The Popcorn Maker
Popcorn is indigenous to the Americas with evidence of it being consumed by ancient peoples in Mexico more than five thousand years ago. It was consumed by Americans, although relatively rarely, as early as the late 18th century. It was prepared by hand over a stove or fire. There is evidence of it being sold prior to the Civil War, usually referred to as popped corn.
Charles Cretors, originally of Lebanon Ohio, operated a confectionery store in Decatur, Illinois. After purchasing a peanut roasting machine and being dissatisfied with its performance he rebuilt it, eventually moving to Chicago to sell models of his machine. The machine used a small steam engine as its heat source to roast peanuts, and Cretors discovered that it could also pop popcorn in oil. Cretors patented his popcorn popper in 1893.
Cretors used the machine at the Columbian Exposition that same year to generate awareness of the invention, and was soon selling popcorn poppers to be drawn by horses. In the 1920s movie theaters began to expand and Cretors developed machines to sell popcorn in the new movie houses, linking popcorn to movies ever since. He continued to develop machines with increased holding capacity through the next two decades.
It was during the Great Depression that the popularity of popcorn as a snack really took off. Popcorn was cheap and filling, and became widely consumed as a substitute for a meal at times. As the depression wound down in the late 1930s, movie attendance increased and popcorn’s popularity continued. Then during the Second World War, rationing of sugar and other items increased the price and availability of other snacks, with little effect on popcorn, as the quantities of fats to pop it are relatively low.
Electric home poppers, stovetop poppers, and air poppers have all held their periods of popularity with the public, but today most popcorn sold for eating at home is marketed in microwaveable bags, pre-seasoned, which were first patented by General Mills in 1981. C. Cretors and Company still manufactures commercial popcorn poppers, as well as other product lines.