I feel like popcorn was taken hostage by movie theaters. I started thinking this a year or so ago when I was driving in Michigan and stopped at an Amish road side stand and bought popcorn kernels. They weren’t like anything I’d seen. They had several varieties and when we popped them at home they tasted different, smelled different, looked different.
And so I started thinking harder about popcorn. It’s really an amazing snack food. It’s relatively healthy. It’s a ton of fun. It’s one of those foods that kids gravitate towards, so you know it’s got some of that magic working. And in my opinion it’s one of the best tasting pairings with all sorts of alcoholic drinks, especially champagne.
We featured heirloom popcorns at Clover movie nights and it was a huge hit. Now Rolando is upping the game and has been experimenting
with Popcorn as a snack for beer launches. Last week for Jack’s Abby we had BBQ popcorn, and the other night for High and Mighty we had Cajun popcorn.
But seriously, when was the last time you made popcorn? It’s cheap, it hold forever without going bad. And it’s really easy to make. So free your popcorn from the movie-theater shackles and make some at home for yourself. I found a recipe online that works great:
- Put 1 Tablespoon of oil in a pan with 2-3 kernels. heat with lid on until you hear them pop.
- Remove from heat. Add rest of popcorn you want to pop (a couple tablespoons goes a long way). Cover. Count to 60.
- Turn the heat back on. Listen for pops. Turn heat off when there are a few seconds between pops.
- Put some parmesan cheese on there, or butter, or nutritional yeast, soy sauce, something spicy, you can’t go wrong.
I love popcorn, and I make it for myself all the time. One thing I’ve been experimenting with recently is infusing the oil I use to cook the popcorn in, or just throwing in some whole spices (whole fennel seed, whole cumin seed) into the pot when I put my popcorn kernels in. I’ve found this really infuses the flavor into each piece!
Heather –
That’s an awesome idea! I’m going to try myself today.
Za’atar makes for great popcorn, too! ..maybe pop the corn with cumin seeds, and finish with za’atar? I think I just figured out what I’ll be eating while watching the Pats game.
We eat lots of popcorn (I order it from an Amish Popcorn company). We have a Whirley Pop popcorn pan that is amazing – even our 7 year old is learning how to make it. We love it with Tabasco and a little salt. For a sweet treat try putting a tablespoon of sugar with the oil – homemade kettle corn!
Love the Tabasco/salt idea. And I see where Sara gets her love of food!
Kari got me hooked on furikake as a popcorn topping. seaweed, sesame, salt, usually a bit of bonito flakes, and sometimes msg, but a great way to lend a serious umami kick.
That’s awesome. We’re going to look into it for a future beer launch. I wonder what kind of a beer this would pair best with.
I am going to test multiple flavors. So far my favorite is powdered sugar and cinnamon.