When I was growing up, popcorn was a pretty special treat. The main reason for this status was that popcorn was generally gotten only within the confines of the local movie theatre, which in its own right was an ‘event’ for the family. Popcorn at home---at my home, anyway---was in the form of Jiffy-Pop only, since my mother was not keen to the idea of manually heating oil and kernels in some loose pot on top of the stove. (NOTE: Jiffy-Pop is a ‘fun’ food but certainly not a ‘delicious’ one, since 99% of the time we scorched it beyond the point of edibility.)
Popcorn is still a favorite treat of mine, yet I am no closer to having delicious, on-demand, home-environment popcorn now than I was as a child. How can this be, you may ask, since microwaveable popcorn has been available for years now?
Microwave Popcorn. Seems like this solves my problem---but NO. First, there is the issue of “pop time.” The package itself reflects that no specific pop time is guaranteed, it is dependent on the microwave being used; therefore, you have to stand in front of the microwave listening intently for the popping to slow down (this as well is pretty subjective, since the instructions say “more than 5 seconds between pops” or something as ambiguous). My husband refuses to be this involved in the process: he presses the “popcorn” button on the machine and has no shame in presenting me with a bowl half-full of unpopped kernels. “Not my problem” I believe was his response when I complained. Granted, maybe I shouldn’t be complaining since he generously agreed to go pop it in the first place. Next, we have the issue of burnt popcorn smell, which is related to the pop-time problem: trying to get most of the kernels popped inevitably leads to cooking the bag too long and then the potent smell of burnt popcorn permeates the whole house (even when you leave the bag CLOSED and take it to the outside garbage immediately).
Air-popped Popcorn. In college, one of my friends had an air popper and we all thought it was great. Easy to use, no cleaning, and popcorn that flew out as if by magic! I can remember fighting over each kernel as it exited the machine, we didn’t even need to have a bowl to catch the popcorn in. I recently purchased an air-popper and the kids were similarly amazed to see the popcorn flying out---and I was amazed at how awful it tasted (hey, even the kids wouldn’t eat it, they just liked to POP it). Air-popped popcorn tastes like styrofoam, cardboard, blecchh. And yes, we attempted to butter it and salt it and flavor it and whatever it. NOTE: One barely-used air popper for my upcoming garage sale.
Popcorn is still a favorite treat of mine, yet I am no closer to having delicious, on-demand, home-environment popcorn now than I was as a child. How can this be, you may ask, since microwaveable popcorn has been available for years now?
Microwave Popcorn. Seems like this solves my problem---but NO. First, there is the issue of “pop time.” The package itself reflects that no specific pop time is guaranteed, it is dependent on the microwave being used; therefore, you have to stand in front of the microwave listening intently for the popping to slow down (this as well is pretty subjective, since the instructions say “more than 5 seconds between pops” or something as ambiguous). My husband refuses to be this involved in the process: he presses the “popcorn” button on the machine and has no shame in presenting me with a bowl half-full of unpopped kernels. “Not my problem” I believe was his response when I complained. Granted, maybe I shouldn’t be complaining since he generously agreed to go pop it in the first place. Next, we have the issue of burnt popcorn smell, which is related to the pop-time problem: trying to get most of the kernels popped inevitably leads to cooking the bag too long and then the potent smell of burnt popcorn permeates the whole house (even when you leave the bag CLOSED and take it to the outside garbage immediately).
Air-popped Popcorn. In college, one of my friends had an air popper and we all thought it was great. Easy to use, no cleaning, and popcorn that flew out as if by magic! I can remember fighting over each kernel as it exited the machine, we didn’t even need to have a bowl to catch the popcorn in. I recently purchased an air-popper and the kids were similarly amazed to see the popcorn flying out---and I was amazed at how awful it tasted (hey, even the kids wouldn’t eat it, they just liked to POP it). Air-popped popcorn tastes like styrofoam, cardboard, blecchh. And yes, we attempted to butter it and salt it and flavor it and whatever it. NOTE: One barely-used air popper for my upcoming garage sale.
Stovetop Popcorn. Not in a pot like my mother refused to do, but in a special device that either sits on the stove or just plugs in. The one I bought looked sort of like an electric wok, with the additional of a ‘paddle’ on the surface that kept the kernels moving around. Initially I thought this one might be a winner, but even with my careful attention I ended up with burnt, bland popcorn. I tried using specially-flavored popcorn oils as well, also a bust. NOTE: One more barely used electric popper for my upcoming garage sale.
The-Actual-Theatre Popcorn. Yes, I admit it: I have gone to the movies simply to get some decent popcorn. Sometimes both the film and the popcorn were great; other times not so much. I’ve come to the realization that I’m not even assured any more of good popcorn at the theater---some chains have stooped so low as to have ‘pre-popped’ corn in the warmers, never so much as refreshing the pile with a newly-popped batch. What’s worse than bad popcorn at home? Bad popcorn at the movies.
Jiffy-Pop. I grabbed one of these from a ‘nostalgia’ section in the local grocery store. Even worse than I remembered.
And I’m still too lazy to pop my own so I am resigned to getting the spouse-provided, half-popped serving. Thanks, sweetheart.