Sunday, August 5, 2012

Tiny But Mighty Popcorn is heirloom popcorn packed with natural flavor

Gene and Lynn Mealhow began their journey of this heirloom popcorn in 1995, growing and cultivating it on a small scale. Gene is agronomist and organic soil consultant. In the 1990s, he met a farmer named Richard Kelty, who had kept a special popcorn variety in the family since the 1850s. Richard was yielding around 600 pounds per acre (where hybrid commercial varieties are yielding 5000+ pounds per acre). After experimenting with special organic fertilizer blends and old-world methods of seed selection, Gene and Richard were able to increase the yield an average of 1800 pounds per acre (3000 pounds per acre is the maximum this variety will produce). Richard wanted to retire, so the Mealhows decided to buy the business from him. After massive floods in 2008 and 2009, the Mealhows almost lost everything, but with help of “good food” promoters, family, friends, and local farmers they came together to help get everything back. In 2010, Tiny But Might Popcorn was born – an ancient variety of popcorn with unbelievable flavor and health benefits.

The first thing you’ll notice is how small the kernels are. The window packaging is ideal for showing off those tiny kernels. When you open the package, the scent is the essence of fresh corn. I have a little movie-style popcorn machine at home and the Tiny But Might Popcorn pops really well in it with very little waste of un-popped kernels. I think the bigger kernels get pushed out too quickly when the corn starts to pop resulting in two to three tablespoons of un-popped kernels. Tiny But Mighty Popcorn will maybe have 5-10 un-popped kernels left. Even so, the kernels are still soft enough to crunch on like a corn nut but smaller. The kernels expand to about 2/3 the size of regular popcorn, but the flavor is just out of this world! You can actually taste the corn in every kernel.

Another variation I tried was I using bacon drippings (a sustainable practice in my household to try to use every part of the animal) instead of oil and just sea salt to taste. The essence of smoky pork flavor and the sea salt brought out more of the natural corn flavor. It’s just amazing!

Find Tiny But Might Popcorn in Midwest grocers like HyVee, Fareway, and Whole Foods or order direct from their website. It will change the way you think about popcorn forever!

3282 62nd St
Shellsburg, IA 52332
319.436.2119

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