Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Popcorn

I am a popcorn purist. I'm a big fan of popcorn cooked in heated oil. I do like the occasional movie theatre microwave popcorn, but the best is made with this

We traditionally have used Orville Redenbacher oil with whatever popcorn seeds I can find. I haven't really found any difference in seeds. We also use popcorn salt which is very fine (small grains). I mix the oil, popcorn and some seasoning in the popper to cook and put butter in the top to melt and drip on the popcorn as it cooks.

When we found that my wife Julie is allergic to a few of the things found in the oil and salt, we were looking for alternatives to make the popcorn. It was a little depressing trying to imagine popcorn tasting as good as our original recipe.

My brother's wife, Laura, recommended using coconut oil to replace the popcorn oil. So Julie went out and found LouAna Coconut Oil. We popped the popcorn in the coconut oil only (without butter, too). After it was done we salted to taste and .....it was delicious. It didn't taste as heavy as our original recipe and was really good. It was great that we could alter our diet for Julie's allergies and the food actually got better. I recommend this recipe for people without allergies. And it's healthier too. I did add a bit of popcorn seasoning to my bowl and it got even better.

Thanks for the tip Laura.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Never sit next to Jeff at the movies when he's eating popcorn. You'll miss half the dialogue.

Anonymous said...

I found your blog through POI and he's right!!! Love how you write!! The picture, by the way, is priceless of your family! I love that your wife is "Godly" in character.

As for her allergies to some foods...I can relate as about 2 years ago or so I too found that I have sensitivies to some myself. Microwave popcorn isn't one of my favs anymore. I found that I prefer white kernals and I can "nuke" them in a brown paper bag (w/o oil) and it's quite good. I cheat a bit and melt butter afterwards and sprinkle it along with salt. Very tasty. Popcorn today, though not the white so much, seems to have alot more hulls or those whispy brown things that get caught between the teeth. I find them quite bothersome.

.Tom Kapanka said...

Jeff,
You'll probably find this comment much later than when it was written. Comments on older posts tend to get lost. But I came back to say, I've given way to the convenience of microwave pop-corn (either movie theater or "home-style with real butter and salt"--have you ever tried "corn on the cob" popcorn?--very flavorful). Anyway, I agree there is nothing quite like making the old way. Here's the kicker. A year ago we had no microwave popcorn so I found some seeds and oil and made it in a pan. My daughters tried to stop me. "Dad, you can't do that. Will it work?" They had never seen me make it the way I did as a kid every Friday/Saturday night if we were home watching a movie. The girls were amazed.
I too, tend to be an enthusiastic "muncher" at the movies. Our local theater sells a plastic refillable bucket for $10--good for a year. Such a deal!

Jeff said...

WSL,

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. I'd love to hear what you think as you read.

Amazing how many people are discovering that they have food allergies. My oldest son has a peanut allergy, which is very scary. Did removing your allergies improve your life any? It has with Julie. Her aches and pains improve some and eases her stomach quite a bit.

Tom (PIO),

Thanks for the tip on the "Corn on the Cob" popcorn. We'll have to try it. I do like the Home-style as a good alternative. We also like Kettle corn too. That's funny that your girls were amazed that you could create popcorn outside of a microwave.
I was more than a little irritated when I paid $10 for a medium coke and popcorn at the theater. That and their salt is in a cup and not a shaker and I can only realistically salt the top and not the rest of the bag really has me down on theater popcorn. And its potential is the highest of all popcorns. So sad.