1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: Lauren Vogel Bomb here with another classic episode for you. 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: This one is about one of my favorite food topics 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: and one we've talked about in a couple other episodes, 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: the flavor of butter, and relatedly, how that nine irresistible 6 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:26,079 Speaker 1: popcorn sold in movie theaters can taste so buttery while 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: containing zero butter. Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: and it's time we talked about movie theater popcorn, that 9 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: salty siren of the cinema. You come without nutrition labels 10 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: and sizes that defy sensibility. We consume you in the dark. 11 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: You're inadvertently vegan and gluten free, but that still doesn't 12 00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: mean you're good for us. So what the heck are 13 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 1: you made of anyway? 14 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 2: Meat? Movie theater popcorns two main ingredients after poppedcorn, of course, 15 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 2: flavorcle and butter flavored topping. Let's break those down. Flavocol 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 2: is a proprietary seasoned powder that goes on the corn 17 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 2: before it's popped. It contains only four ingredients, superfine salt, 18 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,600 Speaker 2: artificial flavor, and two synthetic yellow dyes that help give 19 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 2: the popcorn its violently yellow, butteryish color. A butter can 20 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 2: naturally be yellow because of a pigment and vitamin called 21 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 2: beta carotene that's found in the fresh grass that dairy 22 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,200 Speaker 2: cows are sometimes fed, or butter can be dyed that 23 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 2: color when cows are fat other things. Flavocol has zero 24 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,919 Speaker 2: calories and zero fat, carbs, and protein, but being mostly salt, 25 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 2: it packs a wallup in the sodium department. One teaspoon 26 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 2: contains one hundred and sixteen percent of your recommended daily 27 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 2: intake of sodium based on the average two thousand calorie 28 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 2: per day diet, and depending on the recipe and the 29 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 2: machine being used, you'd get about a third of a 30 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 2: teaspoon in a small popcorn, So heads up if you're 31 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:58,080 Speaker 2: monitoring your sodium consumption. Next up that butter flavored topping, 32 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 2: which is what gets squirted out in pumps if you 33 00:02:00,600 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 2: ask for it. Warning betrayal alert. It doesn't have any 34 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,480 Speaker 2: butter in it at all. What it does contain is 35 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:10,960 Speaker 2: partially hydrogenated soybean oil, which is a trans fat that 36 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 2: falls into the category of bad fat. These types of 37 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 2: fats have been linked to heart disease and other cardiovascular problems. 38 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 2: The topping also has some beta carotene that pigment I 39 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 2: just mentioned. Beta carotene helps add to the buttery color 40 00:02:23,919 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 2: and can, by the way, either be naturally derived from 41 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 2: plants or made in a lab. That's the difference between 42 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,960 Speaker 2: it being labeled a natural versus an artificial color. The 43 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 2: topping also has tertiary buttle hydroquinone or TBHQ, which is 44 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 2: a synthetic preservative that keeps oils from becoming rancid as 45 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,920 Speaker 2: they sit, and polydimethyl silazane or PDMS, which is a 46 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 2: silicone based chemical that prevents foaming in hot oil. It's 47 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 2: also been preliminarily shown to help hair cells grow when 48 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 2: applied topically, but that's a different episode. Don't rub butter 49 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,359 Speaker 2: flavored topping on your scalp. The final ingredient the one 50 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:05,480 Speaker 2: that gives movie theater popcorn. It's irresistible taste. Buttery flavoring, 51 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 2: a one hundred percent non dairy mystery chemical that mimics 52 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 2: the taste of butter. This and the artificial flavoring and 53 00:03:12,919 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 2: flavorcoll are industry secrets, but they're probably one of a 54 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 2: few lab synthesized molecules that taste and smell like butter 55 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:26,160 Speaker 2: diacetyl acitoin sethyl propianal or similar. Those first two that 56 00:03:26,200 --> 00:03:29,720 Speaker 2: I mentioned are compounds that are naturally created in old 57 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 2: fashioned cultured butter by the friendly lactic acid bacteria that 58 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:38,120 Speaker 2: helps solidify cream into butter. Butter flavor is basically a 59 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 2: tasty byproduct, sort of like with beta carotene. These compounds 60 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,120 Speaker 2: can be naturally derived from farmed bacteria or synthesized in 61 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,800 Speaker 2: a lab. They'll make that butter flavored topping taste almost 62 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 2: like the real thing. The real slap in the face, though, 63 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 2: is that movie theater butter flavored topping has twenty more 64 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 2: calories per tablespoon than real butter. So if you are 65 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 2: a large bucket of plane popcorn is about one thousand 66 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 2: calories with just the flavor call seasoning on it, and 67 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:07,440 Speaker 2: you choose to add a minimum of three tablespoons of 68 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:09,600 Speaker 2: buttery topping, or as much as six if you opt 69 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 2: for a squirt in the middle and a scort on 70 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,880 Speaker 2: the top, the large bucket you gnash on while watching 71 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,400 Speaker 2: the latest blockbuster could be more than two thousand calories. 72 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 2: It definitely means that movie theater popcorn is a treat 73 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 2: everything in moderation. Oh and a side note about diacetyl, 74 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 2: one of those butter flavor compounds. You may have heard 75 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 2: that it causes health problems. That is a real thing, 76 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 2: but the story got sort of sensationalized. Factory workers who 77 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 2: breathe in a whole lot of diacetyl do have an 78 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,960 Speaker 2: increased risk of a particular type of lung disease, and 79 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 2: one guy who was popping two to three bags per 80 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 2: day for a number of years successfully sued a bunch 81 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:51,040 Speaker 2: of microwave popcorn producers after contracting that disease. But there's 82 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 2: no known risk in eating this artificial flavor or in 83 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 2: breathing in the amount you'd realize from popping a bag 84 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 2: of popcorn in your microwave every now and then, And 85 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 2: the Flavor Call brand has come out as being diacetyle free. 86 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 2: Good news for movie theater popcorn. Do watch out for 87 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 2: it as an ingredient in vape liquid. 88 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:18,599 Speaker 1: Though today's episode is based on the article what the 89 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,560 Speaker 1: heck is in Movie theater Popcorn on how Stuffworks dot com, 90 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,839 Speaker 1: written by Kerry tatrou Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio 91 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:27,360 Speaker 1: in partnership with how stuffworks dot com and is produced 92 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: by Tyler Klin. Four more podcasts My Heart Radio, visit 93 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 94 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.