Popcorn...Revisited

[HungryC]

I put all the kernels in at the beginning.

Re: seasonings, try a few shakes of Tabasco (or other concentrated hot sauce) into the oil with the kernels. Mmm spicy, and not all the heat ends up in one place as when you shake on the hot sauce post-popping. I also like cheddar cheese powder sprinkled lightly....

[weinoo]

The hot sauce sounds intriguing.

I bought some of that yeast stuff - blech.

[weinoo]

Sometimes, I get a little careless with measuring...

 

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

7 hours ago, weinoo said:

Sometimes, I get a little careless with measuring...

 

 

 

Yumm, classic stovetop! I've finally gotten my husband to measure the popcorn after about forty years of too much or too little. God forbid I should make it myself. He's very good at getting every kernel to pop and never burning it, so why should I?

[AlaMoi]

I use an air popper.  for two, 60 grams of kernels per "charge"

it's quick, easy, foolproof - pops into a big stainless bowl,

olive oil drizzled down the bowl edges,

tossed & salted to taste.

 

the freshness - and brand - of kernels makes a huge difference.   I buy a bottle of kernels in the fall and toss whatever is left in the spring.

life is too short to break teeth on unpopped kernels.....

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, Katie Meadow said:

Yumm, classic stovetop! I've finally gotten my husband to measure the popcorn after about forty years of too much or too little. God forbid I should make it myself. He's very good at getting every kernel to pop and never burning it, so why should I?

Only stovetop for us.  Popped in duck fat (but will use avocado oil or another high heat oil) and butter. 
 

Nary an old maid in this pop.

Edited September 12, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[IndyRob]

My goal has been old school movie theater popcorn.  I don't know if anyone under the age 50 has ever tasted the real thing.  Yes, it's a common marketing term nowadays with modern microwave packets, but these are mere shadows of the glorious real deal.

 

I think I've come as close as I ever will with this formulation....

 

25 grams coconut oil

6 grams flavacol (careful, 7 grams will ruin it.  5 isn't enough)

68 grams yellow popcorn (store brands are fine - I use Kroger's)  But don't get white popcorn.  That's for caramel corn

 

Reserve 30 grams of cold butter sliced into pats.

 

Ideally, you'll have a nonstick saute pan with ludicrously high sides and an inverted domed bottom.    But I suspect that it isn't that important so long as you have a lid for the pot.  Alton Brown suggests metal mixing bowl.  The idea is that the round bottom will allow the unpopped kernels to slide easily to the bottom.

 

Anyway, pop the first three ingredients until all popped, covered of course, and then drop in the pats of butter.  Replace the lid and shake - and shake, and invert, and shake.  Then shake some more.

[weinoo]

12 minutes ago, IndyRob said:

My goal has been old school movie theater popcorn.  I don't know if anyone under the age 50 has ever tasted the real thing.  Yes, it's a common marketing term nowadays with modern microwave packets, but these are mere shadows of the glorious real deal.

 

I think I've come as close as I ever will with this formulation....

 

25 grams coconut oil

6 grams flavacol (careful, 7 grams will ruin it.  5 isn't enough)

68 grams yellow popcorn (store brands are fine - I use Kroger's)  But don't get white popcorn.  That's for caramel corn

 

Reserve 30 grams of cold butter sliced into pats.

Nice.  A little more work than I’m looking for when making popcorn, but whatever works. You gotta get together with the ice cream guys; imagine the popcorn ice creams you could pacotize!

[Margaret Pilgrim]

This is the confession cubicle, no?   Husband brought home some microwave “movie popcorn” .   Later,  we were paying our tab at Amphora Nuevo in San Anselmo, and I absently dipped my paw into their (pre Covid) bowl of truffled popcorn.   I hate truffle salt and oil but this, their proprietary product, is OMG delicious. So of course add both to our staggering bill.

Fast forward to our first post lockdown dinner and I was looking for a stress free cocktail bit.  
Guests’ first reaction was amusement over such a simple and retro bite,  then their first samples turning to gay abandon as they stuffed their faces and emptied the bowl.

We replayed this twice with different groups with the same reaction.   Heartily recommend.

[IndyRob]

44 minutes ago, weinoo said:

A little more work than I’m looking for when making popcorn.

 

5 minutes is too much work?

[weinoo]

10 hours ago, IndyRob said:

 

5 minutes is too much work?

No - measuring and weighing is.

[liamsaunt]

15 hours ago, IndyRob said:

My goal has been old school movie theater popcorn.  I don't know if anyone under the age 50 has ever tasted the real thing.  Yes, it's a common marketing term nowadays with modern microwave packets, but these are mere shadows of the glorious real deal.

 

I think I've come as close as I ever will with this formulation....

 

That sounds about right.  I worked in a movie theater all through high school and on my college breaks.  When I was feeling antisocial and not wanting to work behind the concession stand (you made more money back there because we got commission on upsells), I would work in the popcorn room.  Waiting for the giant block of coconut oil to melt was the most time consuming thing.  It never tasted the same (or as good) after we switched to canola oil.  The flavacol we used was dyed a brilliant yellow to give the popcorn its signature color.  The secret to the salt level was to pop a batch with almost double flavacol for every four batches of regular, and then mix the five batches together in a massive bin before bagging it up for the concession stands downstairs.  

 

I ate waaaay too much movie theater popcorn back then, and now I can't stomach the stuff, so I use a whirly pop at home.  Just a smidge of oil in the popper (sometimes canola, sometimes coconut), and lots of freshly melted butter and salt.  Occasionally if I am feeling fancy I will add some freshly grated parmesan or cheddar powder, but I usually make it with just butter and salt.  

[weinoo]

2 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

Just a smidge of oil in the popper (sometimes canola, sometimes coconut), and lots of freshly melted butter and salt

 

Yeah I'd rather stick to butter and salt too. Cheddar cheese powder might be interesting however...

[gfweb]

Commercial additives might be less benign than assumed...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3029043/

[Annie_H]

Whirly Pop was a game changer for us. Picked one up at a yard sale 10+ yrs ago or so. Embarrassing to bring it in the home since we don't care for single used 'gimmicks'. Not much storage room....small kitchen. It has prime real estate now in the cabinet directly under the front left burner on top of a dutch oven. Guestimate smidge of avocado oil, 1/3rd cup Amish baby white hulless (amazon). 

I've never timed it but it can't be more than 3 minutes. (DH is the popcorn maker). 3-4 times a week.

Toppers rotate but the favorite is just romano, recently some I smoked. Microplane or a batch I've run through the Blendtec to a powder. I like nutritional yeast. Bob'sRedMill. I stock it for house guests. Decent back-up. I also use a bit in pizza dough. It cuts through the gluten and makes it easy to stretch...if you have ever had that spring back issue. 

Also embarrassing to admit I have three back-up whirly type poppers. Buy them when I see them. Different brands. They seem so fragile and ready to break any minute. Never have. The aluminum one is zippy in the time factor. 

If I make popcorn I wing the corn kernel amount, too much, and it is often all over the floor and stovetop. (pups are happy). DH not so much. 
Elder pup loves popcorn. 

[Annie_H]

Theatre popcorn has artificial butter flavor, chemicals, (yellow dye), and way too much salt. Balance all that salt with a BigGulp sugary soda. Shudder. 

Correction. Possibly not all theaters. I just avoid the popcorn salt-lick. 

[heidih]

But without movie theatre popcorn every Hallmark movie would fall apart without the potential lovers touching hands in the jumbo popcorn container.  The riskee ones have the overfilled tub spilling and the two scrambling. What came to my silly mind with this discussion.

 

The topic did make me google MW poppers.  Stovetop not a current option. The one @mgaretzposted earlier looks just right. Ended up ordering this one. I now buy the bagged kernels from Ralphs (Kroger). Good turnover, tastes like corn.

[weinoo]

3 hours ago, gfweb said:

Commercial additives might be less benign than assumed...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3029043/

I saw that too - that's the stuff in the Flavacol, right?

[jmolinari]

2 hours ago, weinoo said:

I saw that too - that's the stuff in the Flavacol, right?

Flavacol doesn’t contain diacetyl 

[mgaretz]

4 hours ago, heidih said:

But without movie theatre popcorn every Hallmark movie would fall apart without the potential lovers touching hands in the jumbo popcorn container.  The riskee ones have the overfilled tub spilling and the two scrambling. What came to my silly mind with this discussion.

 

But as long as there's a festival of some kind, they'll be fine!

[weinoo]

Diacetyl is a naturally occurring substance that gives butter its characteristic flavor and aroma, and is often a component of artificial flavoring formulations. Acetoin, a closely related chemical, also occurs naturally and is an ingredient in many flavoring formulations, perfumes and essences.

 

Artificial Butter Flavorings (ABF) Components

 

https://www.popcornsupply.com/flavacol-butter-flavored-seasoned-salt

 

So what makes the buttery flavor?

Edited September 14, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[weinoo]

And the 2 yellow dyes used are good for you also?

[weinoo]

You know, whatever is in the stuff doesn't really matter in my case. I prefer good butter, duck fat, and sea salt.

[mgaretz]

1 hour ago, mgaretz said:

 

But as long as there's a festival of some kind, they'll be fine!

 

Oh, and the misunderstanding of course.

[jmolinari]

19 minutes ago, weinoo said:

You know, whatever is in the stuff doesn't really matter in my case. I prefer good butter, duck fat, and sea salt.

I don’t even have the stuff. I use duck fat. But I wanted to clarify that it

doesnt contain diacetyl. Good or bad I’ll leave to others, but I’m also of the opinion there are bigger things to worry about than ingesting some yellow #2