Okay, I'm a known anti-Microwave Popcorn guy. I prefer to pop on the stove top and season the corn myself. My question is this; How can I get that buttery flavor without melting butter and sogging down the corn? You know how movie popcorn has sort of a pre-buttered flavor? I want that, but I can't figure out how to do it. I tried to add some butter to the oil and must have burt it because it tasted like feet. Any tips (Snorton) would be greatly appreciated since I am a popcorn whore. :shock:
They make a buttery-flavored popcorn oil that works pretty well. Use a lot of it, more than you would with regular oil.
from the article i'm posting below, one way would be to melt some butter and put it in a large freezer bag first while the popcorn is popping. then take the popcorn and put it in the freezer bag with butter and kind of do a "shake and bake" toss inside the bag to evenly coat the popcorn (when you pour it, the butter concentrates on too few kernals at once causing the sogginess). now another way is to get some quality spray butter (they have this in the grocery store) and spray the popped corn (do a series of light mists or it will get soggy just as if you poured it.).....toss with your hand to coat and maybe spray on a little bit more.....again so you aren't concentrating too much butter on such a small area like when pouring. hope this helps.....now onto the history of popcorn and they have some coating tips with other toppings that may give you some additional ideas: (one more thing. i'm not 100% sure but looking at the coloration of the butter being used in movie theaters it could be clarified (separated) butter which would be a little easier on the kernels). Popcorn makes a good snack all jazzed up or even plain...... Nothing quite satisfies like a bowl of piping hot popcorn. It's also pretty healthy. Popped without oil it's about 27 calories a cup. Using a little oil will bring it up to about 41 calories a cup. And thankfully, there are a number of ways to spice it up without adding calories and fat. Then again, there are some awfully tasty ways to eat popcorn that make it less healthful but oh so delicious. If you're enticed to return to the stovetop, here's a little refresher. Heat a 3-quart, covered saucepan over high heat for 2 minutes; pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil into the pan, adding more if needed to cover the bottom; lower heat to medium-high and add 3 to 4 kernels of corn. When they pop, add 1/2 cup popcorn, cover and shake pan continuously. Just like with microwave popcorn, listen. When you hear the popping slow or stop, it's ready. You should have about 10 cups. One of the best oils to use is canola, since it's lowest in saturated fat and imparts no flavor. But you can also use olive oil (not extra-virgin), corn, peanut, macadamia and some flavored oils. One of the best ways to season popped corn is to put it in a brown paper bag while still hot. Add the seasonings of your choice and shake. Popcorn History Popcorn was very popular from the 1890s until the Great Depression. Street vendors used to follow crowds around, pushing steam or gas-powered poppers through fairs, parks and expositions. During the Depression, popcorn at 5 or 10 cents a bag was one of the few luxuries down-and-out families could afford. While other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived. An Oklahoma banker who went broke when his bank failed bought a popcorn machine and started a business in a small store near a theater. After a couple years, his popcorn business made enough money to buy back three of the farms he'd lost. During World War II, sugar was sent overseas for U.S. troops, which meant there wasn't much sugar left in the States to make candy. Thanks to this unusual situation, Americans ate three times as much popcorn as usual. Popcorn went into a slump during the early 1950s, when television became popular. Attendance at movie theaters dropped and, with it, popcorn consumption. When the public began eating popcorn at home, the new relationship between television and popcorn led to a resurge in popularity. Microwave popcorn -- the very first use of microwave heating in the 1940s -- has already accounted for $240 million in annual U.S. popcorn sales in the 1990s. Americans today consume 17.3 billion quarts of popped popcorn each year. The average American eats about 68 quarts. Popping Tips Range-Top Popping To pop popcorn on a range-top, assemble the following: a 3- to 4-quart pan with a loose lid that allows steam to escape at least enough popcorn to cover the bottom of the pan, one kernel deep 1/3 cup of oil for every cup of kernels (Don't use butter!) Heat the oil to 400 - 460 degrees Fahrenheit (if the oil smokes, it is too hot). Test the oil on a couple of kernels. When they pop, add the rest of the popcorn, cover the pan and shake to evenly spread the oil. When the popping begins to slow, remove the pan from the stove-top. The heated oil will still pop the remaining kernels. Salting Pre-salting kernels toughens popcorn. So, salt the popcorn after it has been popped -- or skip salt altogether and add salt-free spices. Did you know? Popcorn pops because the heart of the kernel is moist and pulpy and surrounded by a hard starch shell, when heated the moisture turns to steam and 'pops' the shell. Incidentally to make old dry kernels pop, place them in a jar with one or two tablespoons of water and shake until water is absorbed. Did you know that one cup of popcorn has only 19 calories? In America, every year we eat more than 18 billion quarts of popped corn. That is 73 quarts per person. Popcorn is the oldest of three main types of corn. There's field corn that we feed to animals; sweet corn (ummmmmm, sweet corn), and popcorn, discovered by the native Americans thousands of years ago. Columbus reported that during his first visit to the New World he saw Indians selling popcorn and wearing it as jewelry, but even more remarkable; in a New Mexico cave archeologist discovered popped corn said to be approximately 5,600 years old. 1,000 year old popcorn kernals found in Peru could still be popped. POPCORN RECIPES Caramel Corn An easy-to-make and delicious caramel popcorn recipe. It's a little bit of a mess to clean up though. 2 stick sweet butter 2 cups light brown sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 6 quarts popped popcorn Melt the butter in a heavy pan. Add the sugar, syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When it begins to boil, stop stirring and cook at medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add the baking soda and vanilla. Stir vigorously for 2 minutes or until the caramel doubles in size. Put the popcorn in a large roasting pan and pour the hot caramel sauce over top. Mix caramel and popcorn and then cook in a 250 degree F. oven for 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to distribute the caramel evenly. Remove and spread the popcorn on a wooden surface or on cookie sheets. Separate with two spoons, and let the popcorn cool completely. Store in an airtight container. It should keep for 2 weeks. Yield: 6 quarts Chocolate Pop Corn 1 1/2 cups popped pop corn 2 cups sugar 2 squares unsweetened chocolate 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 3/4 cup water 1 tablespoon sweet butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Melt chocolate in pan. Add sugar, milk, water and butter. Add salt to taste. Boil to soft ball stage and remove from heat. Add flavoring and popped pop corn. Cool to room temperature. Stir until creamy. Pour into well-buttered shallow pan. Cut into squares. A delicious holiday treat! Yield 1 1/2 cups Sante Fe Trail Mix 1/2 stick sweet butter 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon grated lime zest 8 cups popped corn 1 cup dry-roasted peanuts 2 cups small corn chips In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in garlic powder, cumin, pepper flakes and salt. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add lime zest. Pour mixture over popcorn. Stir gently to coat evenly. Add peanuts and corn chips; mix gently. Store in an airtight container up to 3 days. Yield: 10 cups Cranberry Popcorn 1/2 stick sweet butter 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup light corn syrup 6 ounces frozen cranberry juice concentrate, thawed 12 cups popped corn 1 cup dried cranberries Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in sugar, corn syrup and cranberry juice concentrate. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until mixture reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Place popcorn and dried cranberries in a large bowl. Pour syrup over popcorn; stir until well coated. Spread popcorn evenly in a large roasting pan. Bake for about 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, until mixture just begins to lose red color. Remove from oven; let cool to room temperature, about 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Re-crisp in a preheated 350-degree oven for a few minutes, if necessary. Yield: 12 cups
try pop corn right out of the pot (or micro bag) with some Cavenders Greek Seasoning - it's amazing how big of a change it make on the fresh popped corn - sooo awesome
my buddy used to work at the theater, and he said the oil/butter crap they used was what they cooked the kernels in, and wasnt added after popping, but before. yunno they used to have microwave caramel popcorn at the store. it came with a big brick of caramel that you would drop in the bag while it was hot and shake it around, and i loved it. but i cant find it anymore. damnit i wish i could still buy that stuff.
paydirt! buy some of this to both pop the corn in and as a topping....you should get something very close to the theater without having to make it into a science project..... http://www.orville.com/gateway?waf.action=P04ProductDetail&productID=3011&mnav=products
I'm going to get some right now... I've got a hankering for buttered popcorn so I'm going to try it. I'm also going to try to do some other stuff with the oil. Thanks guys for all of your input... If you haven't tried it yet, sprinkle Tony's on top of popcorn for little kick.
Update... I melted some butter and salted it and put it in a large tupperware bowl and made sure to coat the sides and lid of the bowl evenly. Once the corn was popped I put it in the bowl and shook it up. While it wasn't nearly as soggy, it didn't get a lot of butter flavor. Still a good idea that worked for those days when you want a little butter instead of the Full Fat Experience. I then made some kettle corn. Actually I sprinkled some sugar on the corn in the pot once it was above the "pop out on me and burn the sh*t out of me" stage. It still had a few seconds to cook and the amount of sugar I put in there was evenly distributed with little to no bodily harm on my end. Turned out pretty good except for the few pieces that burnt. Next up, I'm going to infuse some roasted garlic in some olive oil and try that out. I will post my findings. If I do not post them within 5 days it means I've eaten my self to death.
