is taken during movies at cinemas.
There is something about popcorn,you can never get enough of it.
You would still crave for more no matter how much you've eaten already,not like it's filling.
Due to the love I had for popcorn,curiousity drove me into observing how popcorn was made.
Most peoople that produce popcorn commercially have the pop corn machine where they pour in the ingredients and mix and suddenly it starts popping.
However,it took me more than thirteen years to realise that pop corn was actually from corn seed.
The particular specie of corn generally called the yellow corn.
So pop corn is made from corn seed?,I asked myself.
I decided to try out some kind of experiment to be sure.
I placed few seeds of the specie of corn we have in our locality, the white corn,in a pan for some minutes and it popped. It gave me something like pop corn although it was really a small pop.
I totally believed.I made up my mind to look for the pop corn seed and buy since getting the cobs directly may be expensive and take more time.
That weekend,my cousin showed up.
Just as if she read my mind.
"Marvy,I just learnt how to do home made popcorn,I will teach you",were the best words she said to me that day.
I dressed up and followed her to the market.
We got the ingredients,I was suprised.
It was that easy,all I needed was salt,sugar,milk, vegetable oil and the pop corn seed.
Everything didn't cost up to 500naira.
We came home and she asked for a clean pot wit a fitting cover and together we started.
♡Grease the pot using 1/4 teaspoonful of vegetable oil
♡Sprinkle sugar on the popcorn seed and pour a handful of the mixture into the greased pot.
♡Cover pot with a tightly fitted cover
♡Place pot on the medium burner of the gas cooker after reducing heat
♡Allow to heat for 5 minutes and swirl the covered pot with your hand.
Let one hand hold the handle and the other hold the pot cover firmly.
♡The seeds will begin to pop.Place on the heat source and repeat swirling process at intervals.
♡At exactly 15minutes,pop corn is done as all the corns must have popped
♡Put off the fire,gently open the pot and pour out your pop corn into a plate for cooling.
♡More sugar is (sprinkled) added to taste .
♡Milk is added also by sprinkling.
This was the result,popcorn,ready to serve.
After my cousin showed me once,I made mine and transferred it to my favorite plate as seen in the picture above.
Since then till today,I can't buy popcorn with my money except it's a gift.
This is because I learnt how to make popcorn and because I can do it myself,I realised it's a waste of money buying it.
The quantity of 1000 naira popcorn i get at eateries is the quantity that just two handfuls of popcorn seed at 300 naira per cup can produce.
I learnt how to make pop corn seed because i decided to pop like corn.
Pop corn isn't large but it appears irresistible because it pops,swells up and steps out of it's comfort zone as a seed to become food.
I refused to be contented with just buying popcorn,I decided to leave my comfort zone of just enjoying it for years and learn how to make it.
Also,I realised that the bigger seeds produce the smaller popcorns while the tinier seeds produce the bigger popcorns.
Irony of life!
Never look down on little things,they matter most.
A person or thing may be small but never discard it because yoy never can tell the potentials within.
