microwaveable corn heating pads

[webmaker]

I was wondering if anyone had made a corn filled microwaveable heating
pad? I was wondering what is special about the corn? How does it not
pop in the microwave? Do I have to order from someplace, or just "do"
something to the corn to make it not popable.
Thanks,
Lisa

[Jenn Ridley]

Post by webmaker
I was wondering if anyone had made a corn filled microwaveable heating
pad? I was wondering what is special about the corn? How does it not
pop in the microwave? Do I have to order from someplace, or just "do"
something to the corn to make it not popable.

They don't use popcorn, for one reason.

They use field corn, dried so there's not much moisture in it, and
sometimes cracked already. You could use dried sweet corn, if you
wanted.

The reason popcorn pops the way it does is that it has a very
tough/hard outer hull, and it's not dried for storage. When the
moisture inside the hull expands it 'pops' the hull and turns the
kernel inside out. Dry popcorn doesn't pop very well, so popcorn has
a much higher moisture content than other corn (except for fresh
sweetcorn, which isn't dried at all).



--
Jenn Ridley : ***@chartermi.net

[joy beeson]

On 18 Jan 2006 11:45:04 -0800, "webmaker"

Post by webmaker
I was wondering if anyone had made a corn filled microwaveable heating
pad? I was wondering what is special about the corn? How does it not
pop in the microwave?

I made a corn-filled heating pad because corn was what I had
available. This is probably what's special about the corn!

Post by webmaker
Do I have to order from someplace,

Nope. If no other starchy seed is handy, go to the grocery
and buy the cheapest brand of white rice. It works just
fine, and the small seeds make a rice bag feel softer than a
corn bag.

Post by webmaker
or just "do"
something to the corn to make it not popable.

The corn I used was too stale to pop, which I verified by
microwaving a sample before making the bag.

When (years later) I dumped the corn into a strainer so I
could sift the dust out and wash the cover, I found that
three or four of the kernels had sorta half-popped, and
picked them out before putting the sifted corn back into the
newly-washed cover. Since half-popped "corn nuts" appear
to have been made of field corn, I don't think buying field
corn would have prevented this. And the damaged kernels
didn't hurt anything anyway.

Most field corn has sharp corners from being packed tightly
together on the cob, and field corn is much larger than
popcorn, so I think I'd have bought rice if I'd had a bag of
unwanted field corn instead of the stale popcorn.

I have seen microwave bags filled with cracked corn, which
is readily available as scratch feed for chickens, who can't
swallow the large kernels whole.

If you have your heart set on corn, go to a suburban "farm"
store or a large-pet store, where you'll find corn sold for
feeding squirrels and horses. Corn must be picked by hand
if you want it still on the cob, so buy horse corn rather
than squirrel corn if you can find it sold by the pound. If
you buy the expensive squirrel corn, you can shell it by
using one ear as a tool to rub the kernels off the other
ear. This is tedious work even if you have done it before
-- but field corn is easier to shell than popcorn, because
the kernels are large and have square corners.

Joy Beeson

[craftydragon1951]

My sister-in-law's sister makes them using dried beans. That would
solve the corn problem. She gave me one and it works fine.

[Andy Dingley]

Post by webmaker
I was wondering if anyone had made a corn filled microwaveable heating
pad?

Friend of mine has used one for a very long time. Last time she used it
she ended up in hospital having skin grafts on the resultant burns.
Owing to back problems she has very little sensation and simply didn't
feel how hot it was, or how much injury it was causing. Nasty.

Now obviously this situation occurs very rarely - but be careful with
these "wheat bags" - they clearly have the potential to be far too hot,
if you're not careful enough when heating them and using them.

[Moomer]

Hey, I made several, and used Deer Corn, which I bought at Wally World.
Advised only 3 minutes on high power. Moomer

[Jane Kay]

Use cracked dry corn- not the whole kind. Most people use rice. Don't
overheat either or you can start a fire.

Post by webmaker
I was wondering if anyone had made a corn filled microwaveable heating
pad? I was wondering what is special about the corn? How does it not
pop in the microwave? Do I have to order from someplace, or just "do"
something to the corn to make it not popable.
Thanks,
Lisa