Popcorn

so we move on to a snack I have enjoyed for my life. It came up since I paid the local cub scout $10 for a tub of kernels.

microwave popcorn?

special pan to make stove top popcorn?

Pan you make camping or in your fireplace?

the old style spinner maker where the top becomes the bowl? (I saw this for $49.95 at the store)

I don't have a microwave so my popcorn making is seriously inhibited. ...which is too bad because the new 'kettle corn' (and light version) are incredibly good.

My grandparents gave my dad one of those big industrial popcorn makers for his birthday about 10 years back. Coolest present ever.

My grandfather, dad, and I a ll popcorn-holics

I have made it on my cast iron 10" pan with a cover. Tiny bit of oil and spoon of water once warm to promote steam. Keep shaking it so that it won't burn. Once popoing stops remove those that have popped and continue with the rest back on the heat. I like it when it browns a little. Ad a little salt afterwards, a bit of black pepper or cayenne is nice too.

Alton Brown has a better method for stove top; http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-popcorn-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons peanut oil
* 3 ounces popcorn kernels, approximately 1/2 cup
* 1/2 teaspoon popcorn salt
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

Place the oil, popcorn and salt in a large, 6-quart, metal mixing bowl. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and poke 10 slits in the top with a knife.

Place the bowl over medium heat and shake constantly using a pair of tongs to hold the bowl. Continue shaking until the popcorn finishes popping, approximately 3 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the heat and carefully remove the foil. Stir in any salt that is on the side of the bowl.

Melt the butter in the microwave. Slowly drizzle over the popcorn, while spinning the bowl. Serve immediately.

Enjoy

When I was 14-17 years old, I worked the concessions stand at the local one screen theater. We had an old half broke down Cretors popcorn popper. They are the best poppers ever and are quite expensive if you can find one. Our popcorn was anything but healthy. We bought the corn in 50 lb bags. The grease was coconut oil I suspect. We didn't have melted butter to add on so we just doubled the oil into the cooker. A good dose of salt afterward and you were good to go. We got bought by a chain toward the end of my tenure. The officers would always brag about our popcorn. We were the only theater that still popped corn on-site. The experience has almost ruined me for eating popcorn now. Nothing is as good.

pete240z wrote: Pan you make camping or in your fireplace?

I have that, and we use it in the driveway over a grill with wood fire in it.

spitfirebill wrote: The grease was coconut oil I suspect. We didn't have melted butter to add on so we just doubled the oil into the cooker.

Mmmm... Genuine-imitation-butter-flavored-lard-like-substance! Yummy!

Salanis wrote:

spitfirebill wrote: The grease was coconut oil I suspect. We didn't have melted butter to add on so we just doubled the oil into the cooker.

Mmmm... Genuine-imitation-butter-flavored-lard-like-substance! Yummy!

It came is a five gallon metal pail and was congealed. We had to scoop it out. It would melt when we put it into the storage container in the machine.

I have heard that concession stand 'coating' referred to as 'axle grease'. I'm not real big on popcorn because I hate getting the shell bits between my tooth and gum, when I do eat it it's usually the Orville Redenbacher natural stuff because that's what the wife and kid like.

Orville Redenbacher in an air popper FTW!!! No unpopped kernels and the dogs love it when a stray piece comes shooting over the top of the bowl to the waiting crowd on the floor below. After it's all popped I pour melted butter over top and salt it up! YUMMM!

At work I only have a microwave so I just throw the fake butter microwave popcorn in there. Not near as good as home, but sometimes I just need a fix!

Air poppers are the devil's tool.

I also come from a family of hardcore popaholics. My dad (Pop?) made it his mission in life to find the perfect popcorn popper, and I remember a string of Christmas messiah-level gifts that went out in the trash by New Year's. (Most memorable was the Hamilton Beach flip-top popper. The words "Hamilton Beach" meant E36 M3 in my family for years afterward.) He always went back to his old-school 2-piece popper.

Until the microwave. I swear, the first time Dad popped corn in a microwave, we heard that heavens-parting/angels-singing noise. (You know... the musical whaaa-aaah?) He never went back.

After my folks died, my siblings and I split everything up very amicably. The only tense moment was when it came time to decide who got Dad's popcorn bowl. (My middle brother has it, and it gives me joy to think of him using it.)

Margie

wait till you get an infection in your gums from a popcron shell being stuck down inbetween your gums and teeth. other than that, its great

Waterpik is the answer to all your stuck kernal woes, my friend.

Margie, what was the issue with the poppers that your family tried? Ours looks like this, I can't imagine they're all that different... LOL

We have an electric oil popper, it kinda looks like a small wok with a big plastic bowl over it. 1/2 cup oil with one cup popcorn and about 10 minutes later MMmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!

kinda like this but older.

ECM: Yup, that's an air popper. Popcorn's too dry and chewy.

BB: You're describing the evil Hamilton Beach to a tee. Though to be honest, I never did understand what my Dad's beef was with it.

Margie

we're on our second west-bend "stir crazy" popper - we burned out the first one. It's the closest. relatively cheap popper that resembles a theater style popper. It's a pain to clean though...

Fresh popping corn + good "butter salt" + coconut oil = better than what you get at the theater - likely due to the high sodium and saturated fat content.

It's not as good without coconut oil - that orange glop rules.

The thing I have found that makes a huge difference with the dry/chewy factor is I have a Foodsaver vaccum-seal appliance that I use to suck the air out of the popcorn storage container. That works really really well at keeping the popcorn from "going stale". I never noticed the stale popcorn syndrome with the traditional popping method, but we would not have popcorn as often if we still used the old method to pop it. The air popper is so fast and easy, and I'm a slacker!

Man, I'm going to have to throw a bag in the microwave here pretty soon...

Man, I had an old air popper for years that worked great (outside of the butter melting tray was always useless) After the girlfriend moved in and began dismantling and organizing my man kitchen (here's the can opener, here's the fork, here's the napkin, under there is the plate) she decides that my old air popper is ugly and needs to go away. Besides microwave popcorn is faster, though it doesn't make as much popcorn.

So instead of getting rid of the air popper, I put it away overhead along with my dad's milkshake maker (lots of good memories with that) Fast forward a year or so and the girlfriend's sister is asking if we have a popcorn popper that she can use to make popcorn balls for some party. I give her "ours" (after getting the "look" from the girlfriend) shortly after that, the sister brings the popper back and states that mine worked so well that she bought a newer version of it. However, it didn't work anywhere near as good as mine did so she returned it. So I let her keep "ours" after I explained, rather loudly, that sometimes newer isn't always better. I still get crap about burning popcorn in the microwave (it really is a horrible smell) and I respond with well you didn't want me to keep MY popper, which never burned the popcorn.

Sometimes I really am a glutton for punishment it seems.

Was going to post about our Stir Crazy but I've been beat to it.

http://www.amazon.com/West-Bend-6-Quart-Popcorn-Popper/dp/B00004RC6R/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1226091180&sr=8-2

+1 for the Stir Crazy.

I've got a stir-crazy. Only use it twice a year cause it takes forever to clean. Paying more for the orvillereddenbacher stuff that comes with a little packet of butter you pour on top is totally worth it.

Some links for the popcorn fiends:

http://www.popcornpopper.com/

http://www.slate.com/id/2187044/

The Presto is the closest to the one I had growing up as well.

I had a Detonator--my folks got one for each of us kids one Christmas years ago. Made good popcorn, but you know, it had to be cleaned afterward and the micro bags just go in the trash. The latter somehow seems sooo much snackier.

Margie

+2, 3 or wherever we are for the stir crazy

Wife and I are popcorn junkies and have gone through alot of methods (I hate microwave popcorn) to come to a real good process.

Stir crazy with Naks Pop coconut oil (comes in sticks like butter) and Flavacol butter salt

Brand of popcorn varies on what we can get...there was a local brand at the supermarket that was some of the best Ive had but sadly when the place changed ownership they stopped carrying it.

If you are looking for naks pop or flavacol you can get it at http://www.popcornsupply.com

Ive probably got enough flavacol to last a lifetime due to an ordering snafu ;)

Anyone ever add shredded cheese to their popcorn?

I have and it works for something different than the usual salt and butter routine.

air popped + butter and Frank's hot sauce

I know. After going on about the stir crazy...

We have an air popper too, and we buy microwave popcorn.

belteshazzar said:Paying more for the orvillereddenbacher stuff that comes with a little packet of butter you pour on top is totally worth it.

Orville's ultimate? I haven't seen that stuff in The Falls in a while. The cheddar flavor is great in an oily/cheezy way. It makes smart food taste like styrofoam packing peanuts.