do you make your own popcorn from scratch?

[DisneyScraps]

I would comment that one bag of popcorn per kid is excessive! That stuff is loaded with calories.

Lisa

 

[MEM]

The smell of microwave popcorn nauseates DH so we don't buy it. That's saying a lot because smells rarely bother him - I'm the one with the sensitive nose. Instead, we use an air popper that has to be 20 years old. It has a built-in butter dispenser that drips onto the popcorn as it pops but we rarely use it. If you buy high quality popping corn you don't need butter or salt, IMHO.

 

[leadfootlevi]

What kind of pan do you all use to pop it on the stovetop? The only skillets we own are cast iron - I'm thinking these will be too heavy. You have to pop with a lid, right?

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Another Stir Crazy user here. In fact, we just bought a new one before the holidays when Target had them on sale. A little olive oil (a teaspoon, not a tablespoon) and some sea salt. It's a great snack.

 

[julirina]

What kind of pan do you all use to pop it on the stovetop? The only skillets we own are cast iron - I'm thinking these will be too heavy. You have to pop with a lid, right?

I think the skillet thing might be a misprint -- I can't imagine a skillet holding enough popcorn! I used a 6-qt dutch oven until I got the whirley pop. 1-2 tbsp oil, 1/2 c popcorn kernels in a 6 qt pot ends up about 3/4 full when it's popped. And yes, you absolutely need a lid (unless you have dogs who really like to chase popcorn -- we've done that before just for the entertainment value )

 

[njcarita]

You can use regular popcorn and a brown paper lunch bag to make the popcorn right in your microwave.
http://www.squawkfox.com/2010/07/27/popcorn-recipe-gourmet-popcorn/

i'm going to have to try this right now...

 

[Colleen27]

I was picturing you asking if people are somehow getting the kernels off the cob and drying them or whatever to pop later. I was picturing a whole lot of work and wondering what the payout was because buying the kernels is so covenient.

We have actually grown our own popcorn, but we don't have enough room to grow as much as we eat! We don't bother taking it off the cob, though. We plant a variety with small ears that can be popped in the microwave - after the corn is dried, you just put the whole cob in a brown paper lunchbag, put it in the microwave, and let the corn pop right off the cob. That's one of my kids' favorite garden plants because they think it is so fun to make.

 

[CC12005]

Colleen 27 That sounds fun! Never knew you could do that!

For the OP I have a $15 Orville Redenbacher popper. They sale it at Target. Worth the money. Just pour in the kernals, plug in & it'll start popping into your bowl in a few minutes. More compact than most poppers.

If you microwave popcorn daily, you defintely need this. Much healthier even if you load it down with butter & salt. The plastic lining in microwave bags alone are worth the switch. Orville Redenbacher even has artificial butter like the movies for only a few bucks.

 

[clutter]

You can make it in a brown paper lunch bag. Add about 1/4 cup of popcorn, a bit of salt, and fold the bag over at the top. Place it in the microwave. Press the popcorn button, and you're good to go. Just make sure to keep an eye on it.

Same here. I seal the bag with tape, pop for a little more than 2 minutes (for a 1100 watt microwave). I melt butter. I do the salt and butter after popping. It's really really good.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Yes I do. It's more becaue the microwave boxes are full of trash. For a little while it was hard to get coupons too so it was cheaper for awhile. Now, it varies.

I have a noridc ware microwave popcorn popper. I paid $14 on amazon last christmas, I don't know if they still have it. I buy a bag of jiffy pop kernels for a buck or so at the commissary and then butter spray or popcorn seasoning.

 

[tzolkin]

We have one of the Whirly Pop type of stove top poppers and we have popcorn several times a week. Sometimes I'll even make a batch for myself after the kids have gone to bed and then bag up the rest for their lunches.

I put some butter in a little ramekin into the microwave while I'm cooking the popcorn. I then pour half the popcorn into a big bowl and use a spoon to drizzle butter evenly over the popcorn. I add some salt and use the spoon and my hand to toss. Then I add the rest of the popcorn and repeat. I usually toss it 3 or 4 times while gradually adding the butter so it gets evenly distributed, but I'm a bit particular about it. I can't stand to have a few soggy pieces on top and the rest bare.

We have an Amish store by us that sells a variety of popping corn-- blue, red, super tiny, etc. They all have different textures and we like to switch it up. I have found there is quite a difference even in the "regular" kinds, so you may have to shop around to find some you like. We bought some once (Walmart maybe?) that was awful and only half the kernels popped, so we wound up throwing it away.

 

[pampam]

What kind of oil do you use for stovetop popping? Can I use butter instead of oil for flavour?

 

[luvthemouse71]

I asked for the dome style popper for Christmas because I'm trying to get away from the microwave stuff. I think Orville Redenbacher makes it. That's how my dad used to make popcorn for us, so there's a nostalgia factor as well.

 

[KristinU]

What kind of oil do you use for stovetop popping? Can I use butter instead of oil for flavour?

We use canola oil.

 

[mickeyschickie]

its true...it is so much better than microwave popped, but my air popper is for the microwave, no oil is needed for that either

 

[NMAmy]

When dd came home from college for Christmas, one of her requests was for popcorn "from scratch" which cracked me up at the time. I don't think microwave popcorn tastes anywhere near as good.

When I was growing up, we made popcorn on the stove or in the fireplace and thought it was so cool when we got the air popper. I still have that air popper so we've certainly gotten our money's worth out of it!

 

[mamaLori05]

What kind of pan do you all use to pop it on the stovetop? The only skillets we own are cast iron - I'm thinking these will be too heavy. You have to pop with a lid, right?

I just use a regular pot. I have a Kitchen aide set (have no idea what sizes they are), but I use the middle sized pot the most with the lid. For size comparison, it is the same size as the smaller burners on my flat cooktop stove.

 

[gardengalB4]

I'll second the Whirley Pop type of stove top poppers ...I bought one for DH for Christmas=It is the best popcorn ever.
We bought a large bag of kernels from a Amish store.When we made a batch last night only 3 kernels remained unpopped.
It was so light & fluffy!
I don't believe I will go back to microwave popcorn...

 

[Ephany]

DD and I made of bag of microwave popcorn this afternoon and we both thought it tasted funny. So it looks like we'll be trying to learn how do it the old fashioned way. Where can I buy the seasonings? I looked on Amazon, but don't want 6 containers of the same flavors.

 

[blackforest]

Wow, when we "pop from scratch" I make enough to fill a large paper grocery sack/bag. The bag is great for really shaking up the salt, that way we don't use as much. Also, we can snack on it for a few days, if there is any left. It doesn't get greasy and yucky like microwave popcorn. After microwave popcorn gets cold, to me it is inedible. And we use our 6 quart stock pot to pop it in!