Cookaholics Bulletin Board

It's all gone except for 1lb. I will be heading out next week to pick up another 50lb bag. 25 lb's will be going to a friend of mine who wants to split the bag with me for her family. She has 7 kids, so it won't last very long at her house.

From our friends over at America's Test Kitchen, The Trick to Perfectly Popped Popcorn [VIDEO]

I don't know if the method will work for glazed sugar corn, but it does an excellent job with savory butterfly corn. I like my 3 qt. stainless saucier pan better than a four qt. sauce pan and use spectrum organic shortening instead of vegetable oil. It smells much better than most oils at popping temperature and has never burned into a brown hazy polymer that is so difficult to remove from the pan.

Jim,
Thanks for the link.

I went and bought another 50lb bag of popcorn yesterday and I talked to the farmer this time. I mentioned this cooking method to him. I also asked him how many acres he planted in Popcorn and he told me 150. He also told me that he planted 50 lb's of a Super Hybrid of Mushroom this year. Each ear is supposed to produce 90% mushroom kernels instead of 60%. His seed vendor told him the kernels are very large when popped. This variety probably won't be ready to sell until next Spring. He also gave me a 2lb bag of a White Popcorn that he and his wife really like. This is a Butterfly variety and it is supposed to be really tender.
When I left the farm, I rode to Midland and I dropped off 25lb's of the popcorn to Teri's. Her kids were really happy.
After seeing all this popcorn, I made a batch of Kettle Corn when I got home.

Todd, the white popcorn is great for people with dentures or braces. I find it too tender for caramel corn though. We usually pop a bowl of the white for the braces crowd when we have a group of kids.

Since I have about 15 lb's left from my last 50 lb bag, I decided to try this recipe this past weekend. Caramel Corn I made this at the Assisted Living and I doubled the batch. I was skeptical at first about having to bake the popcorn @ 200º for an hour, but it worked and this is an excellent recipe. It was also nice having the commercial equipment to use when making so much at one time.

About 2 months ago, I called the farmer about the Super Hybrid of Mushroom popcorn that he grew last year that is supposed to yield more of the Mushroom kernels vs. the butterfly to see if it was ready. It was ready, but they wanted $45 for a 50 lb bag. Michigan had a dry growing season last year, so they didn't get the yield they should have, so they had to raise the price. This year was a good season, so I am hoping the price will come down next year. I should be ready for another 50 lb bag by then.

You could start a business on this thread just from reselling popcorn! It sounds delicious. I make a couple of cups of store bought popcorn every day as an afternoon snack and it doesn't sound nearly as good as what you are getting. Here's hoping he has a good season and prices come down!

--Lisa

I make popcorn almost everyday, so I am often gifted with bags of gourmet, fancy, organic, etc. popcorn. I've found that I don't care for most of them. For plain just salted popcorn, I really like Dodo brand Firecracker popcorn from Amazon. It comes with a little envelope of sea salt. I used to stash the envelopes in the cupboard until several folks thought it was something else. Now I just put it directly into my salt shaker. Have not had to buy sea salt in a long time. Second its Orville jug from Costco. I make it in a pretty much dedicated Cuisinart hard anodized 3 qt chef's pan with a glass lid and use mostly sunflower oil with a couple of splashes of grapeseed oil. It comes out perfect with very few unpopped kernels (old method of two kernels on high, take off for 30 seconds while adding the rest, swirl, back on high heat, down to 8 after it starts to pop again with the top ajar, swirling occasionally and taking it out when reaches lead to let rest continue popping.)

Alina,

That's a lot of popcorn! Have you ever tried coconut oil? I love using it with popcorn.

Amy

I have one of these. I probably make popcorn or kettle corn about twice per week, mostly just using Spartan brand white popcorn. I seem to get fewer old maids with it than I get with Orville R. I keep meaning to acquire some mushroom popcorn to try for the kettle corn. I love coconut oil for popcorn, particularly kettle corn.

Edited to add: I think those "gourmet" corns are often just not all that fresh. They sit around in gift shops waiting for someone to come along and say, "Oh my cousin loves popcorn! and I can mark her off my Christmas list." Meanwhile, the stuff in the grocery store is getting turned over much more quickly.

I tried coconut oil once, but it burned before all the popcorn was cooked. I might try again, this time using a combo to start. I love the flavor, just not the hassle.