over the generations

Although the health benefits were not known back then, our great grandfather had an inclination toward popcorn. He was a chubby child and after being teased for years vowed that he would lose weight and keep it off. He did, and for the rest of his life ate a healthy diet that included popcorn. He lived well to the age of 96.

Our grandfather was known to travel and look for different varieties of popcorn, asking local farmers if they had anything of interest and taking the seeds back home to grow. His curious mind lead to several wonderful hybrids and a tradition of respect and inquisitiveness for popcorn. He taught us, his grandchildren, how to pop popcorn and for many years we considered him to posses magical powers in making such a marvelous transformation from hard seed to crunchy treat.

Our father continued the popcorn tradition through the 1970’s and 80’s accumulating one of the largest popcorn seed banks in the world. To this day we rely on bees for our cross breeding just as our grandfathers did. In the late 1990’s we began to remark on how popcorn had changed. Its large kernels tasted stale and were chewy. The large hulls seemed to always get caught in your throat. What had happened to popcorn?

It was being bred for large flakes. But bigger isn’t always better. We returned to the heirloom varieties we knew so well. These pop smaller, delicate flakes that have a nutty flavor to them. The hulls are also smaller and easier to manage. Due to the popularity of “red” foods, we decided to test our popcorn for antioxidants. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our popcorn does indeed have antioxidants, even after popped.

We have been sharing this popcorn with friends for years and they have been urging us to get this popcorn on the market. So here it is. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have over the generations.

The Heritage Family of Farmers
208-459-9604