Perfect Popcorn!

You are probably wondering if I am ever going to post about bread again.

Never fear, I'll get there.  I have breads on the mind and in the works, but what I do not have is a lot of time right now.  And unfortunately, the breads I really want to try out require quite a bit of time.

At any rate, in these hurried days of limited funds, popcorn is a welcome quick and inexpensive treat.  I can't say much about the absolute health benefits of this popcorn recipe, but what I can say is it works.

Years ago, someone told me the secret to good stove-popped popcorn--popcorn which is fluffy and which pops all the kernels--is to try to bring all the kernels to popping temperature at the same time.  He did it by moving his pot on and off the stove unit, shaking it around gently to make sure the heat was evenly distributed, until the kernels began popping.

Somehow, although I tried, I never got the hang of this method.

So not too long ago, in a fit of desperation, I looked up popcorn popping methods on the Internet and discovered a much simpler secret operating on the same basic principle.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels

The original recipe I found called for 3 Tablespoons of oil, but after trying it, I thought it tasted a bit too greasy.  I experimented and found I could get by using 2 Tablespoons, with better results.  (Besides, who wouldn't want to cut the fat they are consuming by a third, right?)

First, put the oil in a 3-quart saucepan, along with three unpopped kernels.  Cover the saucepan with a lid and place it over medium heat.  Listen for the sound of those three kernels popping, which will be your cue that the oil has reached the desired temperature.

Once the three kernels have popped, add the 1/3 cup popcorn kernels.

Here is the big secret!!  Cover the pot and remove it from the hot stove unit.  That's right--set it on the back burner.

Set your timer for 30 seconds.

THIS is what is going to get your popcorn kernels all at a similar and close to popping temperature.  THIS is the trick which is going to minimize the numbers of unpopped kernels in your popcorn bowl.  (In the last half dozen or so batches I've popped, I think I've seen maybe one kernel which didn't pop.)

After 30 seconds, move the pot back on the hot unit.  Feel free to shake the pot a little if you want; it won't hurt anything.  I'm not sure it helps at all, but it won't hurt anything.

In a short while, you will hear popping . . . a lot of popping all at once.  This will be your indication that you have been successful:  your popcorn is all popping within a very short time window.  To avoid soggy popcorn, you can crack the lid a bit while it's popping and allow some of the humidity to escape, if you want.

And voila!  Add some salt or whatever other seasonings you want to personalize your popcorn.  I've heard it suggested to add salt when the oil is heating, but in my experience, it all ends up at the bottom of the pot, instead of automatically salting the popcorn during the popping process.

Enjoy!