popcorn Orville Clarence Redenbacher (July 16, 1907 – September 19, 1995) was an American food scientist and businessman most often associated with the brand of popcorn that bears his name which is now owned by Conagra Brands.

Orville Redenbacher was born on a farm in Brazil, Indiana, in 1907. At 12, he began to grow and peddle his own popping corn, which allowed him to save money for college. He graduated from Perdue University with a degree in agronomy and as a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, an agriculture-oriented fraternity.

Whole Grain Popping Corn, Palm Oil, Salt, Butter, Color Added (Annatto, Turmeric, Paprika), Natural Flavors, Mixed Tocopherols (Vitamin E for Freshness).

Now owned by Omaha, Neb. -based food conglomerate ConAgra, Orville Redenbacher Gourmet Popcorn still relies on Indiana for much of its production. About a third of the 60,000 to 70,000 acres planted with popcorn in Indiana every year are growing for the Orville Redenbacher brand.

By 1965, Orville and his business partner Charles Bowman perfect their popcorn hybrid - it is light and fluffy, leaves hardly any unpopped kernels, achieves a 44:1 ratio in volume of popped to unpopped corn, and, of course, tastes great.

By the mid 1970s, Redenbacher and Bowman had captured a third of the unpopped popcorn market. According to industry estimates, the brand, still the national leader in the $1 billion annual popcorn market, accounts for about 45 percent of the microwave market. These amazing successes are not all coming from luck.

Microwave popcorn was first discovered in 1945. Perry Spencer discovered that popcorn would pop when placed near a microwave. Mr. Spencer led the way to development of the microwave oven.

Orville Redenbacher's Original Yellow Gourmet Popcorn Kernels are the highest quality for popping on the stovetop, in your air popper, or in an electric popper. These 100% natural, Non-GMO Project Verified whole-grain and gluten-free original popcorn kernels are a delicious, yet wholesome snack.

Fun Facts About Popcorn

• Popcorn is over 5000 years old.
• The first commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in 1885.
• Nebraska produces the most popcorn in America, around 250 million pounds per year.
• Microwaveable popcorn was invented by Pillsbury in 1982.

French explorers wrote of Iroquois popping tough corn kernels in pottery jars filled with heated sand. The Iroquois nation spread throughout the Great Lakes region, so it's likely that settlers to upstate New York, Vermont and Quebec were the earliest European-American popcorn makers.

Orville Redenbacher's Ultimate Butter This is it, folks: The all-around best popcorn on our list - especially if you're all about the butter. The label reads popping corn, palm oil, salt, butter and natural flavor and colors. It's free of artificial preservatives, flavors and dyes to boot.

Fun Facts About Popcorn

• Popcorn is over 5000 years old.
• The first commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in 1885.
• Nebraska produces the most popcorn in America, around 250 million pounds per year.
• Microwaveable popcorn was invented by Pillsbury in 1982.

Popcorn is actually a special variety of corn, and it is the only one that pops. The key to popcorn is the unique design of its kernels. Most importantly, its kernel consists of a very hard, mostly nonporous outer shell called pericarp.

Charles Cretor Charles Cretor of Chicago is often credited as the inventor of modern popcorn, thanks to his invention of the mobile popcorn cart in the 1880s. But the act of popping corn is much older.

Popcorn is a snack food made by heating certain kinds of corn. There is a small amount of water inside the seeds, which causes them to explode. When the seed shell breaks a sharp noise is made. The name "pop" is because of this noise.

Popcorn is a type of maize (or corn), a member of the grass family, and is scientifically known as Zea mays everta. Popcorn differs from other types of maize/corn in that it has a thicker pericarp/hull. The hull allows pressure from the heated water to build and eventually bursts open.