Click here for "Popcorn Love" by New Edition.
Growing up, one of my favorite objects in the kitchen was a big yellow bowl that my mother used mainly for one of two things: mixing cake batter or serving popcorn. So whenever that bowl came down from the cabinet it was as if a party switch were turned on in my head. No microwave popcorn, nor Jiffy Pop, could compare to the taste of fresh popcorn and melted butter that filled that bowl.
Now, I don't know how old you think popcorn is but it goes back way before the Pilgrims and Indians. The earliest evidence of popcorn, according to History.com, has recently been traced to more than 6,000 years ago in Peru. (It's remarkable how researchers are capable of tracking this, I can't help picturing trails of extremely stale popcorn leading to ancient concession stands carved in stone.)
Of course, popcorn is intimately connected to American history. The first commercial popcorn machine was invented in the late 1800s, in Chicago, by Charles Cretors. Colonial families sometimes ate popcorn with sugar and cream for breakfast (I've tried this, it tastes a lot like Kellogg's Corn Pops but with a high-risk of choking to death.) And the popcorn business thrived during The Great Depression.
A Street Cart Named Delicious: Lithograph of a 1907 peanut & popcorn wagon, invented by C. Cretors & Company. Photo from Wikipedia.
It's comforting to know that even though the world is constantly changing, our love for popcorn endures. I'm seeing a lot of new brands and flavors of popcorn in food stores and I myself am eating a lot more popcorn these days. Who knows why. It's fun. It's filling. And it's also a natural source of fiber. (It's also gluten free!)
Good To The Last Kernel: American Farmer Kettle Popped Corn
It's becoming more and more evident that the choices we make as consumers define the world in which we live. American Farmer popcorn is one of those brands that isn't just selling you popcorn but a vision of the future. One percent of popcorn profits goes to its mission, supporting American Farmland Trust. But can you judge the taste of popcorn on the goodness of a mission and creative packaging? No, which is why food blogs come in handy. Having tried American Farmer Kettle Popped Corn firsthand, I can tell you that this is primo kettle corn. It has an eloquent veneer of sweetness and a hearty crunch. I'm also a fan of the short list of natural ingredients: Popcorn, Cane Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Salt.
In Popcorn We Trust: American Farmer Popcorn
If you like the intensely buttery taste of movie theater popcorn, you'll love All Natural Old School Movie Theater Popped Corn, also by American Farmer. The name says it all, as does the image of Abe Lincoln wearing 3D glasses. This popcorn does a pretty good job of conjuring up the essence of what you buy at the movies. But unlike those billowing buckets of brilliant yellow, which have the caloric stuff of Big Macs, this popcorn is all natural: no GMOs and MSG, just kernels, sunflower oil, salt and natural flavor. As for the term "natural flavor," I don't know exactly what ingredients constitute "natural flavor" but I do know that every time I eat a handful of this popcorn I feel the impulse to scan a dimly lit room for empty seats.
On a side note, I don't always get popcorn at the movies but once in a while you have to give in to your inner 9-year-old. If you like popcorn and candy, try mixing them together. Per a friend's suggestion the other week at The Great Gatsby, I mixed popcorn and Mike & Ike's and I luh-hoved it!
The Great Mixby: Movie popcorn sprinkled with candy
And now for the grand finale. Let me preface this by reiterating, nothing beats freshly popped corn you make yourself at home. It's so easy to do, too. I usually use olive oil or canola oil. (Just be careful not to turn the heat up too high when using olive oil, which burns at a lower temperature than canola oil.) Post-popping I've tried sprinkling Parmesan cheese on top but I'm not crazy about it. I've also tried adding rosemary and thyme to the heated oil. The goal is to simulate the taste of baked chicken. Or at least that's my goal but I've never come close to achieving it. Perhaps someone like Jean Arnold could.
Jean Arnold, as I have discovered from reading the back of this small, stay-fresh pouch (think cat treats for humans), is founder of 479° Popcorn. Arnold is more than a founder, she's a culinary colonel of kernels. Case in point, the name she came up with for her popcorn, 479°, comes from what she has discovered to be the precise temperature for perfect popping. That's pretty impressive. Overall, I'd say that Arnold has done for popcorn what Yves Saint Laurent did for the trouser suit. She's transformed it into something dramatically sophisticated and refined. Good luck being refined while eating it, however, especially if you like truffles. 479° Black Truffle + White Cheddar popcorn is incredibly savory and delicious. Seriously, what popcorn have you tried lately that has a beginning taste, mid-palate taste and finish? This popcorn is charged with aromatic truffle oil and aged white-cheddar flavor. It's outstanding. I only wish there was a cream soup version.
Next, I tried 479° Sea Salt Caramel. Caramel popcorn this good doesn't need a prize, it is the prize. Think salted caramel on the verge of rich toffee. Of course, it's made with natural, organic ingredients, so it's a healthy indulgence—an oxymoron if I ever heard one.
479° Popcorn: Sea Salt Caramel, Black Truffle + White Cheddar*
*Goes well with martinis.
