I combine microwave with traditional popcorn to speed up the process a bit. Set your stovetop vessel up with oil and begin heating. Add 3 kernels. Meanwhile take the rest of the kernels and microwave them for 15-30 seconds in a ramican. As soon as the 3 in pot kernels pop, dump the ramican kernels, lid on, and give it a swirl to coat the rest with oil. Cook as usual. Microwave can be tricky depending on power so if you go a few seconds too long you may have microwave popcorn.
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I use a heavy-bottomed stock pot and a frying splatter guard instead of a lid to let the steam escape. Dump popped corn into a bowl and season with a variety of spices (always finely granulated garlic powder!) and sea salt. When I’m in the mood, I also use a micro-plane grater and Parmesan cheese to make my own cheesy popcorn. Yum!
In addition to butter, my parents used to sprinkle straight up yellow cooking yeast on popcorn. It gives it a kind of cheesy umami flavor.
I make it in a pot on the stove.
1/2 cup popcorn
2 tablespoons coconut oil
Healing teaspoon of “popcorn salt” in the coconut oil - I run kosher salt through a food processor
Turns out delicious every time.
If I want other stuff (and I often do), drizzle the finished popcorn with some sunflower oil, finish with a bit of buttermilk powder and some yeast flakes.
Everyone loves it.
When I run out of coconut oil, I use olive oil, but I don’t like it as much.
Speaking as a fourth-generation carnie (as in, my great-grandfather built and ran a merry-go-round in Port Dover, Ontario that became a family midway until about a decade ago), and speaking as someone who spent almost a decade of summers working in a family-owned candy floss (cotton candy for Americans) trailer that sold popcorn, I can tell you that Flavacol really is key. It’s extremely finely ground salt and flavourings that when applied to hot popcorn (feel free to mix it in with the oil, it’s what the big machines do anyway) creates that authentic flavour.
coconut oil (flavoured is fine but make sure it doesn’t taste like coconut!) or peanut oil also matter. In the big machines butter and coconut oil are combined into what look like butter sticks - you add a stick of that, popcorn, and flavacol to the kettle, and voila - proper popcorn.
Congrats on recreating that at home so successfully!
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I use a “ Theater Time 2 “ that looks like the same design.
Teaspoon of ghee and teaspoon of avocado oil with a 1/4 teaspoon of salt into TT2 popper for 1/2 cup of popcorn.
After all popping stops, a tablespoon of unsalted butter goes into the TT2 as I continue to crank to evenly spread the butter.
Laurie likes to add Nutritional Yeast to her bowl and I add Cobanero Chili flakes to mine.
Popcorn is usually reserved for movie night when we rent a movie or watch several streaming programs.
Definitely a great stovetop popping machine!
I find that Flavacol in the Whirley Pop doesn’t coat the popcorn and that sprinkling it on does a better job, maybe I just didn’t put enough in. I’ll try again.
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Our special popcorn seasoning for that extra je ne sais quoi is sumac.
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