TEP Talk: Popcorn Pyrazines
Last week, in honor of National Popcorn Day, we popped over to Technology Enterprise Park (TEP) to really sink our teeth into the chemistry behind the tasty treat. With a variety of pre-popped, individually-bagged flavors of popcorn and coffee in tow, we hosted a Coffee Talk, complete with a pop quiz for our community members, who are primarily researchers, chemists, and scientists. Attendees had to successfully match the correct definition and molecular structure to two different chemical compounds, both of which are present in popcorn.
Given the nature of TEP tenants, it’s no surprise that 46 percent correctly matched both the definition and molecular structure. What’s even more interesting is that 36 percent correctly matched the molecular structure, but not the definition – only further proving their background is most definitely in the STEM field, not language arts!
The best part? While the Tech Square ATL (TSQATL) Social Club team members were the ones presenting the pop quiz, we actually ended up being schooled! VERO Biotech employee, Lucia Lopez Martinez, explained how she got the answers right – and within seconds – with a little chemistry lesson. She shared that pyrazines are always hexagonal in shape and that hexagons are always aromatics – so it was a no-brainer for her to match the molecular structure (a hexagon) and the definition (which included “aroma” in it) to the correct term (pyrazines)!
Another learning from that day? We uncovered that most pop-ular flavor out of butter, white cheddar, and kettle corn was...the OG of popcorn flavors – butter!
Regardless of people’s preference of flavor or knowledge of the chemistry of popcorn, one thing was certainly made clear – TSQATL Social Club members love a good challenge, especially when paired with some delicious drinks and snacks!
DID YOU KNOW?
Popcorn comes in two basic shapes – butterfly and mushroom! Butterfly popcorn has a very irregular shape with large bums and a light, crispy texture that can break easily. The mushroom-shaped popcorn is more round with a rough surface, making it sturdy enough to stir and add flavorings.
What’s your favorite popcorn flavoring or topping? Let us know in the comments below!