Looking for a movie to snack or looking for a snack to movie? Butter popcorn is a long time ally of movie theaters, not without a reason!
How did popcorn come to theaters?
A fear turned out to be true, in case of adverts, at least. Studies revealed that we can’t pay attention to anything while eating. Most of us has no clue what advert was shown to us before the movie starts while munching on popcorn compared to those who are not spending their pocket money on tasty snacks in the stealth of darkness.
The reason, popcorn isn’t banned from movie theaters, is not because we can’t pay our due respect on the altar of culture but because of another sort of greed.
Why did popcorn stay in theaters?
Selling food brings more profit in than theater tickets. It seems that we go out to cinemas to eat while watching a movie and not the other way around. (No wonder Ikea sells food and has restaurants in its shops.)
Fun fact that commercially popped corns, like we buy in the movie theaters, can contain more saturated unhealthy fat than a Big Mac and fries, thanks to popping their kernels in coconut oil and topping it with butter or margarine for flavor.
Of course, it wasn’t always like that. Before 1890, when the popcorn machine was invented, popcorn was a very different unevenly seasoned, dried out ,sometimes burnt snack, mostly for the poor.
What’s in popcorn?
At the dawn of popcorn era, its making was reserved to stones, a later skillets. Archeologists found evidence of popped corns as early as 5000 BC but due to the primitive storage methods and cooking equipment popcorn wasn’t really the treat we know of today.
To have all those fluffiness and crunchiness with all its buttery-ness that we love so much, kernels need to contain about 14% – 15% of moisture per weight. Freshly harvested corn contains more of that which produces a subpar sized popcorn, while less of that moisture will not yield any popcorn at all.
For most of us though, having a bit smaller popcorn or a bit bigger one isn’t really a huge problem. Vendors who buy the kernels from producers by weight and then sell us the popcorn by volume, it’s a really big deal to have as big a popcorn as it’s possible.
What’s on popcorn?
Adding a bit of butter isn’t that hard as figuring out the ideal moisture content of a kernel but there is a catch. We can’t just scoop butter under and over our popcorn because butter has water content too.
We first have to get rid of butter’s water content by clarifying it or as it is known in Indian subcontinent, we have to make Ghee.
Once we have our clarified butter and perfectly balanced corn kernel, we only need to find the ideal temperature on our stovetop to make popcorn.
At what temperature does corn pop ?
Set the temperature too low and the moisture will evaporate from the kernels, leaving us with whole seeds scuttling around at the bottom of the skillet. Setting the temperature too high and the kernels won’t expand fully not to mention that we can burn them to death.
Should we start popping corns at all?
In the worst-case scenario we can still produce a batch of edible popcorn without investing into a popcorn maker, even at our first try. Once we figure out the perfect setting on our stove, nothing will stop us to create perfectly crunchy irresistibly buttery treats that are as healthy as they can be.
Note for advanced users: If we find many none popped kernels re-hydration of the not yet used corn may improve our yield rate.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons / 60 ml Clarified butter AKA Ghee
- ½ cup / 100g Popcorn kernel
- 2 teaspoon / 10g Salt
How to make Butter popcorn
Clarified butter
Making clarified butter for one portion of popcorn is not really a sensible nor really viable. We have to make bigger batches and keep the rest for later use. Luckily, clarified butter is just fat so it keeps well without refrigeration nicely too. For more detailed instructions check out: How to make Ghee – Clarified butter
- Melt butter on medium heat. Let it simmer until the foam almost disappears on top and the solids at the bottom turn golden. Strain through a paper towel lined colander.
Butter popcorns
- Heat half of clarified butter, aka ghee in a pot with a lid, over medium heat.
- Add the popcorn kernels, put the lid on and quickly move the pot around so the kernels spread across the bottom evenly.
- Once the popping starts, move the pot around every 30 seconds or so, to prevent burning of the already popped out kernels.
- Mind not to do it too often as that can prevent the kernels to pick up enough heat to pop. Once the popping stops, empty the pot into a bowl.
- Pour over the rest of the clarified butter, sprinkle salt and shake the bowl with a lid or large plate on.
Enjoy!
Butter Popcorn Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Clarified butter AKA Ghee
- ½ cup Popcorn kernel
- 2 teaspoons Salt
Instructions
Clarified butter
- Making clarified butter for one portion of popcorn is not really a sensible nor really viable. We have to make bigger batches and keep the rest for later use. Luckily, clarified butter is just fat so it keeps well without refrigeration nicely too.
- Melt butter on medium heat.
- Let it simmer until the foam almost disappears on top and the solids at the bottom turn golden.
- Strain through a paper towel lined colander.
Butter popcorns
- Heat half of clarified butter, aka ghee in a pot with a lid, over medium heat.
- Add the popcorn kernels, put the lid on and quickly move the pot around so the kernels spread across the bottom evenly.
- Once the popping starts, move the pot around every 30 seconds or so, to prevent burning of the already popped out kernels.
- Mind not to do it too often as that can prevent the kernels to pick up enough heat to pop. Once the popping stops, empty the pot into a bowl.
- Pour over the rest of the clarified butter, sprinkle salt and shake the bowl with a lid or large plate on.
Notes
Pin now, Enjoy later!
