Fireworks Popcorn takes the extra effort needed to grow an amazing spectrum of popcorn varieties. Our naturally grown gourmet popcorns offer a higher standard of taste, texture and quality that cannot be found elsewhere. We at Fireworks Popcorn are willing to sacrifice a larger yield per acre to ensure a superior product. Our white and red popcorn have a more sweet corny taste and crispy texture. Yellows and larger blues are chewier and have a hint of buttery flavor on their own. Browns and grays have a robust, wild flavor with a crisp texture. Many commercial growers have, over the years, developed giant yellow popcorns that produce exceptional yields and pop volume, but these benefits come at the cost of taste and texture. These growers cross breed popping corn with larger, stronger corn varieties, like field corn (cattle feed). This popcorn is bigger and stronger but is virtually flavorless or has woody taste and a texture like Styrofoam.
All Fireworks popcorn varieties are grown using only traditional breeding techniques. We do not grow or sell any genetically modified organisms. Several large producers have used laboratory techniques such as gene injection and gene splicing to try to breed certain characteristics into their popcorn plants, to attempt to increase insect and disease resistance or increase yield and flake size. These processes create controversy similar to that surrounding bovine growth hormone. Consumers want to know more about products in order to make an educated decision. Our process is simple and natural. We cross breed our seed in the field and create popcorns that reflect our core value of producing only the highest quality popcorns with the best flavors and textures. We put a great deal of time, energy and financial resources into the development and processing of each variety in order to provide the best possible product.
Fireworks Popcorn grows medium and small kernel popcorns that have a very fragile pericarp, or hull. During cooking the water inside the kernel turns to steam. The pressure causes the starchy inside to burst open, shattering the pericarp. This popped kernel is called a flake. The fracturing of the pericarp leaves very little of it attached to the popcorn flake and that's why we call it our popcorn "hull-less." By contrast, many large yellow varieties grown by commercial manufacturers, the corn is bred so the kernels can withstand automated harvesting, cleaning, processing and packaging. These procedures can be rough on the corn, and thus the corn needs to be strong enough to withstand that kind of treatment. One crack in the pericarp and a kernel cannot pop. A strong pericarp does not shatter and drop off the flake as easily as the more delicate pericarps found in our varieties of corn. This heavy and thick pericarp merely cracks and splits during popping, leaving parts of it hanging on the flake, where it can become painfully wedged between your teeth and gums. Treating our kernels gently during the harvesting and cleaning processes, necessitates extra time and effort, but to us, that extra effort is worth it, if it increases the enjoyment of your popcorn eating experience.