Make homemade popcorn

What you need

• Pot with lid
• Popcorn corn
• Oil
• Bowl for your popcorn

Preparation

First, pour the oil into the pot until the bottom is covered. Then fill the pot with the popcorn corn so that the corn kernels also cover the bottom and put the lid on the pot. Heat the stove until the first popcorn pops and then turn down the temperature. While the popcorn is popping, shake the top back and forth so the corn kernels are heated evenly. When the last kernel has popped, take the pot off the heat and keep shaking to prevent your popcorn from burning. If you are using a pot with a so-called sandwich bottom that continues to give off heat, you should continue to stir and transfer the popcorn to a bowl. There is a risk of scorching throughout the preparation process. So, you must always be mindful of the heat input so that your popcorn will last the cooking.

Microwave popcorn

Microwaving is the fastest way to make homemade popcorn, but also the least flavorful. It’s quick and easy to prepare. All you need is puffed corn or, if you prefer, a ready-made popcorn mix, a microwave-safe container, butter and, of course, a microwave.

Preparation

You put a little of the butter in the container, then put some corn kernels in it and stir them in the butter until they are evenly coated with it. Then place the sealed container in the microwave and turn it on at 600 watts for about seven to eight minutes. When your popcorn is ready, you can transfer it and, after a little time to cool, enjoy.

Having homemade popcorn machine is the dream of many movie and cinema lovers. They are now available in different variants entirely according to the taste and priorities of the user. Simplified, of course, in the classic pot variant, but also for true lovers as a cinema edition. The wonderful thing about such a machine is the simplicity of preparation. You just have to fill it with some oil, puffed corn and sugar or salt as you wish and the preparation is fully automatic.

The most important thing when choosing oil is that it can withstand high temperatures up to 200 degrees Celsius. Accordingly, virgin and cold-pressed oils are not suitable for this purpose. Refined oils and oils or fats such as coconut oil or sesame oil are suitable for popcorn. For some flavors, especially for salty popcorn, you should keep in mind that the combination of a flavor-rich oil and the salt could cause a rather bad taste. So consider beforehand if and how you want to flavor your popcorn.

Popcorn corn pops at a temperature of 180 degrees Celsius. This temperature must be reached and held for a short time so that the kernels pop gradually. Not all kernels pop, however. The heat creates pressure inside the corn kernels and they pop. If the kernel has a crack beforehand, this pressure does not build up and accordingly does not burst.

After popping

If you want to achieve the typical movie theater popcorn, you can drizzle a little butter on it after popping and then either sugar or salt. To achieve an even flavor, it’s best to put a layer of popcorn in the bowl first, then the sugar or salt, then another layer of popcorn and sugar or salt again. At the end, stir everything again to refine the flavor of each piece.

Refining in the pot

There are two ways to make caramelized popcorn in the pot. The first way is to add one or two tablespoons of sugar to the oil and let it melt. When the sugar is caramelized, add the corn kernels and stir until the first popcorn pops. Then close the pot with the lid and wait until the rest of the popcorn is ready. While it’s cooking, make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot and burns.

You can also put oil, sugar and popcorn corn directly together in the pot and heat it up. You should stir constantly at the beginning and when the first kernel pops, put the lid on the pot and turn down the heat. Until the last kernel pops, you should also shake the pot back and forth a bit to avoid the risk of burning your popcorn.

Popcorn for the eye

Anything that is colorful and delicious at the same time will be a hit at any party. Whether for children or adults, colorful popcorn will appeal to everyone and if you don’t care about the color, the taste will convince you. In addition, the preparation is also quite simple and can be made into a small event in itself, if you color the popcorn together.

Ingredients

For colored popcorn, you first need the ingredients that you need for the normal preparation of your popcorn and in addition a few little things. These include food coloring in the colors of your choice, water, sugar and vanilla extract to mix your colors. For exact quantities, it’s still best to look at recipes on the internet.

Preparation

Prepare your popcorn as you normally would, and while it cools down, you can get to work on your colors. Mix each color with the appropriate amount of water and sugar. Put this mixture together with the vanilla extract into a pot and heat it until the sugar caramelizes. Remove the caramel from the heat and add the popcorn. You can now transfer the different colored popcorn into a bowl and let it cool down. You’re done and have a cool party snack!

Serve decoratively

Another decoration idea to beautifully decorate your homemade popcorn are homemade popcorn bags. Again, you don’t need much and you don’t have to be artistically talented. All you need is colored or patterned paper, a pencil, a round object or a compass to draw the shape and glue and scissors.

Crafting instructions

Use a pencil to draw a circle with a diameter of about 30 centimeters. You can use a compass or a round object as a template. You can then twist this circle into a paper bag and glue the edges together with a glue stick. Fill the bag with popcorn and place it on a cake stand or wire trivet.