Popcorn toppers

[HVRobinson]

EVERYBODY has missed my favorite topping! Take the prebagged popcorn (less butter is better) and carefully open the edge. Put in 1 to 4 tablespoons of sugar based Jell-o . Seal with a couple staples. Pop as usual and you end up with a fruit flavored pseudo-carmel corn. You can give the rest of the Jell-o to your teenager to color their hair with. This recipe comes with a double-your-hunger back guarantee!

HVR

[k43]

I hesitate to write about this, because obesity is such a problem.

However, two or three drops of top quality vinegar (say Chinese aged Shen si) added to butter not only enriches the flavor but also cuts the heaviness. The result is that you never get cloyed and go on eating forever.

[Pyewacket]

WOW!!!

You guys have made my day! Alsmost as good as the last UNC/Duke game!

I am so happy to meet others who like nutritional yeast on popcorn! It's my absolute favorite! I crave the stuff and everyone who I tell about it treats me like I'm crazy!

Woo-Hoo!

Go Yeast!

I like to add a bit of Spike and a few shakes of Tabasco too!

Go 'Heels! Another Championship coming up!

I wonder if Tyler Hansbrough and Rashon Terry know about Nut. Yeast on Popcorn?

Could be the key to slappin down that Red-ick!

Please excuse me , March Madness is in full swing here.

[helenjp]

Pop it in sesame oil (the dark brown toasted kind).

[eipi10]

Pop it in sesame oil (the dark brown toasted kind).

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wow that sounds awesome.

[_john]

Pop it in sesame oil (the dark brown toasted kind).

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wow, suddenly I am thinking of all these korean and japanese approaches. nori and sea salt? kochujang butter topped, popped in sesame oil? simple sesame salt? maybe sansho? ... I need to buy some more popcorn.

[Chris Amirault]

kochujang butter topped, popped in sesame oil?

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The smoke point of sesame oil is far too low to reach that blistering temp you want for popcorn, I think, but the kochujang butter is genius.

[ulterior epicure]

Not quite true. Truffle salt. Can be taken with you to movie theaters and put on the popcorn there. Plus makes everyone near you jealous.

E-Gads, maybe I'm a snob, but I'd never waste truffle salt on movie popcorn. It's salty enough and there so much artificial butter (without the extra self-serve pumps) to seriously compromise the experience... but yes, it's enough to drive the entire theatre mad with jealousy!

While we're on the subject of popcorn - there's a question I've been dying to get an answer to.

I know there are 2 types of popcorn - "butterfly" and "mushroom." When I buy popping corn - is there anywhay I can tell which I'm getting? Are they usually a blend? Can I solely get one type (my preferred type) or the other - or both to mix my own "blend?"

Hope someone can help me out!

u.e.

[sandercohan]

Whoo,

lots of great ideas. Since relinquishing my air-popper and microwave because of small kitchen issues, I've been stove popping with my trusty heavy-bottomed pan. Has anybody popped corn in Ghee? I have a big jar of it just staring at me.

s

[Philanthrophobe]

Whoo,

lots of great ideas.  Since relinquishing my air-popper and microwave because of small kitchen issues, I've been stove popping with my trusty heavy-bottomed pan.  Has anybody popped corn in Ghee?  I have a big jar of it just staring at me.

s

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Oooooh, I bet that would be GREAT.

[hurries off to the kitchen to make some ghee]

[Philanthrophobe]

Whoo,

lots of great ideas.  Since relinquishing my air-popper and microwave because of small kitchen issues, I've been stove popping with my trusty heavy-bottomed pan.  Has anybody popped corn in Ghee?  I have a big jar of it just staring at me.

s

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Oooooh, I bet that would be GREAT.

[hurries off to the kitchen to make some ghee]

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Made some usli ghee and popped some corn in it, and it was delicious. Delicate butter flavor without the greasiness--approx 1/3 cup kernels in approx 1T ghee--excellent fat to corn ratio makes for nearly guilt-free snacking.

Thanks, sandercohan!

[snackyface][/snackyface]

[_john]

Whoo,

lots of great ideas.  Since relinquishing my air-popper and microwave because of small kitchen issues, I've been stove popping with my trusty heavy-bottomed pan.  Has anybody popped corn in Ghee?  I have a big jar of it just staring at me.

s

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I only pop popcorn in ghee. I flavor the ghee with other oils such as sesame and chili oil.

ulterior epicure:

I never knew there were two types or popcorn. Do the names have anything to do with their popping styles? Does anyone have an opinion on those dried cobs you can buy and pop? can you pop any variety of dried corn? enquiring minds want to know.

[ulterior epicure]

ulterior epicure:

I never knew there were two types or popcorn. Do the names have anything to do with their popping styles?

Nothing to do with the "popping-style." Rather, it has to do with the shape of the popped corn. The next time you pop popcorn, take a look at the shape of the white fluff. You will notice that some look like mushrooms - usually with a head, and what I call a "skirt" underneath - er, kinda like an octopus with a tutu on?

The "butterfly" popcorn look like spread angels' wings (nothing at all like butterfly in my opinion). There is usually a center to the puff which divides two roughly mirror-imaged "wings" that extend in opposite directions from each other.

Most (who know, or evaluate popcorn after learning about the difference) find the butterflies to be better than the mushrooms for a number of reasons.

1. Butterflies are just aesthetically more pleasing.

2. Relatedly, because the popped butterflies "fluff" out more, the same quantity of butterflies will take up more space than a bowlful of mushrooms.

3. Most significantly, butterflies somehow leave less "hull" after popping, so you get more fluff-crunch and less tooth-jamming shards of the hard outer shell of the corn.

Personally, I like them both, but I do admit that eating a bowl with a higher mix of butterflies does go easier on the after-eating tooth-picking.

I do know that if you buy those generic 2lb. bags of popping corn at your local grocer, they're predominately mushrooms. That's why they're cheaper than some of the name brands. For instance, I do know that Orville Redenbaucher's popcorn has a specially blended ratio of butterflies to mushroom - leaning heavier on the butterflies. Have you ever seen those commercials where O.R. claims that their popcorn pops up "fluffier." He's not necessarily talking about his product yielding less unpopped kernals than other leading brands (which, actually, I happen to find to be true anyway), he's mainly talking about the simple fact that he uses more butterflies - which fills up more space. That's why O.R. seems to be more expensive than the other brands. IMHO, deservedly so.

I hope this helps.

Now, can anyone tell me where I can source butterfly popping corn exclusively? Better yet - how I can with the naked eye tell if a kernal is butterfly or mushroom?

Does anyone have an opinion on those dried cobs you can buy and pop? can you pop any variety of dried corn? enquiring minds want to know.

Not every type of corn is poppable. I have no idea how to i.d. poppable vs. non-poppable corn by just looking.

Can anyone jump in on this?

u.e.

[Chris Amirault]

Absolutely fascinating. Now I know why I love Orville.

[aliwaks]

fresh ground black pepper, parmesan cheese and truffle oil..oh my goodness..and so very very nice with a glass of champagne

also sometimes I add a little bit of szechuan pepper oil to the oil ( I pop conventionall in a pan) then top with sesame salt

and sometimes I add a spicy zaatar like salt mix of urfa pepper, sumac, sea salt, cumin & thyme

my mom likes brewers yeast on hers

when I have the mircowave kind I just add a grind or two of black pepper.

[ulterior epicure]

my mom likes brewers yeast on hers

Fascinating. How is this accomplished? Just sprinkling on like salt? Where does one get brewer's yeast? And, is it really edible in raw form?

u.e.

[butterscotch]

it's powdered, so yeah, you just sprinkle it on. it may also be called nutritional yeast- you can find it at health food stores. it's mild and tangy, i always thought it was missing something.

but other people loved it, and it's healthy.

my mom likes brewers yeast on hers

Fascinating. How is this accomplished? Just sprinkling on like salt? Where does one get brewer's yeast? And, is it really edible in raw form?

u.e.

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[KatieLoeb]

The Royal Tavern here in Philly serves popcorn sprinkled with truffle oil and Parmesan. I haven't tried it yet, but it high on my list of places to go and things to try in the next few weeks. I understand from friends that it is quite addictive.

[ulterior epicure]

it's powdered, so yeah, you just sprinkle it on. it may also be called nutritional yeast- you can find it at health food stores. it's mild and tangy, i always thought it was missing something.

but other people loved it, and it's healthy.

...not the same yeast as that which I use in my pizza/pastry dough... is it? I know there's a type of yeast that people eat (or rather mix in with health drinks, etc...), but I never clarified whether it was the same as the yeast used to leaven breads.

u.e.

[butterscotch]

oh it's not bakers yeast at all. i know they used to call i t brewer's in the eighties, but i guess it's not actually used for brewing so now they call it nutritional yeast.

it comes in a canister, and yes, people mix it into smoothies, and .... well honestly, i don't know what else, LOL. but that's it.

it's powdered, so yeah, you just sprinkle it on. it may also be called nutritional yeast- you can find it at health food stores. it's mild and tangy, i always thought it was missing something.

but other people loved it, and it's healthy.

...not the same yeast as that which I use in my pizza/pastry dough... is it? I know there's a type of yeast that people eat (or rather mix in with health drinks, etc...), but I never clarified whether it was the same as the yeast used to leaven breads.

u.e.

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[loiosh]

I'm really amazed that nutritional-yeast-on-popcorn has taken off outside the vegan community, though it is pretty nice.

The Red Vic movie theater in San Francisco has a wide variety of popcorn toppings, including butter, yeast, Old Bay and some others. The popcorn is served in wooden salad bowls -- aesthetically-pleasing *and* recyclable.

[K8memphis]

Coupla 3 things

First my question, 'member way back when, and you went to the drive-in and the scintilating aromas emanating from the concession stand drew you like a lemming to the edge and the taste of the popcorn was a perfect intoxicant?? Did they pop in coconut oil or something like that? Is there such a thing as coconut oil? And they stopped using it for health reasons?? Anybody???

Umm, I pop microwave popcorn in any deep glass container like a big pyrex 2 qt. measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap--in fact I stir the corn & oil together then when I cover with plastic wrap I make sure the wrap is very secure to the sides and edges all the way around. And when I cover I don't stretch it tight across the top--I like cover the inside of the bowl out so that when it pops the plastic can dome up kwim? Costco plastic wrap works fine. Umm, watch out for steam burns taking it off. Oh yeah, if your plastic wrap is not wide enough --you can piece it together too. I found the bags to be too messy.

The best topping I've ever had--course I haven't tried alot of these like furikake what is that? and anything with truffle and the yeast stuff--so all that said, the best topping I ever had so far is that government issue American cheese, in the 5 pound blocks--never have been able to duplicate this with anything we could ever find to purchase--oh my talk about died & gone to heaven--you don't know whether to eat it or rub it all over your face. kid you not!

[ulterior epicure]

First my question, 'member way back when, and you went to the drive-in and the scintilating aromas emanating from the concession stand drew you like a lemming to the edge and the taste of the popcorn was a perfect intoxicant?? Did they pop in coconut oil or something like that? Is there such a thing as coconut oil? And they stopped using it for health reasons?? Anybody???

Yes, and um, something like that. They did use coconut oil, and many have stopped after they published that a bag of popcorn contained three times the calories as a Big Mac - or something obscene like that.

Umm, I pop microwave popcorn in any deep glass container like a big pyrex 2 qt. measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap--...

Doesn't the inside steam and the water accumulate on othe plastic wrap and then drip down into the pocorn to make it all soggy?

The best topping I've ever had--course I haven't tried alot of these like furikake what is that?

Furikake is a Japanese seasoning with salt and dried seaweed as the main ingredients. It's uber yummy on rice, pocorn - basically anything starchy - even on meats - especially fishes.

the best topping I ever had so far is that government issue American cheese, in the 5 pound blocks--never have been able to duplicate this with anything we could ever find to purchase--

Method for combining government-issued 5lb. block of cheese with popcorn?

...you don't know whether to eat it or rub it all over your face.      kid you not!

Oh yes, a common problem around our house during popcorn sessions... I'm talking serious cookie-monster cram-your-face mess... It ain't pretty - but it's good.

u.e.

[K8memphis]

First my question, 'member way back when, and you went to the drive-in and the scintilating aromas emanating from the concession stand drew you like a lemming to the edge and the taste of the popcorn was a perfect intoxicant?? Did they pop in coconut oil or something like that? Is there such a thing as coconut oil? And they stopped using it for health reasons?? Anybody???

Yes, and um, something like that. They did use coconut oil, and many have stopped after they published that a bag of popcorn contained three times the calories as a Big Mac - or something obscene like that.

Oh my soul, popcorn like that was worth all those the calories!!

Umm, I pop microwave popcorn in any deep glass container like a big pyrex 2 qt. measuring cup. Cover with plastic wrap--...

Doesn't the inside steam and the water accumulate on othe plastic wrap and then drip down into the pocorn to make it all soggy?

No not at all. But you have to remove the plastic asap, which is why I said watch out for the steam burn.

The best topping I've ever had--course I haven't tried alot of these like furikake what is that?

Furikake is a Japanese seasoning with salt and dried seaweed as the main ingredients. It's uber yummy on rice, pocorn - basically anything starchy - even on meats - especially fishes.

Oh, thank you. I'll have to try that.

the best topping I ever had so far is that government issue American cheese, in the 5 pound blocks--never have been able to duplicate this with anything we could ever find to purchase--

Method for combining government-issued 5lb. block of cheese with popcorn?

Shred the cheese and sprinkle it over a short layer of buttered popcorn on a sheet tray, bake like 350 or so until cheese is melted. Break up the clumps. Rub on face.

...you don't know whether to eat it or rub it all over your face.      kid you not!

Oh yes, a common problem around our house during popcorn sessions... I'm talking serious cookie-monster cram-your-face mess... It ain't pretty - but it's good.

u.e.

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Thanks, u.e.!!

(I'd have answered sooner, but my keyboard died.)

[ulterior epicure]

K8memphis.

Glad to hear that you're revived your keys.

1. Yes - those were the days when calories weren't in the American vocabulary... sigh...

2. Ah... yes, steam...

3. Do try furikake - it's nummy!

4. Oh... right, baking... ah ha... rubbing-on-face goes without saying!!

u.e.