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.

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.

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

Yes, we've discontinued the Melt On Caramel Gourmet Popping Corn. We're so sorry for your inconvenience. Thanks for sharing your interest, we definitely will inform our team you want it back!

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.

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.

Since popcorn comes from corn, specifically the zea mays everta variety, popcorn was never really “invented” by man, however there is evidence of popcorn all throughout the history of the Americas. The oldest popcorn known to date was found in New Mexico.

It was made famous by Garret's popcorn in Chicago and up until recently it was sold as Chicago Mix®. Originally created in 1988 by Candyland, Inc, Chicago Mix® was trademarked as being a mix of Caramel, Cheese & traditionally seasoned popcorn.

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.

In 1952, Orville Redenbacher hand selected a small group of family farmers to grow his exclusive kernel. Generations later, farmers like Richard Overmyer continue to grow that same special kernel that pops up lighter and fluffier than ordinary popcorn. Because your family deserves the very best.

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.

The First Popped Corn Corn was probably cultivated as a domesticated crop around 9,000 years ago, but it wasn't until 2012 that archaeologists unearthed the first evidence of popcorn in Peru: 6,700-year-old corn cobs studded with puffed kernels.

It was made famous by Garret's popcorn in Chicago and up until recently it was sold as Chicago Mix®. Originally created in 1988 by Candyland, Inc, Chicago Mix® was trademarked as being a mix of Caramel, Cheese & traditionally seasoned popcorn.

Caramel corn or caramel popcorn (toffee popcorn in the UK) is a confection made of popcorn coated with a sugar or molasses based caramel candy shell that is normally less than 1mm thick. Typically a sugar solution or syrup is made and heated until it browns and becomes thick, producing a caramelized candy syrup.