Around the early 1700's some pioneering farmer got the idea to mix hog lard and an available sweetner (perhaps molasses or honey) with corn kernels in a large cast iron kettle. The kettle was placed over an open fire and stirred with a large wooden paddle. Everyone must have enjoyed watching and listening to all that popping, as long as you weren't the one who had to take that darned hot kettle off the fire. Could be that watching the kettle coming off the fire made for some exciting times too. This original kettle corn was considered a real treat after a hard day of farming or rendering lard from hogs. Well, some things do change... the lard was replaced by soybean oil, the sweetner was changed to sugar and the wood was replaced by propane. Even the popcorn is now a higher grade. However, some things do remain the same... after a long hard day of work you can still enjoy the delicious flavor of Ray's Kettle Korn... without the inconvenience of dealing with an open fire and having to handle a hot heavy kettle.