Popcorn question.

[Mr. Tightwad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski Well, that's a huge wager there.

I placed $4000 in baseball bets last year. I like big bets.

I know everyone wants to hear. $1700 on the Cards to win the division, $1700 on the Nat's to win the division, and $600 on the Yankee's to win their division. Made $2000 profit.

[HI Bill]

Whatever you all do, I'd stay away from pre-packaged microwave popcorn. The bags are coated with PFAS chemicals that aren't good for your (similar to what's in Teflon). We use a hot air popper, and the quality and freshness of the popcorn seems to make the most difference!

[Bamaman]

We have it all. Microwave, skillet and air popper.

Whatever, we like to put salted butter on it.

And sometimes we use a yellow popcorn oil when we pop the corn in grease. It does wonders for shredded hash browns with onions--smothered and scattered as the Waffle House calls'em.

[RobbieB]

I've heard (haven't tried it yet) that popcorn popped in bacon fat (saved after cooking the bacon) is magnificent.

One of these days...

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I've heard (haven't tried it yet) that popcorn popped in bacon fat (saved after cooking the bacon) is magnificent. One of these days...

I have a childhood memory of eating popcorn at my Aunts their popcorn was special. My DM told me that was her secret, bacon fat. Mom said in WWII fat was rationed and everyone saved their bacon fat; her sister never quit

[Katsmeow]

I have a Dash hot air popper. It works fine. If you tilt it back slightly while popping you don't have unpopped kernels shooting out.

Anyway, when done I usually spray it with one of the oil sprays (lightly), and sprinkle a light amount of popcorn salt. This sticks better than the usual salt and I only have to use a little.

I like cinnamon sugar so I mix up a little cinnamon sugar (1 part cinnamon to 4 parts sugar -- for 6 cups or so of popcorn I use about 1 tsp of sugar) and sprinkle that on their. This ends up being very low calorie over all and tastes great.

Occasionally for an indulgence I melt 1 T. of Land o Lakes cinnamon sugar butter and put over the popcorn.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I've heard (haven't tried it yet) that popcorn popped in bacon fat (saved after cooking the bacon) is magnificent. One of these days...

I'll have to give that a try. I love popcorn. And bacon... what can I say!

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Tightwad I find very few unpopped kernels in the cheddar cheese Trader Joe bags. I give those to my Yorkshire terriers. The only brand that can beat TJ's is one from Sprouts called Late July. Try it. I stake my ER.org credibility on it.

I'll give it a try, but remember, credibility on here can be fleeting.

[pacergal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB I've heard (haven't tried it yet) that popcorn popped in bacon fat (saved after cooking the bacon) is magnificent. One of these days...

OMG! I had forgotten about this. Its how we fixed popcorn as a kid! Mom had a bacon fat jar in the fridge.

[24601NoMore]

Huge popcorn connoisseurs here. WhirleyPop is the only way to go in our opinion. 2 TBSP Peanut (or other oil..we prefer Peanut's higher temp profile) and 1/2 cup corn. Makes 2 good healthy servings - one for each of us.

If you're not familiar with the WP - it's basically the same mixing action as a theater popcorn machine. There's a metal arm connected to a spinner that you turn with a handle. That mixes the kernels round and round in the pan..and whatever speed you turn the handle. Keeps things moving, which appears to be a main thing needed for awesome popcorn.

We have a gas stove, though I assume electric would work equally well.

We generally dislike Orville (too chewy, too many husks) and found the Whole Foods bulk, multi-colored popcorn (super cheap) to be our favorite. Problem is, we don't go into ANY stores during CV-19 and you can't order it online. So, we pay a LOT more per lb to buy from the WhirleyPop company (aka WabashValleyFarms) for "gourmet" popcorn..and it's really, really good. Maybe not worth the cost of the corn + shipping, but I'd rather it that than Orville or Jolly Time any day of the week.

They have a huge variety of large kernels, small kernels, hulless kernels and more. Worth checking out at popcornpopper.com..

ETA - check out their "Theater Seasoning" which appears to be mostly butter + salt in dried, sprinkable form. 1/4 tsp per 1/2 cup of corn is plenty, though I usually sprinkle a bit more on. No need for butter..

[Doribe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eeyore Why not just microwave the corn, then mix with real butter afterward ? You just need to cover the corn. If you don't have a special pot, put 1/4 cup corn kernels in a glass bowl and cover with a plate. 2 to 5 minutes, depending on MW. Just wait for the popping sounds to stop.

I pop it in a brown paper lunch bag then add my own butter and salt. Sometimes I add something else like nutritional yeast or taco seasonings.

[tuckeverlasting]

I remember as a small child popping corn in my grandmother's fireplace. We used a kind of flat wire basket with a long handle to hold the corn--then would shake it over the coals!

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuckeverlasting I remember as a small child popping corn in my grandmother's fireplace. We used a kind of flat wire basket with a long handle to hold the corn--then would shake it over the coals!

Oh the memories, it was pretty tiring to shake it , and could get hot sitting so close to the fire. We often took turns.
Haven't done it that way for about 20 yrs now..

[KB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 24601NoMore Whole Foods bulk, multi-colored popcorn (super cheap) to be our favorite. .

I buy the Whole Foods multi-colored popcorn also. But the last batch I bought had pantry moth eggs in it, which hatched in the jar I was storing the popcorn in. And got loose in my pantry.

From now on,I will freeze the popcorn for 3 days first. Then put in my pantry.

I always freeze flour for 3 days but never thought to freeze beans or grains. First time I had a pantry moth problem in about twenty years.

[Miarocks]

You’re missing the fact that most people on keto don’t eat popcorn. Have you looked at how many carbs it is? Lol

That being said, I’m on keto and I eat it maybe every 4-6 weeks, usually only at the movie theater... which obviously I haven’t done for a couple of months. It’s probably one of the things I miss the most, besides my IPA’s. 🍺

Good luck on your quest. 🍿

[rayvt]

Either of the two microwave popping bowls already mentioned. I have both, and they both work fine. Orville Redenbacher, always, it is by far the best. Yellow is great, white is crunchier.

1/4 cup popcorn, in the microwave for about 4 minutes. The hard bowl overflows with Orville's, the silicone one is flexible so it doesn't. About the same price, $15-$20, depending if you can find one on sale. Other kinds of popcorn do NOT overflow the hard bowl.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter, mix it into the popped corn in the serving pan. Definitely use the very fine popcorn salt. I bought a 1 quart box of it 13-15 years ago and haven't used it all yet. Just sprinkle it on to taste, after the butter is stirred in.

Coconut oil is very good, we used to always use that when popping on the stove. Not needed if you microwave.

You have to experiment with your microwave, they are all different. We had a Panasonic that always burned the popcorn. Finally replaced it with a LG that cooks it perfectly.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KB I buy the Whole Foods multi-colored popcorn also. But the last batch I bought had pantry moth eggs in it, which hatched in the jar I was storing the popcorn in. And got loose in my pantry. From now on,I will freeze the popcorn for 3 days first. Then put in my pantry. I always freeze flour for 3 days but never thought to freeze beans or grains. First time I had a pantry moth problem in about twenty years.

Thanks..
I never thought of this, and looking it up on the internet, it's pretty disgusting and seems like some trouble once they get in the house.

Now I have to find some room in my freezer as we just got 20lbs of flour !!

[papaof2]

We use Snappy brand white popcorn (comes in a 4lb plastic jar) and pop it using canola oil in a "stirrer-in-the-handle" popcorn pan from lehmans.com, We use butter with Flavacol movie popcorn seasoning (only takes a little and it's available on Amazon, Ebay, etc, etc) to get that "movie theater" taste.

You can also find a wide selection of popcorn at lehmans.com.

Popping in a pan/pot is something of an art and using the proper heat level is important. Don't get in a hurry and turn the heat up to max - there's a proper skillet temperature for popping popcorn.

From: https://www.jollytime.com/recipe/hom...ovetop-popcorn

The best popping temperature is between 400 and 460 degrees Fahrenheit. These people should know what works best for their product.

From: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...rfect-popcorn/

Two French engineers did lab tests that indicate the proper temperature is 180C (356F). Read the full article for details.

========

Unless you're using the same pot and heat source as one of the references is, your results will vary but you at least have a ballpark figure of somewhere between 350F and 460F for the popping vessel temperature ;-)

Get an infrared thermometer (maybe $20 at Harbor Freight or Walmart) and do your own testing. See how long it takes to get your amount of cooking oil up to that temperature and what heat setting can maintain that temperature with the kernels in the oil. Then make small adjustments to find which temperature works best for you.

Good popcorn works well in a hot air popper IF you load it correctly - almost never more than the recommended amount and sometimes a bit less. That will also vary a bit with your AC line voltage as differences in the voltage applied to the heater make a difference in how hot the air stream is so you may need to experiment with the amount of kernels. Properly done, hot air popped corn can be light and crisp.

We've used both hot air and stove top poppers. Hot air popping is fine for convenience and minimum cleanup but I've decided that I prefer the flavor and texture that oil popping gives. YMMV.

[Tiger8693]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Time2 We have mostly ate Microwave popcorn, but I went on a Keto diet and...

....can now only eat a handful and not break out of ketosis.

I responded to some of the weight loss and keto threads a while back. I had significant benefits (Pre type 2 a1c level dropped to normal) and dropped from close to 200lbs to just under 150lbs. Since quarantine, I have added SOME carbs in (I don't know why, comfort food maybe?), but have already gained 10-15lbs over 2 months. I have now decided to go back to hardcore keto. Popcorn always threw me over the 20 carbs level and impact showed on my keto sticks. Something to think about.

[GreenEggs]

We prefer white popcorn over yellow too. I've become an ace at popping corn in a common Revere Ware pot on the stovetop, gas or electric doesn't make a difference to me. I vent the lid a bit while popping to let moisture escape which seems to make drier & fluffier corn. I've learned to pop & pour to fill large serving bowls from a regular size pan, instead of making multiple batches. I get almost 100% popped kernels, and haven't scorched a batch in years.

Our favorite seasoning is to spray with Bragg's Amino Acids (like soy sauce) and sprinkle with nutritional yeast (same as brewers yeast) which is similar to parmesan cheese. The Bragg's is a little salty & since it's a liquid it helps the yeast stick. I spritz the Bragg's & sprinkle the yeast, then stir the corn and apply a second dose of each. Healthy & very yummy.