Anyone Still Make Popcorn The Old School Way?

[Crotulus]

Third. Have tried a few different oils and have largely settled on avocado oil + Flavacol.

Perfect results every single time.

Viper GTS

Fourth for a Whirly Pop. Coconut oil and Flavacol

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Mushy tasteless junk
Tears are drenched in fake butter
Microwave popcorn

Too stupid to know
Not all microwave popcorn
Comes out of a box

 

[SamQuint]

Yes, stopped making microwave years ago. Stove top is the best. The StirCrazy that was posted earlier is great but I forget to wash the damn thing after it cools down and it becomes a sticky pain in the ass to clean.

Any recommendations for good popcorn. Orville's and Jolly Time are ok but I know there must be better stuff out there.

BTW I use coconut oil,

 

[nakedfrog]

I don't make popcorn at all.

 

[Homerboy]

Yes, stopped making microwave years ago. Stove top is the best. The StirCrazy that was posted earlier is great but I forget to wash the damn thing after it cools down and it becomes a sticky pain in the ass to clean.

Any recommendations for good popcorn. Orville's and Jolly Time are ok but I know there must be better stuff out there.

BTW I use coconut oil,

LOL funny you mention the StirCrazynot getting cleaned. Ours ends up sitting on the counter after use WAY too long. Not to hard to clean though. Cover can go in the dishwasher and the bottom can be cleaned quick enough with some hot water, squirt of soap and a rag/sponge

I've tried COUNTLESS varieties of popcorn. I keep coming back to Orville. It just pops the biggest and fluffiest and rarely is there a kernel left unpopped.
We'll use coconut oil too instead of the junk I linked. Depends on the day (and what we have in the cabinet)

 

[KeithP]

Fourth for a Whirly Pop. Coconut oil and Flavacol

Yep, I use a Whirly Pop as well.

I will say, I friend of mine has this Hamilton Beach Popcorn popper and it does a very good job…plus it has a built-in bowl.

-KeithP

 

[Ichinisan]

Is there anything wrong with microwave popcorn?

No prep.
3 minutes.
Done.

[edit]
OH JESUS $&@"$&)&@%#} MY FACE!

 

[IronWing]

Is there anything wrong with microwave popcorn?

No prep.
3 minutes.
Done.

Ain't got no microwave.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Is there anything wrong with microwave popcorn?

No prep.
3 minutes.
Done.

[edit]
OH JESUS $&@"$&)&@%#} MY FACE!

Doesn't taste the same.

 

[Crotulus]

Any recommendations for good popcorn. Orville's and Jolly Time are ok but I know there must be better stuff out there.

BTW I use coconut oil,

Bob's Red Mill Popcorn is great.
https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mil...0233303&sr=8-2&keywords=red+mill+popcorn&th=1

 

[IronWing]

Is there anything wrong with microwave popcorn?

No prep.
3 minutes.
Done.

[edit]
OH JESUS $&@"$&)&@%#} MY FACE!

What happened here?

 

[paperfist]

No

I make popcorn in a kettle every morning. That's the old school way.

Every morning, is that your champion breakfast?

 

[Homerboy]

Bob's Red Mill Popcorn is great.
https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Red-Mill-Popcorn-27-ounce/dp/B004VLV6ES/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1540233303&sr=8-2&keywords=red+mill+popcorn&th=1

Tried this one in the past. Was woefully un-impressed. Lots of kernels left unpopped

 

[Ichinisan]

What happened here?

You're supposed to "open away from face."

 

[Iron Woode]

A lot of food for thought in my thread.

 

[Darwin333]

ditto... I gotta popper that I used umpteen zillion times but haven't for several years. Stovetop for me now. A little oil. No butter, a sprinkle of salt... done. I buy in bulk out of bin, organic. Not too much, if you keep it too long it pops badly if at all.

I don't miss the butter. The oil in the pan gives an oil taste and I like that. You don't get that with a hot air popper. Adding butter makes a mess of the popper or is an extra step if you melt and pour over. That gets your hands messy too.

Nothing wrong with some lube already on your fingers.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I often wondered if I was the only one who makes popcorn on the stove burner using a pot with a lid.

So, I thought I'd find out if I am alone on this.

Well, am I?

This is the preferred method.

 

[Crotulus]

Tried this one in the past. Was woefully un-impressed. Lots of kernels left unpopped

Strange, my experience has been the opposite. Almost every kernel popped with the bags I've tried. Sounds like you found a bad batch.

 

[Viper GTS]

Strange, my experience has been the opposite. Almost every kernel popped with the bags I've tried. Sounds like you found a bad batch.

I did an admittedly obscene amount of research when I was looking into making perfect popcorn. The issue with unpopped kernels is apparently related to the moisture content being too low. If they are not stored properly in a low humidity environment they may become too dry to properly pop. They can supposedly be salvaged by exposing them to humidity but IMO that's way too much work for something so cheap.

My experience with Bob's Red Mill has been similarly excellent.

Viper GTS

 

[Muse]

Yes, stopped making microwave years ago. Stove top is the best. The StirCrazy that was posted earlier is great but I forget to wash the damn thing after it cools down and it becomes a sticky pain in the ass to clean.

Any recommendations for good popcorn. Orville's and Jolly Time are ok but I know there must be better stuff out there.

BTW I use coconut oil,

Microwave popcorn is a scourge. One of the nastier smells in western civilization is burned microwave popcorn. People are lazy, that's my take on MW popcorn even existing, people like the idea of popping it in the MW and a few minutes later, munch is served.

MW popcorn is, if I'm not mistaken, also bad for your MW. The relatively small amount of H2O in the kernels means that your MW is struggling and it's apt to burn out much sooner if you make a habit of using MW popcorn.

AFA recommendations for PC... I don't buy the Orvilles or Jolly Time, that's just "gourmet" and you pay extra and AFAIK it's no better than the bulk organic PC I pick up at my local big indy supermarket where they have tons of stuff in bulk. I just pull down a handle and the amount I want (any amount) pours into a plastic bag and I pay by weight. Like I said, it pops great to start, but if you keep it for too many months you will find that it doesn't pop as well, The popped kernels are much smaller and some won't pop at all. I keep my unpopped PC in an airtight bottle to help prevent the kernels from drying out, but they still dry out over time. I think you can add a tablespoon of water to such a jar and overnight the kernels will absorb it and that extends the popping power, but that doesn't work so well if the kernels are too old.

I have planted popcorn in the past. It will grow. Thing to realize is corn is wind pollinated, not by insects, so you need some rows and OK conditions for the corn to pollinate or your corn won't have a lot of kernels on it! Growing corn is big fun because it grows super fast. Good one for kids!

 

[sactoking]

I've tried doing the stove top method, with a large lidded pot, coconut oil and Flavacol. The first several times while cooking over a medium flame the popcorn burned before it popped. I tried turning the flame down on later batches and got a better pop yield but still had 50%+ unpopped before it started to scorch. AND it took like 45 minutes to get that piddly yield.

I've gone back to my air popper that only takes a couple of minutes, has about 99.5% yield, and pops the kernels fluffier. I mix a bit of the Flavacol into the butter before I melt it and that seems to work fine.

I've been using the Costco Orville Redenbachers for a few years now. Very few old maids, nice size and fluffiness, and keeps for a long time in the container. Neither cheap nor gourmet kernels have popped better for me.

 

[RLGL]

There was one day at work, a few years ago, where I used the microwave to heat up a snack. There was some time left on the timer of the cheap microwave. The next user inserted a bag of popcorn into the oven and set the time to .... The building was evacuated due to the smoke and the smell from the popcorn, this included 3 other businesses. A short time later the employee was let go for other reasons. This company had a high personnel turnover, I left it soon after.

 

[sdifox]

I've tried doing the stove top method, with a large lidded pot, coconut oil and Flavacol. The first several times while cooking over a medium flame the popcorn burned before it popped. I tried turning the flame down on later batches and got a better pop yield but still had 50%+ unpopped before it started to scorch. AND it took like 45 minutes to get that piddly yield.

I've gone back to my air popper that only takes a couple of minutes, has about 99.5% yield, and pops the kernels fluffier. I mix a bit of the Flavacol into the butter before I melt it and that seems to work fine.

I've been using the Costco Orville Redenbachers for a few years now. Very few old maids, nice size and fluffiness, and keeps for a long time in the container. Neither cheap nor gourmet kernels have popped better for me.

Err how do you screw up popcorn.

 

[sactoking]

Err how do you screw up popcorn.

Why does popcorn not pop when heated in oil while the same popcorn pops just fine when heated by hot air?

 

[Carson Dyle]

That's how I do it. I have a big Revere Ware pot with a lid that my Mom must have given to me decades ago, and I only use it for popcorn.

I usually use extra virgin olive oil, which is a bit tricky getting the temperature right without smoking it. Love the flavor, though. Once it begins popping, I shake the ***** out of the pot to keep the already popped corn from burning. Good workout.