WIN!

What flavour to go with though?

Salt and pepper is good. Might try paprika, or curry.

What say you?

Salted caramel (or just plain salt and sugar).

I always put salt or sugar on in the pan and shake it up, then tip the popcorn into a big (as in huge) bowl. chuck a dollop of butter in the still warm pan it will melt without any further heating and dribble it over the popcorn whilst stirring it around a bit

Or if I want a real sugar rush toffee – sprinkle a layer of demerara sugar in the bottom of a clean dry pan, heat syeadily without stirring until it melts, when it starts to bubble take it of the heat and stir in a bit of butter and splash of milk or cream. Again dribble over the popcorn.

As I’m being healthy these days, ground cumin and coriander.

No more for me the massive jugs of toffee sauce, with a bout 150ml of double cream in it. No. Because that was bad. Awful. Terrible. So I’m told.

Great with a bit of dried chilli (in the pan while cooking).

It’s amazing how easy and cheap it is, I’ll never buy the ready made stuff.. unless I am in the cinema 🙂

I just toss mine in icing sugar.

molgrips – Member

I just toss mine in icing sugar.

Too much information there.

I make sweet popcorn by melting butter/oil with some sugar thrown in and then swish the popcorn kernels in the sweet solution. That all comes out sweet but notoverly sticky and avoids the drizzling sticky sugar solution over already cooked popcorn.

I just toss mine in icing sugar.

Oh damn your eyes Molgrips, that’s gonna me consuming my own weight on corn and icing sugar tonight now… was going to have a salad and fruits and stuff*.

*was never going to happen, but its nice to have scape goat. 🙂

I’ve had to resort to using the microwave as I keep burning the sugar to the bottom of the pan. 🙁

With school groups we do popcorn over open fires. 2 sieves clasped together on a stick, bit of icing sugar and spice to shake with. None left.

M1llh0use –
 MemberI’ve had to resort to using the microwave as I keep burning the sugar to the bottom of the pan. 

Unless you are actually making toffee then best not to heat the pan with sugar in it – unless gently heating butter and sugar as said above.

If you are burning your popcorn try heating the oil with only three kernels in when they pop turn the heat down a bit, remove from the heat and fish them out, add the corn and then put the lid back on and shake them to mix. Return to the heat and they should all pop quicker and less risk of burning some.

I wouldn’t dare trying to sweeten the popcorn un-popped. I guess that’s what the cinema do but since I am doing it in a pan on a gas hob I’m bound to burn the sugar.

I just put a few mm depth of oil in a big own, high heat till it smokes, chuck in the kernels, wait for some popping action then turn to low. I can get all the kernels without any burning this way. Then I transfer to a big bowl, dust with sugar, toss with a spoon and repeat about three times. Only about 2-3 spoonfuls of sugar in it. “Only”…

that’ll be the problem then, thought you needed to keep heat reasonably high!

Amateurs, you need a popcorn pan. We were given one by some American friends, they are brilliant. Chuck the corn in, wait a few minutes then start turning the handle. You get hardly any miss-fires. Add salt and it’s all gone within minutes

Amateur. I have a popcorn MACHINE – no need to turn any silly handles – just plug it in and wait 😀

Given to me by the mother in law. Funny old bird.

molgrips

It’s amazing how easy and cheap it is, I’ll never buy the ready made stuff.. unless I am in the cinema

I just toss mine in icing sugar.

We’re tight. We’ve been known to make a big batch at home and take it to the cinema in food bags. Must be my northern heritage.

Surely a popcorn machine is a pan with a lid?

Melty butter/marg with brown sugar or better yet maple syrup in a vast pan, add popcorn, tumble around until it’s all coated. If this has not worked get off the floor and tumble the popcorn around 😉

You don’t need much to flavour it. A touch of chilli powder and icing sugar works well in an odd way too.

I think the machine is evenly heated, with a stirring device, and the pan is thermostatically kept at the right temperature..? At least I’d hope so 🙂

Some are blown hot air, which obv means no burning.

Well, the toffee sauce Basel easy enough and tasted great, but it made the popcorn go first soggy and then terribly sticky… not ideal, it lost all its fluff and became chewy.

we’ve got one of the hot air popcorn machines. IT’s basically like a hairdrier/heat gun firing into a tube to make it all spin in the hot air. The popped corn has more drag so makes it up out of the top of the tube (or fires out when it pops).

There is a little cup on top you can melt butter/maple syrup/golden syrup etc and pour it over in the bowl but it makes the popcorn go a bit soggy and only some gets covered. Next time I might try popping the corn in the machine and then tossing it in a warm pan with what I want to top it.

The nice thing about the machine is you are just eating corn with whatever (if any) topping you want so it’s a bit healthier.

I use a hot air machine and my preferred topping is a huge nob of butter melted with brown sugar and golden syrup until it just caramelises.

I’d like a machine, but I don’t want to spend the money or have my kitchen cluttered up 🙂

Mine was a tenner on ebay and not much bigger than a large mug

I google video search something quite similar on a regular basis

if anyone has a home cinema and really likes popcorn: http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk_catalog/cos_2,cos_2.5,cos_2.5.6/140148

They used to do a desktop version of that which was a lot cheaper. Like this: http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/300871159521?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y

I just have one of the counter top models that are about the same size as a wine cooler.

I too have a hot air popcorn machine. It’s a duck who spews forth popcorny goodness for me!

I usually toss it in a mix of cinnamon, chilli powder and either agave or maple syrup. It’s bloody lovely!