I was reading a popular web site message board about saving money and the topic of popcorn came up. The general strand was about the different types of microwave popcorn and cost vs. taste. One of the messagers wrote that she was very tempted to try the “old fashioned popcorn” that you had to pop on the stove top because it was so much cheaper than microwave popcorn. But she didn’t attempt it because she didn’t know how and was afraid she would “blow up the house”. I’ve been popping the old fashioned kind for years. Not only is it much cheaper but it can be more nutritious than micro waved popcorn. Well, ok. I guess I’m pushing it to say it’s more nutritious but stove popped popcorn can be less bad for you than microwave popcorn because the cook is in control of what type of oil to use. Plus the final product does not need to have salt added. Any topping can be fun.
Let’s start from the beginning:
Stove top popcorn is found in the same aisle of the store that microwave popcorn but you usually have to really look for it. It’s often on the lowest shelf or on the very top shelf. (My own personal belief as to why you have to hunt for it is that “raw” popcorn is so much cheaper that the owners of the grocery store want to hide this fact from unsuspecting shoppers. But I tend to be a little paranoid when it comes to saving money so use your own judgment here.) You can purchase stove top popcorn in either white or yellow kernels. I have popped both and I cannot tell the difference in taste. Sometimes one is cheaper than the other. I usually go with the cheaper of the two. The four pound, store brand bag of yellow popcorn goes for $2.39 in my town. At ¼ cup servings (dry weight) that’s about 55 servings per bag. That’s $.04 per serving!
After purchasing your coveted bag of corn, return home to the kitchen and find a pan with a lid that fits. Now comes the almost nutritious part: choosing the oil. I typically use canola oil. I have used olive oil and though it had a distinct olive flavor, it was not a bad choice. I would not recommend using virgin or extra virgin olive oil because they both smoke and have an off flavor when cooked at high temperatures. Pour enough oil into the pan so that the bottom is completely covered plus slightly more. Next, spill out a sufficient amount of popcorn kernels to cover the bottom of the pan. But don’t put in more than what just covers the bottom. Too much will result in popcorn popping out all over the stove (which always impresses the kids but ends up in kind of a mess of splattered oil). Then turn the burner on medium to medium high. Don’t leave. In minutes the corn will be transformed from hard yellow kernels into delectable, puffed up, white nuggets of steaming joy (I guess you can tell I really like popcorn). Plus, the corn can burn pretty easily if you leave the stove. I usually jiggle the pan around a little while it’s popping so all the kernels have a chance to pop without leaving so many old maids. (Popcorn trivia: non popped kernels are called old maids. I’m not sure why but I’m sure it has something to do with sex. It always does.) Anyway, once the sound of popping has stopped, it is safe to assume that it’s ok to open the lid and pour the finished product into an awaiting bowl. Then anything can be used to top the corn: salt, powdered cheese or spices such as thyme or Old Bay can be interesting. Of course you can get really fancy and pour melted chocolate over the popcorn.
I’ve used spiced popcorn in my children’s school lunches for years. And we always have stove top corn for family movie night on Fridays. It’s a good alternative to chips because it’s cheaper and as already stated, more nutritious….kind of. Mmmmmmm. All this talk about popcorn is making me hungry. I think I’ll go make up a batch right now.
