Poppin' Easy

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OMIGAWD ... did someone mention burnt popcorn??? I LOVE IT! I used to purposely burn some as a kid.

Now ... with all this talk about making popcorn; I've used just about every method spoken beforehand -- from Jiffy Pop (too salty), to Air Pop (like, suck the moisture out of my mouth) to Microwave (chemical tasty). The BEST (IMHO) is put a few tablespoons of oil (Crisco works just fine) in a 10 in. fry pan (Revere, of course), pour in the popcorn until the bottom is covered in a single layer, pop on high heat constantly moving the pan; and, get about 3/4 of a stick of butter melted; pour on with salt and enjoy.

Someone earlier mentioned beverages that were consumed when eating popcorn as a child. I remember Welch's grape juice or Hawaiian Punch. Mummie thought it was so nutritious ... (HA!).

Now ... someone mentioned too many husks stuck betwixt one's teeth ... I have a solution to/for that ... heh heh heh ...

Rob.
 
Explosion

TV time popcorn in Bremen, Indiana spent years and thousands of dollars trying to find how the hull on Redinbacher popcorn splits into 4 pieces instead of the usual 3 which makes more volume. When I feel I can afford it I buy Redenbacher and if not, yellow corn of any ilk, storing it in the freezer. Steam helps to pop corn and the extreme of very cold to very hot allows the residual moisture to pop the hull. The Cuisinart popper is a favorite among my kids. It is given to allowing any excess of oil to drip through the stir stem and over time the accumulation inside the popper will catch fire. Cuisinart has not done a recal and they will replace it if under warrantee. The first one I paid retail of $79.00. Now I get them at Big Lots which a retailer of related brands, remanufactured Cuisinart, Waring and Hamilton Beach. They are $30.00 with a 90 day warrantee. A sweet little machine for those who enjoy oil popped corn. The bowl cleans well in the dishwasher and prevents an oily residue.
 
Burnt food contains not only acrylamide, but also a cocktail of known carcinogens. Think tobacco smoke. There's a reason it tastes bad - to ward off someone who tries to eat it.

But I can't explain why some people like it.
 
Stove-Top is the place to pop!

I've tried about every kind of popcorn popper there is over the years and haven't found one better than the Whirley Pop. I only use Orville's popcorn, it's well worth the extra money. The oil I use varies depending on the prevailing tastes but with the Whirley Pop, so little oil is needed that I find it doesn't make that much difference in the finished product. Some weeks we have popcorn every night around here - true popcorn lovers for sure. Drizzle a little bit of cooked genuine butter (not just melted - cooked) Land-O-Lakes lightly salted is the best tasting, and you've got yourself a fabulous snack. Keep the flavored toppings and caramel away from my bowl, I'm a purist ;-)

The thinner aluminum of the W-Pop makes for faster popping which is critical to the hull color and texture. The hull of the popped kernel should ideally be very little darker than the unpopped raw kernel color. The popped kernel should be butterfly shaped for the best texture and volume. Little, tough 'balls' means your heat is too high.

My grandmother made popcorn on the stove in an aluminum pan with a stirring lid. I remember shucking the ears from the cellar and 'twisting' off the kernels into a bowl to put right into the preheated pan. When I was 8 my grandmother gave me my very own popper and a bottle of Orville's - one of my favorite birthdays! I ran directly to the kitchen and made popcorn right then. Nothing says lovin' like a kitchen gadget ;-)

http://www.popcornpopper.com/24000.html
 
I use the Whirley Pop and love it.

I use 2 table spoon of Olive oil, and 1/3 cup of Oville.

Gansky, cooked butter?? Almost browned?
 
Little, tough balls of popcorn can also be a different variety. The kind usually used for caramel coatings will not pop to a butterfly shape even in the same popper as the other kind.
 
I cook most of the water/moisture out of the butter before drizzling on the corn. Much better flavor and no sogginess.

Davek - you've seen a special kind of corn for caramel-corn making? The Orville's won't pop fully open if the heat in the Whirley is too high - too much of the moisture inside the kernel escapes before it can pop open.

Terry and I were talking about how loud the popping is when it all goes at once - when you reach the perfect temp, it seems to all pop at one time. Conversation halts from the noise!
 
Greg is so right about the noise, it is unreal!! I might also add here that he makes the very best popcorn I have ever eaten.
 
Last night I made popcorn on the stove top, and I also did the melted butter on the stove too.. I cooked the butter till I started to see a little bit of brown in it, and we both loved it! It kinda give it a nutty flavor to the popcorn.

I am going to try and use the butter right in the popper instead of the oil.
 
I think this was an old weight watchers suggestion when making air popped popcorn. For a topping try a little sprinkle of soy sauce. We have use this a number of times and I actually enjoy it. When making home made popcorn on the stove with oil sometimes I will add garlic salt or onion salt in with the oil and this gives the popcorn a great flavor. Unfortunetly popcorn is on the list of can't haves anymore since I had diverticulitus last year. One of my favorite anytime of day enjoyments.
Jon
 
Probably not a good idea to use butter in the popper. It will likely burn and scorch before the popping starts. Same for most margarine. The milk solids can't take the high heat.

Similarly, oil goes rancid much faster if there is salt in it when it's heated. So adding salt to the cooking oil is also not recommended.
 
A little speed bump on the road to easy poppin'...

I read some reviews on line - eopinions and elsewhere - and some people criticized certain features of the Easy Pop construction. Apparently there have been several versions of the machine, but I found one of the problems the other day.

There are small handles on the stirring/heating unit that have tabs that lock into slots on the base motor unit. Well, as others have noted, the tab on one side of my Easy Pop broke off. It still worked ok but it didn't set as securely on the base, and that is important since the electrical connection also depends on a good fit.

So I went back to Costco today and got a new unit. The first one I got had a black base. So I got the one with the red base - thinking maybe the red plastic will be stronger than the black. No real reason to believe that, but what the heck.

I didn't think I was being anything but gentle with the first one, but this time I'll make sure to take extra care when latching and detaching the stirring/heating unit from the base motor unit. We'll see how long this one lasts. And yeah, I still have to return the first one to Costco for a refund.

Other than that, I already made a batch of popcorn with the replacement unit and it worked flawlessly.
 
Mystery solved

As I was putting the new red base into the dishwasher, I noticed that the position I was choosing - with the electric prongs facing downward to drain better - was also positioning the side tabs to each side, and the one on the right, due to the way the Bosch lower rack is constructed, was being pushed out into the doorway. Then when the rack was being closed, that tab would hit the door frame and this is probably what caused it to break with the previous unit.

In other words, operator error ;-).

I'm being more careful now when I load the base into the dishwasher. I put the prongs to the left and the tabs are positioned at 12:00 and 6:00, where they can't get damaged.
 
Wow

Great bit about the coffee beans.

Now, remember--there will always be a place for microwave popcorn. I have found nothing better for clearing out an office when you just want everyone to go away than to over-nuke a bag and let the burning aroma waft its way through the place.
 
Yeah, burnt microwave popcorn is pretty foul. I think it's the result of overheating the fake butter flavoring (butyric acid, as I recall).

I never thought of trying it to clear out an office, though. Perhaps because I'd have to live with the aroma as well.
 
Seems like Cuisinart is busy copying everyone elses appliances now..the West Bend Stir Crazy, the Presto Salad Shooter and the GE pop up door toaster oven.
The West Bend Stir Crazy is still being made and you can usually find them at Walmart for around $30, doesn't go in the dishwasher though.
I tried making kettle corn in mine as per the instruction booklet but it made a really really ugly sticky mess, even with the popper being teflon.. it reverses as well when it encounters resistance.

I wished I could find the real deal theater popcorn salt that we used to have at the movie house I worked in baack in the early 70's. I've tried some I've found in the grocery store that say "theater popcorn salt" but they aren't the same at all.
 
My favorite popper

Here is one of my favorite vintage eletric poppers.

Lid has a crank and when you hear the first 'pops', you start to turn the handle slowly. Works perfectly everytime. Also used a local farmer's popcorn which popped up really well, hardly any kernals left.

sikiguya++7-16-2009-21-21-32.jpg
 
Final result

Lightly coated in 'real" butter with a little salt.

Made several bags to take with us to Lake Michigan for the 4th of July Fireworks. Beats paying $3/bag down there for some. This was MUCH tastier.

sikiguya++7-16-2009-21-25-11.jpg
 
Cool.

Somewhere in my collection I have a plug in butter warmer/sprayer gadget. It can take a full 1/4 lb stick of butter, and warm it up till it's liquid. Then it had a built in pump and spray nozzle, so you can spritz the popcorn evenly without large gobs of melted butter wetting down random popped kernels.

I'm a gonna have to find it (again). I had it out a few months ago but can't remember where I put it. I was intending to bring it into the house but must have gotten distracted.

There was also a microwave version, but this one is all electric.
 
Hot Topper

Eureka! Found it!

Found the Presto Hot Topper, that is, everything except the owners manual, which I think may be in a file drawer I haven't gotten to yet.

To celebrate I cleaned it up, and then melted a healthy slab of natural butter in it. Then popped up 1/3 cup of Orville's best. Hot Topper worked perfectly, spritzing the popcorn fairly evenly with delicious melted butter.

Yum. I think this thing could be used for maple syrup for pancakes/waffles as well. Cleanup is a bit of a chore, as I don't dare put the thing in the dishwasher.

Here's a shot from eBay:

sudsmaster++7-17-2009-00-34-8.jpg
 
Cool!

That's cool! I have never seen one of those and I am an AVID thrift store shopper. :-)

It is worth getting out to use for a bowl of popcorn? How about using it for corn on the cob?
 
We had a Presto similar to that one depicted above for many years, with the open coil element that gets red. I have an old Knapp Monarch electric with glass lid that makes wonderful popcorn.
 
Yes, the Hot Topper is worth getting out for a bowl of popcorn.

I hadn't thought of using it for corn on the cob, but that sounds like a good application as well, although a bowl of melted butter and a pastry brush would probably do just as well.
 

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