I know you’re just asking for my two-cents worth.
Since I’ve already written a dolar’s worth in two different threads, I’ll just link you to those.
You can click on the little inverse arrows [>] and jump to the posts for direct reading – complete with the original typographical errors! :dubious:
And, to those who are familiar with how disgustingly verbose I can be…
You’re welcome!
–G!
Are you referring to quality or availability? Woodman’s seems to have a ridiculous assortment of most products and I see it’s available on Amazon.
I had one of those…cant remember why I had to get rid of it
The Stir Crazy style traps in to much steam and makes for chewy popcorn. If you use that kind pull the little lid off about half way through, as soon as the popcorn really takes off popping.
I use plain canning salt, instead of regular salt, or paying extra for popcorn salt. Works great!
I’ve got an old dutch oven pot that I use only for popcorn.
As for movie theater popcorn, I used to work at a theater and yes, our popcorn was unknown days or weeks old. It came in huge plastic bags probably four feet tall and two to three feet diameter, which made them challenging to get out of the room (upstairs, next to the projection booth) where they were stored. When I got to a movie and get popcorn, I look at it almost like a different kind of snack entirely, drenched in “butter” and plenty of salt. At home, I normally just use some salt and no butter.
I use a hot air popper that’s about 30 years old. It’s a Sears model (just a re-labeled Presto, I believe).
I bought a container of the Black Jewell recently. Never again. There were 20-30 leftover kernels that had the hull split only slightly. Another problem is that I use a hot air popper, and the kernels are smaller than the standard brands, so a similar number of kernels are ejected before the actual popping starts (I put the kernels back into the popper).
I thought that the slightly popped kernels might have been due to the hot air popper, so I tried a batch popped on the stove with olive oil (the only oil I have on hand). There was no difference.
I will stick with Signature (the Jewel store brand) white popcorn. I usually get only 2 or 3 unpopped kernels.
Kosher salt is my fav.
Quality. Distance from the source, stocking policies at stores and all that.
I wonder if it was just old? Try this next time you have popcorn that’s not popping well: put it in a Ziplock bag and add some water. Seal the bag, swish it around, and leave it for an hour or so for the popcorn to absorb the water. Then, spread it out on a cookie sheet or something to dry. When it’s dry, put it back in a jar or some other dry container; don’t put it away wet or it’ll get moldy.
Reason: Popcorn pops due to water. There’s a tiny amount of water in the kernel, which turns to steam when heated, which makes the kernel explode. If the popcorn fully dries out, there’s no water to make it pop. Old popcorn can sometimes be “revived” by letting it absorb some water; you just don’t want it to be wet on the surface when you store it.
Well, that just saved me some typing since that is exactly how I do it.
I also have access to local popcorn but for everyday use Orville is fine for me. Coconut oil is the best but peanut oil is next.
I melt a stick of butter while the corn is popping. Dump the popped corn into a bowl that I have that spins (wasn’t designed to, just the way the bottom is), give it a good spin and drizzle the butter on top. A bit of popcorn salt, toss and I’m a happy guy.
I like it because while I’m shaking the wok on the stovetop, it reminds me of making Jiffy Pop.
I just had some popcorn, after seeing this thread. New pot, new stove - so I burnt the first batch. The second batch turned out very well.
Some notes and reiterations:
Follow the links in my previous thread. Really.
The keys to fluffy popcorn with minimal Old Maids (those stubborn kernels that just refuse to pop) are constant motion and high heat.
a) The professional high-capacity poppers I used at The Corn Popper and at the movie theater kept the corn kernels constantly moving with a stiff wire (about half the thickness of an average kernel) rotating on the bottom of the kettle. The rotation was achieved with a motor that was mounted (along with heating elements) underneath the kettle. The WhirlyPop and similar poppers made for home use tend to require a person to use elbow-grease to keep the wire rotating; the heat is supplied by the stove top. Shaking a pan/wok/kettle back-and-forth actually delivers less constant motion because there’s always those microsecond pauses between the push and the pull stroke. I suppose it might be feasible to use a constant (clockwise or counterclockwise) swirling motion; I’ve never tried. I have seen Kettle Korn vendors at Farmers Markets use huge (30+ inches diameter) woks or kettles and stir giant amounts of corn & oil & sugar with wooden oars. Again, they’re using a constant swirling motion to maximize fluffiness.
b) Some have mentioned using olive oil for popping corn. Olive oil is great for taste, but it’s really not the best oil for popping corn because it tends to break down and burn out (turn to smoke) just as it’s getting hot enough to make a good pop. As I’ve suggested in threads about Woks, find a page on the Internet that discusses cooking oils and learn the difference between high heat and great flavor oils. Nut oils (e.g. almond, peanut, coconut) tend to withstand (and redistribute) high heat better and therefore, when surrounding a kernel in more-extreme heat, the water that’s trapped inside the kernel will make a bigger explosion when it is vaporized and breaks through the shell (husk). Bigger explosion means fluffier popped corn. (Spritz the olive oil on for flavor afterward).
The best pop seems to come from the extreme contrast between the super-hot oil and the water inside the kernel*. If you dump your oil and kernels into the pot (kettle/pan/whatever) and let it heat up, you’re letting the water inside the kernels heat up, as well. That produces a very good popcorn and it’s what we did at the theater most of the time simply because we were busy. However, the better method is as described in madmonk28’s post: let a couple kernels sit in the heating oil and listen until they pop. The pop tells you the oil is hot enough to cause the water/oil explosions we want. Once the early kernel(s) tell you the oil is ready, dump the rest of your ration of kernels into the kettle and cover it quickly.# The main batch that you just dumped in will pop very quickly and be very fluffy – even fluffier than a batch that is stirred in oil as it heats up.
So, once you’ve popped your perfect batch of popcorn, how do you keep it so awesome? Most home consumers won’t have a problem finishing off their kitchen-made batch by the time the movie-of-the-week is over. But theaters and gourmet popcorn vendors have too much popped corn for anyone to consume in a night. The trick is similar to potato chips and toast: Don’t let moisture sink back into it. If it does, the product 'tastes stale." The equipment at the movie theaters had heating elements and fans; together they would blow hot air through the storage areas to keep the popped corn crisp… The gourmet popcorn place I worked for had expensive climate controls in the kitchens to keep the air dry and, once a product was flavored-and-canned, the can was covered and sealed with thick plastic tape to prevent any exchange of air.
–G!
Thank you Grestarian for your welcome insights about the finer points of popcornia. I plan to adopt several of your suggestions.
I pop corn in a covered wok using bacon fat. The shape of the wok keeps unpopped corn in the center of the bottom where the heat is, while the popped corn piles up on the sides where it won’t burn.
Did I say I use bacon fat? Use bacon fat.
Does it taste…bacon-ish? (he asked naively)
yes, yes it does…deliciously so.