Popcorn

In this short food related post, I wanted to quickly go through my experience with one of my favourite savoury treats: popcorn!

Why Popcorn?

Growing up, popcorn was something I would only eat at the cinema or very rarely have a bag of microwavable popcorn for a movie night at home. I’ve always enjoyed savoury snacks and treats, and while getting popcorn stuck in my teeth is a pain to clean, the taste and texture is just something really appealing to me. Potato crisps can feel dense, and I think popcorn is healthier to eat!

Popping The Corn

When I was a teenager, I tried to cheaply make popcorn using kernels and oil in a hot pot over the stove, but the outcome was awful. I would often burn significant parts of the popcorn as well as somehow have too much oil in there and have it come out greasy.

In my twenties though, I came across a (similar to this linked) silicone popper bowl which purported a near perfect way to pop corn in the microwave. It worked really well, I put in the recommended amount of kernels, spritzed some spray oil in, added salt, gave it a shake, and then put it in the microwave running for a few minutes. Out came wonderfully popped corn, with no oily grease over them or burned!

I used this methods for a few years, though I had two during this period as over time, the bowl would start to discolour and it eventually split at the top. It was while I was in the process of possibility getting a third one, I spotted a machine popcorn maker in the local supermarket. It was small and didn’t look very good, but it made me consider the option of improving my process of popping corn. I looked online, but struggled to find a machine I liked, usually because they would not pop enough corn - I like eating large bowls of the stuff!

However, I then found machine similar to this, where the kernels rotate on a heated plate to prevent burning. It also needed minimal oil, so it wouldn’t get too greedy and oily, and it served more popcorn than the silicone bowl did! The one I purchased was on a great discounted sale, and, considering how often I use it, usually at least once a week, I think it was really worthwhile. I have yet to burn the popcorn, it is easy to empty and clean, and it tastes great!

Flavourings

After I add my kernels and oil to the machine, I add a bit of table salt as well as freshly cracked black pepper. The choice of table salt is because I heard finer salt is better for these machines, whereas cracked black pepper creates a lovely spicy and heat that is more potent than in already grounded versions.

Once popped, I add a sprinkling of nutritional yeast to add a nice nutty and savoury taste, paprika for a tiny bit of punch, and both garlic and onion powder as I love those flavours and think they go great with the popcorn. As such, I’m not going for a super buttery or sweet type of popcorn, though I do know someone who adds just salt prior to the popping process, and then adds a sprinkling of powdered sugar afterwards, tossing the popcorn in a big bowl to help ensure good coverage. It is important to add the toppings as soon as possible after the popping has stopped as I have found they “adhesive” to the popped corn better.