Popcorn
I think this is my first ever blog posting that isn't art-related... so if you're looking for popcorn art, you can visit my earlier post on Popcorn & Parrot Art.When I moved to NYC a couple of years ago I ruthlessly thinned out my kitchen gadgets & tools so that I could better fit into a New York-sized living space. I overdid it a bit and found, after several watery salads, that I actually do need/want a salad spinner. But I didn't especially miss my popcorn popper--I don't really eat popcorn that often and microwave popcorn had been satisfying the occasional need.
Still, I do find microwave popcorn kinda gross (and unnecessarily expensive). It contains all sorts of weird chemicals and, presumably, trans fats.
The other day I was at my corner store buying popcorn and noticed that for the same price as 3 serving of microwave popcorn, I could buy 25 servings of regular popcorn. I decided to give stove-top popcorn a try... and you know what? It's the best method I've come across for making popcorn. I heated 2 tablespoons of oil in a 3 quart pot, added 1/3 cup popcorn, covered it with a lid, and 3 minutes later I had popcorn... and every single kernal popped! There were no old maids or duds!
According to the Wikipedia:
Two explanations exist for kernels which do not pop at proper temperatures, known in the popcorn industry as "old maids". The first is that unpopped kernels do not have enough moisture to create enough steam for an explosion. The second explanation, according to research led by Dr. Bruce Hamaker of Purdue University, is that the unpopped kernel may have a leaky hull.So it could be that I'm getting such good popcorn performance (yes, I'm reveling in my newly found popcorn geekness) because it's a freshly opened bag of popcorn and the kernels' moisture hasn't gone stale.
But if that's a factor, I think a bigger one is that my gas range is putting a lot more heat on my kernels than an electric popcorn popper does. Perhaps that intense heat overwhelms any kernels that are slightly leaky.
Anyway, what is striking to me about this isn't really that all the kernels popped--it more that I can't understand what purpose electric popcorn poppers serve and how they came to be so prevalent. I imagine most people are like me and find the idea of making popcorn on the stove almost inconceivable (aside from ConAgra Foods's JiffyPop).
Somehow we've been convinced that popcorn poppers are somehow the only way to go even though they are slower, take up storage space, are more difficult to clean, and don't pop as well. I wonder if it started with this (a so-called "back to basics" popcorn maker):
That elaborate stirring mechanism is completely unnecessary... I've been making my popcorn over high heat (which I think helps the kernels pop) shaking only occasionally in the three minutes it takes it to pop. But maybe this once this expensive pot started being used, it introduced a drudgery (of constant stirring) that made people were happy to buy yet another gadget (an electric popcorn popper) to avoid.Anyway, enough of proving I'm my father's son (he often writes & blogs about the superiority of old-fashioned safety razors to today's cartridge razors)... tomorrow, back to art!
posted by Ethan at
8:50 AM
5 Comments:
My Mom used to make popcorn this way when I was a kid.
You have to be a little careful with the heat, or you'll burn it. Also, you need that oil; you can't make healthier popcorn with no added oil this way.
Those are presumabl the main two advantages of the hot-air popcorn popper; if you don't care about them, a pan is perfect. And yes, the stirrer in that fancy pan is almost pointless; it will cause the kernels to be heated more evenly, but you don't need that if you have the temperature right.
Burnt popcorn is definitely a terrible smell... when I worked at the 5th Ave Cinema at PSU we would occasionally be inattentive and not dump the last bit of popcorn out of the popcorn machine's cooker. Yuck.
Try placing a couple of kernels in the oil, wait until they pop then add the rest of the corn, wait until the popping slows then remove. No shaking at all.
brucifer is right: the usual rule is to put 3 kernels (and the recommendation is always for 3, for some reason) in the oil, wait until one pops, and then add the rest. Reading the post, I now understand why: one doesn't want the kernels heating slowly, which allows the internal moisture to escape gradually from leaky kernels, which then don't pop. By adding kernels only when the oil is really hot, they are heated quickly and more likely to pop.
That said, I do like my Whirley-Pop (the device you picture)---it has a much larger capacity than my pots, and is also much lighter and easier to handle. And stirring the kernels gives me something to do while waiting. :)
The key question, which you do not address (wisely, I think, since it's so difficult to answer) is: what are the best toppings for popcorn. :)
In my last batch I used 1/2 oil & 1/2 butter... it seemed to work well and is a good way of buttering the popcorn without getting it soggy spots.
I also tried throwing in a few tablespoons of granulated sugar along with the kernels--that worked well, though I definitely did shake it constantly (to prevent the sugar from burning).
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