Food Theory Blog #4: Innovate
Hi everyone! In this last blog post for CMDI 1030 we will examine an example of innovation in the culinary industry provided by the popcorn machine . So let's see what we can learn about it! Customers gathered around one of Cretors' peanut and popcorn wagon powered by a steam engine in 1885 (Cretors, n.d.) History The first popcorn machine was invented by the American Charles Cretors in 1885 (America's Favourite Popcorn, 2021). Owner of a confectionary shop in Decatur, Illinois, he wanted to redesign a peanut roaster machine he had previously purchased and was not happy with, and noticed he was now able to use it to pop corn kernels in a uniform way. This was done through the use of a small steam engine. Later that year, he acquired a vendor's license to be able to sell popcorn outside his store and created the first popcorn-centered company in the way of C. Cretors & Company. Popcorn was not a treat that appeared along with Cretors' invention: indeed, research...
