White Popcorn

The second most popular variety for popcorn kernels is known as White seeds. Most white popcorn kernels are smaller than the yellow variety. These have small elongated seeds with pointed ends which resemble rice.

It may also be referred to as rice popcorn because of this. White popcorn kernels are able to produce both butterfly and mushroom shaped puffs depending on the variety. Flakes from this kernel are usually light and fluffy.

Our Recommendation White Popcorn

Given the difficulty of finding Japanese Hulless seeds, Just Poppin' offers a great alternative with their Tender Pop Hulless Popcorn Kernels. These small white seeds pop up into flakes that are larger than other small white popcorn types. It has a naturally sweet flavor that is pleasant. Best of all, it has very few hulls.


For a Baby White hulless variety, Wabash Valley Farms Amish Country Gourmet Popping Corn, Baby White is a good pick. This also comes close to the heirloom Japanese variety, although it is of a different type. It is tender and sweet without many hulls in it. It works very well on a stove top, but does not pop as well with an air popper since the seeds are small and light.


Fireworks offer a Wisconsin White Birch Popcorn type with their Fireworks Popcorn. These small sized kernels pop into a tender and crispy flake that has a deliciously mild flavor. Popcorn made from this is larger than the usual small whites.



A white variety that has medium sized kernels is Medium White Amish Country Popcorn. This is a favorite among many since it is the same as baby whites, except with bigger kernels. That means bigger popcorn and less kernels to be cooked. It has the same sweet mild flavor and fewer hulls as well.

More On White Popcorn

Like yellow kernels, white popcorn seeds are high in fiber and low in calories. When air popped and eaten without any seasoning, it can make good diet food. In terms of flavor it has a natural sweetness to it. Due to the small size, these also tend to be more tender.

The most common and perhaps the most popular of all white kernel varieties is the Japanese Hulless Popcorn. Considered heirloom type, it is one of the oldest varieties around. Similar to this is the Baby White, which is also small and hulless. Another heirloom hulless type is the Wisconsin White Birch. A larger type of white popcorn seed is the Medium white.