It’s October, and yup, apparently also National Popcorn Popping Month. Popcorn is a favorite snack in my house because it is healthy, inexpensive, and just darn good. I don’t buy popcorn in the microwave bags – - I think it tastes like styrofoam. I put a thin layer of olive oil in the bottom of a 4 quart pot and pour a thin layer of popcorn on the cold oil. I cover it almost all the way and let it pop on medium-high. I spray olive oil on the popcorn when it’s done, and then obviously salt.
I recently got my popcorn on sale in a bulk bin at a really nice grocery store (Henry’s) for 69 cents a pound. It is for this reason that when we ran out of popcorn and my husband came home with a $4, 1 pound 12 ounce can of Orville Redenbacher’s “Popping Corn,” my jaw dropped. And then, I said it. “Hon-EEE, what were you THINKing???” The poor guy just looked at me with a furrowed brow crowning his an innocent, sorry eyes and claimed ignorance. I guess he would have no way of knowing, but I digress . . . I was determined to find out just why this “Popping Corn” better than my humble 69 cents-a-pound regular old popcorn. So, I did a pop-off.
I had a little bit of 69 cents-a-pound popcorn and so I went ahead and popped that, and it was good as usual. Then I made the “Popping Corn.” Oh wow. Big, luxurious, fluffy yet sturdy. I mean, the color was a beautiful, buttery yellow and the bite to it was perfect. It made my 69 cents-a-pound popcorn seem like goat feed. So, I guess there is a difference. According to “The Encyclopedia of Kitchen & Cooking Secrets” by Dr. Myles Bader, “Most of the corn products in the supermarkets sold to produce popcorn have an expansion ratio of only 28:1, while those sold to movie theaters have an expansion ratio of 42:1.” OHHHHH, I see. I always wondered why my movie popcorn was $8 for a small bag. Now I don’t feel so bad.
In observance of National Popcorn Popping Month, I thought you might enjoy these facts, and a little song:
*Do you ever wonder why some kernals don’t pop? Apparently these “old maids,” as they are called, have lost moisture.
* One quart of popcorn (a small bag) equals the calories in just 7 large potato chips. (Bader.)
* The first recorded popcorn event in history was by the Aztecs. However, they used it for decoration instead of eating it. (Bader.)
Popcorn Song
(From the Washington County, Ohio Extension Homemaker’s Guild, 1971)
Sing a song of pop corn when the snowstorms rage
Fifty little yellow men put into a pot
Shake them till they laugh and leap, crowding to the top
Watch them burst their little coats
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Now you don’t think I would write a post in October about popcorn without posting a recipe for caramel corn, do you?
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1 cup unpopped popcorn
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
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3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
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| 1. | Preheat oven to 300 degrees F(150 degrees C). |
| 2. | In a large pot, heat oil over high heat. Add the unpopped popcorn. Moving the pan constantly, pop the corn. Remove from heat, place in a large baking pan, and keep warm in the preheated oven. Discard unpopped kernels. |
| 3. | Mix sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt into a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture starts to boil. Continue cooking for 5 minutes without stirring. |
| 4. | Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Pour over the popped popcorn. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from pan and put into a large bowl to cool. |
