WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: What's in Movie Theater Popcorn?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel Bomb here with another classic episode for you.

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<v Speaker 1>This one is about one of my favorite food topics

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<v Speaker 1>and one we've talked about in a couple other episodes,

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<v Speaker 1>the flavor of butter, and relatedly, how that nine irresistible

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<v Speaker 1>popcorn sold in movie theaters can taste so buttery while

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<v Speaker 1>containing zero butter. Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's time we talked about movie theater popcorn, that

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<v Speaker 1>salty siren of the cinema. You come without nutrition labels

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<v Speaker 1>and sizes that defy sensibility. We consume you in the dark.

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<v Speaker 1>You're inadvertently vegan and gluten free, but that still doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>mean you're good for us. So what the heck are

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<v Speaker 1>you made of anyway?

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<v Speaker 2>Meat? Movie theater popcorns two main ingredients after poppedcorn, of course,

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<v Speaker 2>flavorcle and butter flavored topping. Let's break those down. Flavocol

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<v Speaker 2>is a proprietary seasoned powder that goes on the corn

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<v Speaker 2>before it's popped. It contains only four ingredients, superfine salt,

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<v Speaker 2>artificial flavor, and two synthetic yellow dyes that help give

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<v Speaker 2>the popcorn its violently yellow, butteryish color. A butter can

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<v Speaker 2>naturally be yellow because of a pigment and vitamin called

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<v Speaker 2>beta carotene that's found in the fresh grass that dairy

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<v Speaker 2>cows are sometimes fed, or butter can be dyed that

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<v Speaker 2>color when cows are fat other things. Flavocol has zero

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<v Speaker 2>calories and zero fat, carbs, and protein, but being mostly salt,

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<v Speaker 2>it packs a wallup in the sodium department. One teaspoon

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<v Speaker 2>contains one hundred and sixteen percent of your recommended daily

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<v Speaker 2>intake of sodium based on the average two thousand calorie

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<v Speaker 2>per day diet, and depending on the recipe and the

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<v Speaker 2>machine being used, you'd get about a third of a

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<v Speaker 2>teaspoon in a small popcorn, So heads up if you're

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<v Speaker 2>monitoring your sodium consumption. Next up that butter flavored topping,

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<v Speaker 2>which is what gets squirted out in pumps if you

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<v Speaker 2>ask for it. Warning betrayal alert. It doesn't have any

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<v Speaker 2>butter in it at all. What it does contain is

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<v Speaker 2>partially hydrogenated soybean oil, which is a trans fat that

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<v Speaker 2>falls into the category of bad fat. These types of

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<v Speaker 2>fats have been linked to heart disease and other cardiovascular problems.

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<v Speaker 2>The topping also has some beta carotene that pigment I

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<v Speaker 2>just mentioned. Beta carotene helps add to the buttery color

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<v Speaker 2>and can, by the way, either be naturally derived from

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<v Speaker 2>plants or made in a lab. That's the difference between

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<v Speaker 2>it being labeled a natural versus an artificial color. The

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<v Speaker 2>topping also has tertiary buttle hydroquinone or TBHQ, which is

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<v Speaker 2>a synthetic preservative that keeps oils from becoming rancid as

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<v Speaker 2>they sit, and polydimethyl silazane or PDMS, which is a

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<v Speaker 2>silicone based chemical that prevents foaming in hot oil. It's

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<v Speaker 2>also been preliminarily shown to help hair cells grow when

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<v Speaker 2>applied topically, but that's a different episode. Don't rub butter

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<v Speaker 2>flavored topping on your scalp. The final ingredient the one

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<v Speaker 2>that gives movie theater popcorn. It's irresistible taste. Buttery flavoring,

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<v Speaker 2>a one hundred percent non dairy mystery chemical that mimics

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<v Speaker 2>the taste of butter. This and the artificial flavoring and

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<v Speaker 2>flavorcoll are industry secrets, but they're probably one of a

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<v Speaker 2>few lab synthesized molecules that taste and smell like butter

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<v Speaker 2>diacetyl acitoin sethyl propianal or similar. Those first two that

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<v Speaker 2>I mentioned are compounds that are naturally created in old

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<v Speaker 2>fashioned cultured butter by the friendly lactic acid bacteria that

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<v Speaker 2>helps solidify cream into butter. Butter flavor is basically a

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<v Speaker 2>tasty byproduct, sort of like with beta carotene. These compounds

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<v Speaker 2>can be naturally derived from farmed bacteria or synthesized in

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<v Speaker 2>a lab. They'll make that butter flavored topping taste almost

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<v Speaker 2>like the real thing. The real slap in the face, though,

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<v Speaker 2>is that movie theater butter flavored topping has twenty more

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<v Speaker 2>calories per tablespoon than real butter. So if you are

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<v Speaker 2>a large bucket of plane popcorn is about one thousand

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<v Speaker 2>calories with just the flavor call seasoning on it, and

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<v Speaker 2>you choose to add a minimum of three tablespoons of

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<v Speaker 2>buttery topping, or as much as six if you opt

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<v Speaker 2>for a squirt in the middle and a scort on

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<v Speaker 2>the top, the large bucket you gnash on while watching

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<v Speaker 2>the latest blockbuster could be more than two thousand calories.

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<v Speaker 2>It definitely means that movie theater popcorn is a treat

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<v Speaker 2>everything in moderation. Oh and a side note about diacetyl,

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<v Speaker 2>one of those butter flavor compounds. You may have heard

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<v Speaker 2>that it causes health problems. That is a real thing,

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<v Speaker 2>but the story got sort of sensationalized. Factory workers who

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<v Speaker 2>breathe in a whole lot of diacetyl do have an

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<v Speaker 2>increased risk of a particular type of lung disease, and

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<v Speaker 2>one guy who was popping two to three bags per

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<v Speaker 2>day for a number of years successfully sued a bunch

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<v Speaker 2>of microwave popcorn producers after contracting that disease. But there's

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<v Speaker 2>no known risk in eating this artificial flavor or in

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<v Speaker 2>breathing in the amount you'd realize from popping a bag

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<v Speaker 2>of popcorn in your microwave every now and then, And

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<v Speaker 2>the Flavor Call brand has come out as being diacetyle free.

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<v Speaker 2>Good news for movie theater popcorn. Do watch out for

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<v Speaker 2>it as an ingredient in vape liquid.

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<v Speaker 1>Though today's episode is based on the article what the

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<v Speaker 1>heck is in Movie theater Popcorn on how Stuffworks dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Kerry tatrou Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio

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<v Speaker 1>in partnership with how stuffworks dot com and is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klin. Four more podcasts My Heart Radio, visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.