Ode to Popcorn
Apparently, homemade popcorn is just slightly more difficult to make than boiled water. I'd rate it's difficulty level at just under microwave popcorn. I'm slightly embarrassed that it took me 24 years to realize this.
Maybe because microwave popcorn exists, maybe because there's a large, scary, medieval looking pot marked "POPCORN MAKER" in our basement, I assumed that actually making popcorn would involve a high degree of skill and lots of special equipment. In reality, it requires no skill and a pot with a lid. It's infinitely more fun (since I have a pot with a glass lid and can watch them pop), infinitely healthier (since I still consider salt a flavor-enhancer instead of a flavor), and very snackable. It can even become dinner if you make enough, pop in a movie, and add a few beers.
POPCORN RECIPE
1. Put some oil in a pot over medium/medium-high heat.
2. Add some popcorn kernels.
3. Cover loosely with a lid.
4. Shake occasionally to keep popcorn from burning.
5. Remove pot when popping slows and add seasonings (melted butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, sugar and cinnamon, the sky's the limit)
It's not bad for you, depending on your toppings. The recipe on the side of my popcorn container calls for 3 T oil, 1/2 c popcorn while the reduced oil recipe calls for 1 T oil, 1/2 c popcorn. There are no other differences in making it. Clearly, this is not a picky recipe. I like topping it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. But hell, I'd be willing to bet it's still way better for you than movie popcorn even if you add lots of melted butter, salt, sugar, cinnamon.
A note on movie popcorn.
Homemade popcorn : Movie popcorn :: Cow milk : Soy milk
They do not taste the same. They are both delicious and wonderful, but they do not taste the same, so they're both more enjoyable if you file them in your brain under separate categories. By the way, I do also love movie popcorn, in that delicious, tongue curdling, stomachache creating, wonderfully bad for you type of way. I enjoy it even more when there's a large soda and possibly Skittles within easy reach.
In conclusion, WOOOOO HOMEMADE POPCORN! And the bonus is that while I always burn microwave popcorn, I haven't destroyed a batch of stovetop popcorn yet.
Maybe because microwave popcorn exists, maybe because there's a large, scary, medieval looking pot marked "POPCORN MAKER" in our basement, I assumed that actually making popcorn would involve a high degree of skill and lots of special equipment. In reality, it requires no skill and a pot with a lid. It's infinitely more fun (since I have a pot with a glass lid and can watch them pop), infinitely healthier (since I still consider salt a flavor-enhancer instead of a flavor), and very snackable. It can even become dinner if you make enough, pop in a movie, and add a few beers.
POPCORN RECIPE
1. Put some oil in a pot over medium/medium-high heat.
2. Add some popcorn kernels.
3. Cover loosely with a lid.
4. Shake occasionally to keep popcorn from burning.
5. Remove pot when popping slows and add seasonings (melted butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, sugar and cinnamon, the sky's the limit)
It's not bad for you, depending on your toppings. The recipe on the side of my popcorn container calls for 3 T oil, 1/2 c popcorn while the reduced oil recipe calls for 1 T oil, 1/2 c popcorn. There are no other differences in making it. Clearly, this is not a picky recipe. I like topping it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. But hell, I'd be willing to bet it's still way better for you than movie popcorn even if you add lots of melted butter, salt, sugar, cinnamon.
A note on movie popcorn.
Homemade popcorn : Movie popcorn :: Cow milk : Soy milk
They do not taste the same. They are both delicious and wonderful, but they do not taste the same, so they're both more enjoyable if you file them in your brain under separate categories. By the way, I do also love movie popcorn, in that delicious, tongue curdling, stomachache creating, wonderfully bad for you type of way. I enjoy it even more when there's a large soda and possibly Skittles within easy reach.
In conclusion, WOOOOO HOMEMADE POPCORN! And the bonus is that while I always burn microwave popcorn, I haven't destroyed a batch of stovetop popcorn yet.