The best popcorn and where to find it?

I’m a popcorn fiend and always have been. A big bowl with plenty of butter & olive oil and salt and I’m happy. I even like the movie popcorn with that fake butter palm-oil laden yellow stuff on it. But it’s tough to find really good popcorn in the supermarket.

I’ve been spoiled since finding white Amish popcorn in the midwest last summer and now it’s almost gone. I’ve grown to hate Orville Redenquacker, and won’t eat that microwave crap. Unfortunately, in order to buy quality popcorn on line one has to spend $12 in postage to have someone ship $3 worth of good corn.

Is there anything out there that is commonly found in markets, or am I doomed to wander in the popcorn diaspora, sobbing gently into a bowl of Jollytime?

Psst. Chefguy. Over here. Yeah, here, behind the buggy.

Dude, I live in Amish country. I can keep you supplied. As far as shipping…four words. Priority Flat Rate boxes. SRSLY.

Everytime I’m in Illinios I stop by the Long Grove Popcorn Shoppe to restock. You can order on-line here and get Amish Country as well as others.

Sullivan Brothers’ Carnival.

Bingo! They only charge $1.60 to ship two pounds of medium white. Perfect.

I know there’s nothing wrong with it per se, but yet buying Amish products over the Internet still feels wrong. :smiley:

I get a poly bag of store brand popcorn (supermarket brand) for around 79¢. Put some olive oil in the bottom of a pot with a lid and a couple of kernels. When they pop, the pot is hot and I add maybe 1/4 or a 1/3 of a cup of kernels. Yeah, it’s the old-fashioned way but it’s cheap and you don’t need special equipment. And it’s good! Nothing artificial. You can even add real melted butter on it or sprinkle it with grated parmesean cheese, chili powder or whatever other seasoning you desire.

Have you tried Trader Joe’s? They have a lot of premium quality foods there, I bet they have some good popcorn.

I’m not sure how else one would make it? The issue for me is not the popping method, but the quality of the corn. Not all popcorn is created equal, and tough popcorn loaded with hulls is not my idea of a fun time.

That’s a good idea, and perhaps Red Mill has some quality stuff. I’ll give it a try. I keep forgetting I’m not in Anchorage any longer.

The best stuff I’ve found is Trail’s End, sold by the Boy Scouts as a fundraiser. But you can only get it certain times of year, and you have to find some scouts selling it (not all troops do).

Actually, I’ve never considered using olive oil. I’d rather the oil didn’t have any flavor that could get between me and the butter.

When I was a kid, we had an electric popcorn popper that was basically a big aluminum pot perched over an electric heating coil. When that gave out we got one of those then-new-fangled hot air poppers because it was so much healthier (as if the main source of fat in popcorn was the small amount of vegetable oil in which it was popped, not the stick of butter we melted and poured on top). Popcorn was never quite the same.

Once my mom caught me popping corn in a pan with a lid and freaked, as if I was committing a sin against god and man (and no, it was not some rare and delicate piece of cookware).

I’ve used both olive and other vegetable oils. Peanut works very nicely. I don’t mind olive oil, as I like to mix my butter with it for a topper. I used to pop it in my mother’s pressure cooker, which gave her fits. Gets done in a hurry!

I find olive oil just doesn’t get hot enough to pop corn well. I use canola, and then add olive oil and butter (about 50/50) for flavor.

You just have to use caution, as olive may smoke. I do a lot o’ shakin’ above the burner, with occasional touchdown to reheat the pan. It really is much simpler to use canola or something, though.

I never had a problem with olive oil smoking. I understand though it has a lower smoking point than some other oils so if someone follows my lead, they should watch out for that.

Someone else already mentioned electric poppers and air poppers so I won’t answer your comment about what else to use other than a pot. There are, of course, packages made for the microwave with all kinds of artifical stuff in them to make the corn pop. I’m pretty much a basic type of cook. I don’t even own a microwave.:wink:

I have no popcorn in my pantry right now so I have to wait to have some until my next shopping day. Shucks.

What don’t you like about Orville Redenbacher?

That’s okay; it’s delivered by horse and buggy.

Okay, I’ll pimp a site. Get this popper, it will allow you to make all kinds of different popcorn including kettlecorn easily at home. I like the cinnamon popcorn made with Redhots. Also, their line of different popcorn is wonderful. http://www.popcornpopper.com/

It pops very well, but it’s kinda tough and tasteless.