Popcorn Advice (1 Viewer)

[Nate Anderson]

John-

As far as I know, Orville Reddenbacher still makes the Carmel Corn kind, but I miss the Cheddar Cheese kind. (not the CheddarButter kind, that's too much for me.)

 

[John D.]

Nate,

Where do you find the carmel corn. I've looked everywhere for it. I'm from Los Angeles and no one seems to carry it.

JD

 

[Garrett Lundy]

I just eat regular-flavor potato chips dipped (even double-dipped) in HelluvaGood chip dip (French onion or Bacon & Horseradish).
Now that I think about it.... I didn't help you at all.

 

[Anthony GT]

Come on, somebody around here must add Flavacol to their popcorn!

Anthony

 

[Shawn Shultzaberger]

My wife and I purchased a Whirly clone a few weeks ago with the popcorn, coconut oil and flavocal. We will never ever buy another microwave popcorn again. Unless it's the Kettle Corn .
It tastes just like movie theater popcorn. Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

 

[Anthony GT]

Bringing this thread back for a butter topping question.

Does anyone know any B&M stores that sell it? Shipping on those 1 gallon containers is a b**ch. I'd buy it locally if I had any idea where to get it. Any suggestions?

Anthony

 

[Jeff Kleist]

If there are any non-chain movie theaters around you you could probably cut a deal with the manager.

 

[Philip_G]

the store I work for orders flavorcal flavored salt for our popper, I think sam's club might sell it also.

You know you can make kettle corn in the whirly pop right? just toss in the oil (coconut!) and I think it's 6 tablespoons of sugar and pop as normal, salt when done. It's very good IMO, there are directions in the whirly pop book, but I use more oil and more sugar, be sure to use fresh corn, stale stuff won't pop up nearly as much.

 

[Michael*K]

Though I haven't had a membership there in a couple years, I know Costco used to sell the gallon or larger sized containers of butter topping.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

When I was a kid my parents would make popcorn on the stovetop and top it with melted butter mixed with GRATED CHEDDAR CHEESE. I don't know if this is available anymore but it used to come in the little green tube like the grated parmesan.

 

[MikeAlletto]

Does anyone elses whirlypop make popcorn that is tough and chewy? I'm guessing its because it doesn't vent the steam enough because there aren't enough slats. I tried testing this by occassionally letting the steam out as I pop, but of course stuff goes everywhere. Anyone got a better solution???

It tastes awesome, but its really chewy. I've got fresh kernals and I'm not using a ton of oil.

 

[Robert Ma]

Mine does sometimes also. I also believe its related to venting.
I found that pre-heating the pan slightly and then adding the oil (allowing it to melt completely) then quickly adding the kernels after the oil is completely melted helps. Then I start stirring very slowly at first and I mean slowly. Once the first kernel pops, I then crank very fast and as soon as the explosion of corn is near end, I put the pot on a cold side of the stove and open the lid. I let it sit in the pot with the lid open for about 30 seconds and then dump it in a bowl.
I also use medium-high on my stove top instead of medium.
Bottom line is experiment a little and you may be able to tweak your popcorn I hope santa brings me a real commercial popper this year but I don't have my hopes up...

 

[MikeAlletto]

Hmmm...i'll have to give that a try. What I do now is preheat the heater, then put oil and kernels in a cold pot, then put over heat and stir...i'll try a little preheating and melting oil first then adding kernels.

 

[Philip_G]

I do it like you mike, using med-high on my electric range, no problems for me, besides the outrageous price of the pre-mix popcorn stuff

 

[Rob-Gr]

Am I the only one who has a problem with the popcorn getting soggy when I add the butter? I pop the corn in a cast iron or stainless pot on the stove, and then add melted butter and salt, but the popcorn just melts into a soggy mess of butter soaked popcorn. I have tried the Reese brand of popcorn salt/ butter flavored salt, but it's not that great. Any suggestions would be great.

Rob

 

[MikeAlletto]

Rob-Gr, yeah. I would love to put butter on it but the kernels soak up the butter and kinda collapse upon themselves instead of staying fluffed.

 

[DougR]

After trying several other brands of Popcorn for my Whirlypop popper, I thought I'd go back to their Website and see about getting what came with my popper.
Ordered a 20 pack of there "Real Theater Popcorn" ,on Sale BTW,..... can't beat the taste !! If you follow their directions ( Don't Pre-Heat) it turns out Real good !!
In fact the day after ( Leftovers) it still taste good !
Real Theater Popcorn

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

thought i would resurect this thread because it will never be irrelevent.

I have wondered for a long time how to get that signature movie theater taste. I normally pop the corn in a dtuch oven in canola, because that's what I have. Top with salt and real butter.

It turns out good as long as i remeber to vent the steam, I do this by holding the lid on with a sligt gap. (at the edge that faces away from my face!)

Still, it doesn't taste like the movie theater.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Frankly, oil popped popcorn with Coconut Oil and Flavacol tastes plenty buttery for me, and never soggy/chewy unless you are using too much oil.

If you are worried about your health, use 2/3 canola and 1/3 coconut. You still get a lot of the flavor.

And whirly-pop is the best. Stir Crazy is a bit more irritating to clean and not as durable. Dutch oven requires a bit more work, and it's easier to burn.

 

[larry mac]

Received the wirly-thing as a present but didn't like it. IMO, it was way too lightweight and thin. I couldn't control the heat properly and so it burned. Seemed kind of like a cheap joke, but now I see it's not that inexpensive. Maybe with a gas stove it would work better 'cause you can see how much heat you are applying and instantly adjust it. I still think it should be constructed of heavier metal instead of thin aluminum. I thru it away. Prefer O.R. MTB micro anyway.

IMO, the secret to good microwave popcorn is to quit popping sooner. As soon as the popping BEGINS to slow down, stop and remove the bag. Shake the bag up and down 10-15 times to distribute and coat everything inside, then open the bag carefully (hold two opposite corners and pull, repeat with other two corners). You will have some unpopped kernels, but the popped ones will be unsteamed, unburned, and more buttery.

On a related note, I posted a comment about my popcorn job a while back, and yes, you add the Savorall (I could have sworn that's what it use to be called) to the coconut oil at the beginning of the process. Here is part of it:

"1967. I was 16. Worked as an usher at General Cinema Corporation, Big Town Mall in Mesquite, TX. $0.75 an hour."

"On Saturday mornings I would pop about two dozen large trash bags of popcorn in a little room behind the screen. The manager would get mad at me 'cause I used too much coconut oil and yellow seasoning salt. Hey, the yellow is the best part- right? The patrons must have gone nuts from the great smell. Of course it was kind of a rip-off, selling old popcorn all week."