mmm, popcorn.
can i make a bowl of popcorn without using a microwave, in less than five minutes? let’s see…
gather my ingredients.
do some gentle stretching (spandex optional).
ready, set, go!
i pour oil into pot, just enough to cover the bottom, then add the corn. the amount depends on the size of the pot. again, just enough corn to cover the bottom of the pot.
i place the lid on the pot, and put the pot on the stove, medium-high heat.
i wait.
i start hearing the popcorn pop. i don’t open the lid, but just keep listening. once the popping slows to about 1 pop per second, i give the pot a gentle jiggle to let any unpopped kernels settle to the bottom.
once the popping slows right down, but before i smell something burning … i remove it from the heat.
time!
gah! not quite under 5 minutes. but perfectly popped corn in a pot (with only 2 ingredients, 3 if i want to add salt)… in 5 minutes. not bad at all.
you know you want some…
a few notes:
- the kind of oil you use matters. as much as i love using extra virgin olive oil for most of my cooking, it does have a low smoke point. meaning it doesn’t take much heat for it to start burning. i use extra light olive oil or canola oil, both of which have a higher smoke point than extra virgin olive oil. you can geek out about it here.
- the kind of kernels you use matters. this is the fun part. the bulk food store has different kinds. try them out and see which you like best.
- the kind of pot you use doesn’t really matter. i used a cast iron pot, which takes longer to heat up. i probably could’ve come in under 5 minutes with a stainless steel pot (rookie mistake!). i don’t use non-stick, but if i did, i’d hesitate to pop corn in it because i think the kernels may scratch the coating. ok, so maybe the type of pot you use does matter.
- every instruction i’ve read on how to make popcorn in a pot insists that you leave the lid open slightly to let the steam escape. i’ve never done this. as long as there is a little gap around the rim for the pressure to escape, i think it works better if you leave the lid on and let the steam and everything else stay inside.
mmm, popcorn (did i say that already?)…
how do you make your popcorn? favourite toppings?
it’s a long weekend here for us… enjoy yours!
© imadeitso, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to ana at imadeitso.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
I remember when I was a child we had a mini-popcorn machine. It was fun watching the things going jumpy all over it :) (it had a clear container for the popcorn). I can’t remember if it broke down or something.
Now we only have microwave popcorn from time to time :P
Yumm popcorn!
It’s always our Friday movie snack! Thanks for this wonderful tip. The pictures look so amazing.
I remember making popcorn on the stove all of the time when we were growing up. Yep, you are right, I want some! LOL Thanks for the tip on the different kinds of oil. Didn’t know that.
Popcorn success! I use to do the stove top and sometimes I burned the popcorn. Now I use my electric hot air popcorn popper. Favorite topping is brewers yeast. Yummy
mmm I can almost smell it Ana!
We sometimes have popcorn for dinner … what you say … we add real butter and sprinkle on some Nutritional Yeast … oh it’s so good.
We have had a hot air popcorn popper for many many years, no oil involved … good thing because I would not want to give up the butter heehee!
We just branched out and made a spray out of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and Apple Cider Vinegar … that gave an interesting taste in addition to a little butter and nutrional yeast .. oh and we always use Organic popcorn … maybe we should have popcorn for dinner tonight? and a movie :)
Coconut oil. Mmmm.
My friend has a really yummy and healthy version where she tosses it in olive oil AFTER it’s cooked in (flavorless) coconut, then sprinkles nutritional yeast on it and spritzes it with Bragg’s liquid aminos. VERY yummy.
I use coconut oil to pop the corn. It has a divine scent and a high smoke point. Once popped I throw some curry powder and salt on and chow down. I love me some popcorn! I just wish I had a groovy Le Crueset like yours to pop it in style.
you guys? i’m obviously missing something with all this yeast chitchat.. i’ll have to try that!
nancy, the pot is a le creuset knockoff made by lagostina, which i got as a gift. i love the colour. but it doesn’t have the sealed lip that le creuset pots do. nothing compares to the original (i have one, it’s a tiny saucepan, it’s 30+ yrs old and in better shape than all my other pots!)
Heh, I totally missed that comment nearly identical to mine. Sorry. LOL I LOVE the idea of ACV in it, though! Yum!
We like the yeast b/c it makes it sort of cheesy. But I am not really sure how good for you it is to ingest, you know, yeast. But maybe it’s different somehow. I really don’t know.
When I’m making popcorn for just ME, I like salt and pepper. I also saw Giada on Food TV (almost wrote “Foot TV” lulz) infuse her oil with rosemary before popping the corn in it.
This is truly the best way to pop popcorn. We omit the salt and sprinkle finely grated parmesan cheese on ours – makes it cheesy and delicious!
I rarely pop popcorn any other way. These days I have an old pressure cooker pot that no longer takes a seal (banged the rim too many times with my metal ladle) and a glass lid (not meant for the pressure cooker at all) missing its knob. Funny you should mention about letting the steam escape. I never bothered about it before but with this old lid, it has a hole in the middle where the knob used to be so the steam escapes through there. Makes absolutely no difference if you ask me. I rest it on the pot upside down so any splatter will roll toward the center and drip back in, and the lid doesn’t slip off that way either. Oh, and I use extra light (tasting) olive oil.
Great tutorial. I’m going to start making popcorn this way from now on. If just smelling the fumes of the fake butter in the microwave bag can give you cancer, what happens when you ingest it?
Nice to meet a fellow Canadian blogger!
I bought a WhirleyPop popper for my husband for Valentine’s Day a couple of years ago… That’s how much we love popcorn :) The WhirleyPop is basically a pot on the stove with oil, but it has a nifty little handle that you turn to spin the kernels and keep them from burning. Yum.
Wow, very retro. From before microwaves, before hot air poppers (still my preferred method), before Jiffy Pop even. I seem to remember Jiffy Pop commercials on Saturday morning cartoons. It seemed pretty cool. My mom never bought it.
Try popping with coconut oil! Pretty high smoke temp, similar to your light virgin olive oil. Adds a slight sweetness :)
i’ve tried that since, you’re right, it’s good!
Well, look whose blog showed up when I was looking for info on making stovetop popcorn! Thanks for the info Ana.
how cool, thanks for letting me know, laurel :)
My mom always makes her popcorn in a Stir-Crazy but adds Tabasco sauce to the oil, and now when I make mine in a large pot, I just add a bit of whatever hot sauce I have on hand (usually Louisiana style) to the oil before heating. A little salt and then there’s no use for butter!
The bottom of the pot gets some burnt bits leftover, but my Lagostina pots come clean every time.
I’ve been using this microwave method ever since reading this on Squawkfox’s blog:
http://www.squawkfox.com/2010/07/27/popcorn-recipe-gourmet-popcorn/
I just read it again, and realized that I’ve been using 1/4 cup of kernels instead of 1/2 cup! No wonder it sometimes burns!!! DUH!
i’ve heard of that too! i’ll try it one day.