Popcorn was a regular "staple" snack at our house and my grandparent's. The treat was in the topping. My favorite was butter but sometimes it was a popped in brown sugar and butter rather than oil for a sweet treat and once in a great while, full-on caramel corn with cooked coating caramel. One batch crisped in the oven and a second left sticky for those who preferred it that way. Usually, our popcorn was twisted directly from the corn cob as it was grown every year in grandpa's garden and stored in the cellar for use all year. I used to get a (glass) jar of Orville Redenbacher's yellow popping corn for my birthday, I loved how it popped up so large and fluffy but it was a treat because a year's worth could be grown for almost free and OR's cost far more than any other brand.
One neighbor of my grandmothers ate only popcorn for cereal in milk every morning. I never liked it this way, for me it's a salty snack. Butter, sugar and cinnamon is a fun treat now and then though.
Popcorn is grown all over this area, some of the very best comes from the farmer's markets and apple orchards in the autumn. Most popcorn purists store the corn in an airtight container at room temperature. Freezing or refrigerating changes the structure of the moisture in the kernel and takes more heat to "pop" which scorches the hull. Properly made popcorn should yield hulls that have no, or very little change in color than the unpopped color.
We never had an electric popper, it was always popped on the stove in an aluminum pan with a stirring lid. We never had good luck with electric as they usually scorched the hulls. The Stir-Crazy poppers (U.S. made) are pretty good, but I still prefer the stovetop method.
