That’s pretty much it. I’m considering splurging the twenty bucks on an air-popper. We’ve been using microwaved for years, but I’m tired of the tendency for some of it to come out burned. How do you take your popcorn?
Airpopped, it’s not even a question. Stovepopped is better than microwave and airpopped is better than stovepopped. Microwave popcorn is barely popcorn and I refuse to eat it.
+1
Really? You guys like air-popped? Are you doing something special to it? Because my mom had an air-popper when we were kids, and the popcorn that came out of it tasted like styrofoam packing peanuts.
I like stove-popped, personally, but microwave popcorn will do in an emergency.
Airpopped popcorn has a much lighter texture than microwaved, and I don’t mind eating it all by itself or with a little bit of salt. The really great thing about airpopped in my opinion is that you can melt a tablespoon or so of butter, mix in your favorite herbs and spices and make your own popcorn flavor without all the fakey butter crap that microwave popcorn has. Stovepopped is similar in that the oil from the popping means you don’t even really need to melt butter to get the spices to stick but then you’re eating a bunch of oil with your popcorn and I prefer the flavor of butter.
My favorite popcorn flavor is a tablespoon of melted butter mixed with about a tsp each of cumin and chile powder. Cinnamon and sugar make a good topping as well if you like sweet.
I have the same childhood memory. Air popped is very dry and tasteless.
Yeah, that’s what oil and salt are for.
I have a bowl that is specially designed to make popcorn in the microwave. I think it cost about $10 at Target. I make popcorn in it with just a little bit of oil (to help the salt stick), but you could use whatever you liked or pop it without any oil at all.
Air poppers, because they use no oil, make popcorn that is impossible to season. Packaged microwave popcorn sometimes has a chemical odor (or that overwhelming “butter” smell) that turns my stomach.
Air popped is NASTY! And you don’t need $20 to find it out. There are plenty of $1 air poppers at any given thrift store.
I’m not sure from the OP whether the question is comparing air-popped to packaged microwave popcorn, or to plain paper bag microwave popcorn. If the former, yes - because at least air-popped is unadulterated. If the latter, no, I think plain paper microwave and air-popped are pretty much equivalent.
When I used an air popper, I would use cooking spray in a couple short bursts to give it a really light coating for the salt to stick. Or olive oil spray and sprinkled Parmesan. Now I use a whirly-pop and won’t use anything else. Pre-packaged microwave popcorn is vile and I won’t touch the stuff since I switched to air- and then stovetop-popped about 5 years ago.
Air popped popcorn is good for feeding birds and using as packing material when shipping packages. Melting a stick of butter over it helps some but that makes it no better for you than the chemical-ly flavored microwave popcorn. And yes, I haunt thrift stores and see discarded air poppers in every one of them. The grocery stores sell bags of pre-popped corn, plain or yellow or white cheddar flavor which are kind of tasty.
air popped to me tastes the best, no burnt flavor. i like it dry. easily flavored or oiled using an oil sprayer for whatever degree you like.
I am not familiar with plain paper popping in the microwave. How does one do this? Doesn’t the popcorn require that heating pad that comes with prepackaged microwave popcorn? In the OP, I was asking about air popped vs pre-packaged microwave popcorn. It sounds like air popped may not be for me. I like tasty, flavorful popcorn.
Exactly. Spray-on canola oil, like in the non-stick cooking sprays, comes in “butter flavor”, has almost no calories, and is enough to make salt, cheese or (my favorite) Molly McButter stick to the popcorn just fine.
Those of you complaining that popcorn without any oil or salt tastes bad leave me shaking my head and asking “why the fuck don’t they just tart it up like any other fucking popcorn is tarted up?”
I mean, do you get unsalted popcorn, ever? No, no one eats unsalted popcorn. So why is it that when y’all have used an air popper, you couldn’t figure out how to do something as simple as getting the salt to stick to the popcorn?
Did it honestly never occur to any of you to even try?
Here’s a New York Times (very short!) article on the subject, with directions.
There is nothing special about pre-packaged microwave popcorn bags, aside from the extra salt and the shelf-stabilized hydrogenated oil, that is. Ever take a micro bag apart? There’s nothing extra in there. The “pad” you feel is just - congealed oil - which melts with heat.
Once you start making your own and are no longer acclimated to the taste of the pre-packaged stuff, if you taste it again, you will not like it any more. I don’t know anyone who does, once they start making their own, whether it’s air-popped, micro-popped, or stove-popped.
Wow. Such vehemence! I’ve sprayed and salted like a madwoman, and I still find airpopped bland. Stovetop works for me though.
If you are used to the level of flavor in prepackaged microwave popcorn, you’re probably used to a LOT of buttery oily salty flavor. I can’t imagine that you can approximate the flavor of, say, Theater Extra Butter Mightypop with a spray can of canola and a shaker of Molly McButter. I’ve tried to come close to the White Cheddar Smartpop using similar methods, and haven’t had any luck.
You can make some tasty popcorn using several methods, including the Spray and Sprinkle style, but it’s still going to taste less flavorful than the microwave kind. (Not that this is a bad thing, but it’s different and you have to get used to it.)
Alton Brown had a recipe (“Plain Brown Popper”): 1/4 C. popcorn shaken with 2 tsp. olive oil and 1/4 tsp. of fine salt in a brown lunch bag. Fold over the top (about half an inch) and fasten with two staples. Put in the microwave and let pop 2-3 minutes or until there are 5 seconds between pops.
staples in the microwave?
I use the bowl that goes in the microwave. Any microwave-safe bowl works. The only thing unique about it is the lid has air vents in it. The popcorn is slightly damp when it comes out and popcorn salt sticks to it, and it dries immediately so it’s not soggy. You can add any amount of oil or butter or none at all.
Sadly, I fell victim to this. My dad gave us an air popper several years ago and we started making popcorn every weekend. A little butter, a little salt, very easy and convenient. Then about a year ago I decided to make a concerted effort to lose some weight. One of the things that worked well for me last time was having an afternoon snack of microwave popcorn at work. Only now I don’t like the way it tastes. Curses!