Help Center

Help Center

Yes, it is Non-GMO. We do not grow any GMOs.

You can view our laboratory testing results where we pay Midwest Laboratories to perform tests to confirm that our popcorn is GMO-free. 

You can view the report by clicking here or going to our GMO Testing page.

Yes, popcorn is inherently Gluten-Free. We do not grow any other crops that would lead to cross-contamination.

You can view our laboratory testing results where we pay Midwest Laboratories to perform tests to confirm there is no gluten. 

You can view the report by clicking here or going to our Allergy Testing page.

#glutenfree

No. We do not have and have not sought an organic certification from the USDA. 

Our popcorn is non-GMO and we do not use Glyphosate (aka "RoundUp").

We are very conservative in all of our approaches and believe in naturally treating crops through preventative measures and enriching the soil through cover crops and proper crop rotations. 

Popcorn was created by Mother Nature to stay good for a long time. Be sure to seal up the unused portions to keep the moisture level optimal. We work extremely hard to condition the popcorn and get it to the right moisture percentage before we ship it to you. If you keep the popcorn in a sealed container in a place that has a constant temperature, it'll stay in good condition almost indefinitely. We are required to put an expiration date on our product to conform to rules in distribution but we'd really like to say, "forever!". 

Farmer Bob suggests that you use airtight containers. Most of our product is sold in a tub or a pouch with a zipper on top often referred to as a "ziplock". If you purchase a 50lb bag, a lot of people use zip-lock gallon bags, old milk jugs, or white 5-gallon buckets so they can divide the large amount into smaller portions. This way, they can use one and keep the others in storage. 

Purchase the white 5-gallon buckets and lids at Lowes because they are food safe. They will be labeled as such. Don't use orange Home Depot buckets because they are not food-safe. 

No. It would kill it dead. We do not use Glyphosate. 

Only you can make that determination. But, we can tell you that we only grow popcorn so our grain bin where we store and condition our crop only handles popcorn. We erected it brand new in 2019 and it has only ever held our popcorn. 

You can view our laboratory testing results where we pay Midwest Laboratories to perform tests to confirm there is no gluten, soy, or peanut contamination. 

You can view the report by clicking here or going to our Allergy Testing page.

Yes, absolutely our popcorn has hulls. Hulls, or the pericarp of the seed, are required to pop popcorn. They hold in the moisture as your heat the kernel - until they can't! A steam explosion splits the pericarp and inverts the starch held inside the seed. This is why popcorn's Latin name is "Zea mays everta".

The pericarp becomes a "hull" at this point. Sometimes people erroneously call the hulls, the "husk". But, the husk is the outer wrapping of the cob.

The necessary hulls aren't a problem if the popcorn is popped well. The trick is the add the popcorn kernels to very high heat as opposed to adding them and increasing the heat to the point they'll pop. This sudden rise in temperature leads to a more violent explosion, tossing the hulls free from the resulting popped popcorn. Without this, the hulls sometimes stick to the popped popcorn and can be unpleasant. So, next time you want fewer hulls, try adjusting your popping technique.

Check out more detail on how to get fewer hulls on the popped popcorn. Click HERE

From Investopedia:  

"What Is Vertical Integration? Vertical integration is a strategy that allows a company to streamline its operations by taking direct ownership of various stages of its production process rather than relying on external contractors or suppliers."

What does this have to do with popcorn? Princeton Popcorn Company is run by Farmer Bob, a First Generation Farmer.  He set out to produce the best mushroom popcorn available on the market. To do this, he had to control every step of production, preparation, and packaging. 

As a result, Farmer Bob plants the seeds, raises the crop, and then harvests. After harvesting, he carefully conditions the popcorn to get it to the exact moisture percentage needed to achieve the best "pop". After that, sophisticated machinery is used to clean the popcorn; remove debris, and eliminate kernels that are too big or too small with a final optical sortation to achieve a homogeneous color profile. 

By taking control of every step, Princeton Popcorn is a Vertically Integrated Popcorn Producer. By contrast, most brands contract out the f arming to various farmers and pay on yield performance. 

Due to the way microwaves work, you will likely never achieve a good or consistent mushroom-shape when popping our variety of popcorn in the microwave. The characteristics you desire from our variety of popcorn can never manifest with the heating method a microwave uses. The popcorn certainly will pop and is edible but just won't be beautiful. 

Customers report back that they are very happy with the results of the microwave popping. As a brand, we promote and sell the mushroom shaped characteristic. Since the percentage of mushroom shapes is low and inconsistent in the microwave, we recommend popping in hot air or on the stove. 

Typically this is not required. The best way to store your popcorn is in an airtight container at a consistent temperature, preferably out of sunlight. 

Ideal storage locations include the pantry or basement but NOT the garage. 

Storing the popcorn in the freezer shouldn't hurt it but is also not required in most cases. 

The Princeton Popcorn mushroom-shaped kernels are available online and in some stores in the Kansas City area. Most online options have a free-shipping option.

 

Direct from Princeton Popcorn

https://www.PrincetonPopcorn.com

8lb https://princetonpopcorn.com/products/8lbs-mushroom-shaped-unpopped-popcorn-kernels

2lb https://www.princetonpopcorn.com/2lbs-mushroom-shaped-unpopped-popcorn-kernels.html

https://princetonpopcorn.com/products/six-pack-of-1lb-mushroom-shaped-unpopped-popcorn-kernels

1lb https://www.princetonpopcorn.com/1lb-mushroom-shaped-unpopped-popcorn-kernels.html

https://princetonpopcorn.com/products/50lbs-mushroom-shaped-unpopped-popcorn-kernels

 

Order On Amazon (ships free if you have Prime) 

Amazon Store: 

https://www.amazon.com/princetonpopcorn

 

Links to specific items on Amazon:

New 8lb https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KGVMT29

Top-Seller 2lb https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08287K5DG

50lb Package https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BJHKQX8

Six Pack of 1lb  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KTW2JC7

Popular 1lb https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08287YC9K

Walmart.com (Free Shipping most of the time)

8lb  https://www.walmart.com/ip/Giant-Popcorn-Kernels-Princeton-Farm-Grown-Non-GMO-Gluten-Free-UnPopped-Ball-Shaped-Old-Fashion-Pops-Extra-Large-Popping-Corn-Air-Popper-Stovetop-8lb/336856557

50lb https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mushroom-Popcorn-Kernels-Princeton-Farm-Grown-Non-GMO-Gluten-Free-UnPopped-Ball-Shaped-Old-Fashion-Pops-Extra-Large-Popping-Corn-Air-Popper-Stovetop-/955935072

6 Pack 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Six-1lb-Tubs-Mushroom-Popcorn-Kernels-Princeton-Farm-Grown-Non-GMO-Gluten-Free-UnPopped-Ball-Shaped-Old-Fashion-Pops-Extra-Large-Popping-Corn-Air-Pop/889790770

1lb https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mushroom-Popcorn-Kernels-Princeton-Farm-Grown-Non-GMO-Gluten-Free-UnPopped-Ball-Shaped-Old-Fashion-Pops-Extra-Large-Popping-Corn-Air-Popper-Stovetop-/699915509

2lb https://www.walmart.com/ip/2lbs-Mushroom-Shaped-Unpopped-Popcorn-Kernels/789522067

Popcorn kernels are actually the seed of the corn plant from which a new plant will sprout. Mother nature has designed the seed to have a hard outer coating called the pericarp (Later referred to as a “hull” or incorrectly as a “husk”). The pericarp holds in moisture and protects the seed until it is ready to grow. The bigger the popcorn kernel, the bigger the hull. With our variety, in order to get it to pop into a mushroom-shaped, the kernel has to have a thicker and bigger hull In order to pop correctly and result in a mushroom-shaped popcorn.

Knowing all of this is important but it doesn’t mean that you have to have popcorn full of hulls. There are some techniques that will result in favorable popping. The key to getting the best popping is to understand how popcorn pops and how Changes to your technique will change the results.

Understanding how popcorn pops:

As I mentioned before, the popcorn kernel is just a popcorn plant’s seed. That hard outer shell, the pericarp, retains the moisture inside which is critical to popping. The act of popping is simply heating the water inside of the kernel which causes pressure from the expansion. When the pressure gets too great, there is a steam explosion which results in the starches inverting into what we call popcorn. In this process, the hull is split. We are trying to get the hull to split and break free of the resulting popcorn.

Heat is the most important part of popping. It is absolutely critical to apply a lot of heat to the popcorn kernels as rapidly as possible. The resulting rise in temperature of the water inside of the kernel needs to be very fast to cause a violent explosion. The violence of this explosion is what we are depending onto invert the starches into popcorn and h break the hull Free from the popped popcorn.

So, if I had only one tip to provide it would be to turn your stove onto the highest heat setting, put the oil in and wait until the oil is very hot before you put the kernels in. One method to know if the oil is hot enough is to place a few kernels in the oil when you turn the heat on. Once those pop you know it is hot enough! I’d wait another 30 seconds or so and then put your kernels in. To keep the kernels from popping it is very important to keep them moving. I always try to think of a hot potato. If you simply hold onto it it will burn your hand. But if you toss it from hand to hand both hands warm up but neither of them burns.

If you apply heat in this method you are sure to get way fewer hulls on the finished product. To be realistic, it will never be hull free but our goal is to get it mostly hull free. It is very achievable to get excellent results. Of course, I’m pretty good at it because I popped popcorn every single day and pop my variety exclusively.

Anyhow, I hope this explanation and advice helps.