At the Farm GatePopcorn Powerhouse - IL top producer of the state snack
I’ve never told the giver of the stovetop popcorn popper at our wedding how much use and abuse the whirligig has seen over the past 24 years. We never registered for the gadget, but what an unexpected delight for making kettle corn and movie-theater-caliber popcorn. We loved it so much, I have replaced it twice.
Popcorn turns everyday moments into memories – passing a bucket in the theater, grabbing a bag at a ball game or gathering around a fresh bowl for Fourth of July fireworks. More than 300 Illinois farms keep those memories popping and make Illinois a popcorn power. Our state ranks No. 3 in the production of popcorn, one of three primary types of corn grown in the United States along with sweet corn and field corn, the latter for which Illinois ranks No. 2.
More than 20 years ago, Joliet second and third graders successfully lobbied to make popcorn Illinois’ official state snack, a fitting choice. I often grab a bag of popcorn at gas stations during road trips, where the airy crunch helps me stay alert on long drives on the road or in the tractor while planting soybeans. At home, the whole grain is my go-to for curbing nightly cravings: light on calories if you skip the butter and caramel, yet versatile in its forms. Our snack cabinet holds oversized pre-popped bags from the wholesale club, a stash of microwave packets, raw kernels from a local farm and pre-measured pouches for the Whirley Pop.
My mom, the lead curator of memories in our family, intentionally crafts moments that stick in memory banks. In that spirit, she bought a legit popcorn machine you find in concession stands. The popper lives most of the time in our farm’s scalehouse at our grain storage facility, where it serves the harvest crew. Truck drivers haul in field corn and scale out with popcorn for themselves and for transport to cart drivers and combine operators.
Occasionally, we transport the popcorn machine to the farm office, where we make popcorn for events. Twice a year, it travels to my house for the overnight parties following prom and homecoming for our kids and their friends. They enjoy fresh-popped corn with a glass-bottled soda that I hope pop up moments worth remembering.
About the author: Joanie Stiers farms with her brother and parents in West-Central Illinois, where they grow corn, soybeans and hay, raise beef cattle and operate side businesses related to the family operation.