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Foodie In Training

Monday, December 17, 2007

DIY Popcorn

I will never have a bag of popcorn again...the homemade stuff is just too good!! Ryan and I have recently started making our own popcorn instead of buying the Smart Pop or Orville Redenbacher bagged popcorn. It is so much better and you can add all kinds of different seasonings to make it different every time. And it's a lot healthier for you too. I just buy the cheap popcorn kernels at the grocery (usually located at the bottom of the shelf under all of the bagged popcorn options) for about $2 you can get a bag of seeds that will last a long time because a little goes a long way!
You need a large sauce pan, and pour about a 1/4 cup of oil (vegetable or canola) into the pan. Put in a 3 or 4 kernels at first and once they pop you know the oil is hot enough to pour in the rest. Ryan is usually in charge of the popcorn because the one time I tried to do it I burnt it..he eye balls the amount of kernels to pop, but I think it is about 3/4 a cup. Once you put the kernels in the pan, constantly move the pan back and forth to keep the kernels from sticking to the bottom and burning (that is where I got in to trouble), basically once you stop hearing the popping noise the popcorn is done and ready to eat! We usually just add a lot of salt and parmesan cheese, but last night we added grated asiago cheese on top for an extra kick. It was a great late night snack. Not the most foody-ish thing to make but it's easy, fast and tasty.

2 comments:

Ryan said...

I put in just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot; a couple tablespoons should do. To make a big batch (and I like leftover popcorn) I throw in 3 healthy handfulls of kernels, Erin is probably right, that amounts to about 3/4 cup.

The other key is to pull it off the heat as soon as the popping slows down, before it gets to a total stop, and immediately pour the popcorn into a different dish so it stops cooking and doesn't burn.

Enjoy!

Jules C. said...

Oh Erin... my college roommate my junior year turned me on to this. Ever since then, anyone I live with becomes addicted. I have not had boxed popcorn since! I have found that the white popcorn kernels are the best. They mostly all pop, can the hull part is not as hard as the yellow or the black popcorn. Sometimes I like to sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the hot popcorn… it is like kettle corn but better.

Merry Christmas you two!