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The Popcorn Thread

21039 Views 79 Replies 19 Participants Last post by  Bob in St. Louis
I looked for an existing thread about popcorn, and much to my surprise, there isn't one (that I could find).
So....
What's more natural than eating popcorn while we watch movies, right?

So what's your secret? Everything from nuked popcorn to "regular" popcorn. How about some fancy popcorn?
Are there any "popcorn-o-philes" out there? What do you get and where do you get it. How about fancy salts and flavorings?

In a pinch (when we're particularly lazy), we'll use microwave "Pop Secret" brand. Most of the time it's their standard flavor, but occasionally we find the "Movie Theater Butter Explosion" type in the store, but that's pretty greasy.

90% of the time we buy the bulk (no name) stuff in the store and pop it in a Presto brand popper (pictured below).
The unit works great and pops the vast majority of the kernels, but can be a little messy. If you use real butter in the upper chamber, it has to be brought down to room temp, because the unit doesn't get hot enough up there to melt butter that's fresh from the fridge. For a hungry family of four, the unit produces just the right amount of popcorn.

As far as flavorings are concerned, we use a powdered white cheddar cheese from a shaker (Kernals Season's brand), and a salt called 'Salt-o-Riffic' (Jolly Time brand).

Ok...that's our secret. How 'bout you?

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Flavocol will be my next purchase I've been looking to try something new.
Check Amazon for prices! :bigsmile:
I recently bought the Sur La Table Non-Stick Mesh Popcorn Grill Popper on clearance, for only$6:

http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-1356575/Nonstick+Mesh+Popcorn+Grill+Pan

It looked like an interesting gadget, and figured I'd try it for the bargain price. You toss the popcorn in the popper, and hold it over coals or a fire until the corn pops. I tried it on a charcoal grill a few weeks ago. It takes a few minutes for the corn to heat up to the point of popping, and I had to hold it really close to the heat for it to work. Once they start popping, the wonderful aroma of grilled corn starts to fill the air.

Once it's all popped, you just pour it into a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Kind of a fun experiment.

The final result was disappointing, though. The resulting kernels were on the small side, with lots of old maids. This could be a result of my fire not being hot enough. The bigger letdown was the flavor, though. If you like the taste and texture of hot-air popcorn, you may not mind it, but to me it was too reminiscent of those bland air-popped packing style peanuts. Kind of lifeless.

Since there's no oil involved, even the salt doesn't want to stick to it, so that doesn't help either.

As a novelty item, it's fairly interesting, but not practical for true popcorn aficionado. I'll probably end up using it more for grilling vegetables, shrimp, or other small items. I do want to try grilling corn with it, but frozen (thawed) sweet corn. That's right, sweet corn already off the cob, but with that great grilled flavor. Sounds crazy, but it just might work, and it would be faster and easier than grilling cobs and then cutting off the kernels.

Scott
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"Bump"

For $15, I bought an 8 pack of assorted seasonings.
Here's the Amazon link

And here's what I've amassed for flavors to date.
(That Flavacol is still amazing!)

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Ordered some Flavacol last night can't wait to try it out!!!!
Good deal, let us know! What kind of popper do you have?
Metropolitan 6oz popper! I absolutely love it
Ok, cool. On that machine, I would recommend adding the Flavocol directly to the uncooked kernels, not sprinkled on afterwards.
Ok, cool. On that machine, I would recommend adding the Flavocol directly to the uncooked kernels, not sprinkled on afterwards.
Thank you for that recommendation, I wasn't sure how to do it.
Lou Ray enters (let the laughing begin)
I once tried several "boutique" varieties advertised at local farm market.
They popped up just fine in a pan with oil, but they did not taste impressive.
Lou Ray leaves (laughter increases).

Sent from my iPad using HTShack
Flavacol was a game changer for popcorn. It's not overwhelming at all. Thanks for the recommendation. The wife approved as well, she went for seconds which never happens
A couple years ago I looked into the finer points of cooking popcorn.
Coconut oil, Flavacol, and medium-high heat turned our humble Whirly-Pop and generic yellow popcorn into a treat I am truly proud of.
I was not to keen on putting the seasoning in the Whirly-Pop initially but it works like a champ.
The coconut oil also makes cleaning the cooker incredibly easy.
What a great thread. Wish I had something to add... Sure do love eating the stuff! One of my favorite foods.

Hmmm.... Popcorn pizza.

Bet that's never been tried!
We like Orville Redenbacher gourmet popped in coconut oil and topped with Spike seasoning.
Alright guys quick question for you!! I ran out of oil and I'm really wanting popcorn but don't want to run to store can I substitute it for all vegetable shortening and if so how much should I use to make 3/4 of a cup of kernels? I normally use 1/4 cup of oil
Yes, you can use shortening. I've never tried it, but I know my way around a kitchen and you should be able to substitute that for oil.
Might use a touch less though. A quarter cup is a lot regardless of what kind you're using.
Let it melt before you put the kernels in.

Let us know how it goes. :T
Well I found a bottle of coconut oil my wife had and I'm by no means a coconut fan but when the mind wants popcorn I'll do what needs to happen lol. Now all I can do is smell coconut and I hate it but the popcorn taste quite nice. It actually might be the best batch I've ever made
Yip, I hate coconuts too, but the oil is amazing. I buy it in 9# cans just for popcorn.
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