Poplicious

My newest obsession is popcorn! Fresh popped popcorn.  I have a long history with popcorn, we go way back.  I used to love it as a kid and my sisters would make it all the time.  We had an air-popper so I would watch the popcorn come flying out the top and into the bowl on the counter.  The butter conveniently melted in a little tray on the top.  Once the bowl was full, pour on the butter, add some salt and you are golden!

Then an incident with too much popcorn and a donkey basketball game (Yes they exist, Google it.) resulted in an experience that I’ll kindly spare you the details of.

I didn’t eat popcorn for years after that.  YEARS.  The smell alone would turn my stomach.

Then I started eating it again, probably late high school or college.  I told you, I was off popcorn for a long time!

Times progressed and now we had access to microwave popcorn. Easy little pouches of corn that would pop and already be covered in butter when it was done.  All you have to do is pour into a bowl and eat!

That was my standard go-to for popcorn.  I was never into the overly buttered stuff or any of the funky flavors.  Just basic butter but then that started not appealing to me.  It was heavy and greasy along with being full of not so happy ingredients.

I didn’t want to be putting that into my body so I stopped buying it.

A recent grocery store trip found me buying a bottle of popcorn kernels to make fresh popcorn at home.  You don’t need any fancy equipment, just a big pot with a lid.  A touch of oil to the pan, heat it up, and watch the popcorn start to pop!

My method for making popcorn is super easy!

Andrea’s Fresh Popped Popcorn

  • 1/2C Popcorn Kernels
  • Light Olive Oil
  • Seasoned Salt

In a large pot, heat olive oil (about 1TBSP) over medium high heat. Dump in the popcorn kernels and give a shake so that they are covered with oil.  Place lid on top of pot and give a shake to the popcorn every so often, like every other minute.  When you start to hear the kernels rapidly pop, shake the pan a little more often to keep them from burning in the bottom.  Once the popping has decreased, to about 1 pop in 5 seconds, turn off heat.

Pour popcorn into a large bowl, sprinkle with seasoned salt (to taste but remember it can get salty on you fast!).  Serve and enjoy!

Super easy and takes no more than 10 minutes tops to make.  It tastes a heck of a lot better than something from a microwave bag, I promise.  Fresh popped corn is very light and fluffy when it’s not weighted down by heavy butters and oils.  It also lasts a very long time without getting stale.

There are also loads of ways that popcorn can be flavored! Trying using some chili powder or maybe some garlic powder.  How about parmesan cheese sprinkled on top?  Maybe a sweet and savory version, by sprinkling in a little sugar with the oil at the very beginning.

Popcorn is kind of a blank canvas that can be flavored to suit your mood of the moment. :)

Do you like popcorn? Do you ever make fresh at home?

13 thoughts on “Poplicious

  1. I LOVE popcorn, but have been afraid to make it because I’m worried I’ll burn it + my pot. I bought a couple varieties from Pam’s but haven’t worked up the courage. I really need to because I saw an amazing recipe for Maple Bacon Kettle Corn at Brown-Eyed Baker. I’m not a big bacon person, but this sounds lovely.

  2. Heather says:

    I LOVE popcorn. However I won’t eat movie popcorn (blech) or microwave popcorn (double blech). I only like it in a pot on the stove with oil like you described. Only I put two kernels in 3 tbsp of oil and when they pop I pour in the 1/2 cup of popcorn.

    I even have a special pot with a crank that turns a stirrer. ;) :D

  3. Mmmm… I grew up on popcorn popped with olive oil. Home popped was always my favorite, but sometimes it was just easier to stick a bag in the microwave. I only stopped that junk when I cut soy out of my diet (before I got into Real Food- I knew soy was bad for my thyroid).

    These days I use coconut oil with a bit of bacon grease. It just takes a little to give the whole batch a nice smokey flavor. My dad learned from a nearby Amish family to use butter for popping- the butter browns before the kernels pop, but we like it that way (mom doesn’t, however, and my husband thinks it’s weird). Our family has always sprinkled nutritional yeast on our popcorn too. Yummy!

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