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That’s way too much work. Buy big bag of organic Amish baby corn. Buy a silicone popcorn maker. Toss a handful of popcorn in with some olive oil. Microwave for

That’s way too much work. Buy big bag of organic Amish baby corn. Buy a silicone popcorn maker. Toss a handful of popcorn in with some olive oil. Microwave for 3.5 minutes or until you hear only 2 pops a second. Sprinkle with salt. Done. Also a $20 bag will probably make more than a hundred bowls.

xk_id 3y ago
I was just about to post about the silicone popcorn makers. They’re amazingly practical, I’m super happy with mine, and I’m pretty sure it can’t get any easier than that. Some risk of burning your popcorn tho as the window between “most kernels popped” and “burnt” is relatively short, so until you figure out the correct timings for your microwave’s power, watch your fire alarms.
- coke12 3y ago
  You can do this with brown paper lunch bags. Put some popcorn in a bag, fold the top so that it doesn't open when it expands, and hit the popcorn button.
  - DaanDL 3y ago
    Most likely all of these alternatives contain PFAS as well, except for putting them in the good 'ol kettle on the stove. Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/science-technology/paper-bags-compostable-food-packages-may-contain-toxic-chemicals-493800 https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/science-technology/paper-b...
    - sgerenser 3y ago
      That article appears to be talking about the type of bags and wrappers you get from fast food joints. I don't think a standard "brown paper bag" contains PFAS.
    - Arn_Thor 3y ago
      I think that only applies to variations of “non stick” or grease repellant paper bags, which is often used by fast food joints to avoid the food sticking to the paper.
- Hatrix 3y ago
  My silicone popcorn maker works great in a regular household size microwave. Not so good in a small microwave like you get in a cheap hotel or RV.
- Blackthorn 3y ago
  It does get easier: air popper. No burning to worry about, works perfectly every time.
  - SethMurphy 3y ago
    Air poppers are great for efficiency and convenience, but I find the consistency a bit chewy for my taste. Efficiency and convenience usually wins though, which is also why microwave popcorn is such a hit.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      Yeah, I don't care for air-popped popcorn for that reason, too. But I prefer air-popped over microwave.
  - xk_id 3y ago
    I have a vague memory of using an air popper and as far as i remember it wasn’t allowed to add oil. With the silicone ones you add oil and salt at the beginning and can ensure a uniform distribution
    - Blackthorn 3y ago
      Yep, no oil for an air popper. You get the popcorn and that's it. If you want to add fats, you do it afterward.
morsch 3y ago
It's really no different. Take a pot, toss in a handful of popcorn with some oil. Turn on stove for a couple of minutes until pops subside. Sprinkle with salt. Done. I never bothered with the butter etc, though maybe I should.
- soligern 3y ago
  Can you just let it sit on the flame or do you have to move it around?
  - randallsquared 3y ago
    I use this method with a flat bottom pot (peanut oil and salt only), and I find that if I don't shake it from time to time, it will sometimes burn a bit before all kernels have popped. So, about halfway done, I shake and/or vertically bump the pot to let kernels settle back to the bottom. As the popping slows, I take the lid off entirely (there's enough popcorn at that point to keep new popping from splatter or jumping out), and add salt, and then rotate the bulk of the popped corn with a bump to one side, salt again, bump-rotate, etc, getting the salt on it evenly without letting it cool too much. I like popcorn that's just-popped hot. Two other notes: I only use peanut oil, because at fast popping temperatures, some oils smoke. The popcorn does not taste like peanuts, if you'd worry about that. I use more oil than most commenters, such that the single layer of kernels (3/4 cup in my pot) are nearly submerged at the start. Cleanup is more involved than a wipe of the pot, but the popcorn is a lot tastier and I don't need any butter or parm.
- 2muchcoffeeman 3y ago
  I have experimented with various techniques: huge pot, wok, air popper, silicone bowls. The silicone bowls are by far the best. Big consistent, crisp pops. Minimal waste, you can even repop the unopposed kernels. But easy to burn if you are not careful. Air poppers are by far the worst. The pop corn always came out like styrofoam. I’d bite into the popcorn and it would just flatten. I don’t believe the comments about getting minimal un-popped kernels using a pot, by just swirling around a bit of oil. Sounds like baloney to me. Results are good but waste is relatively high in a flat bottomed pot. The best vessel for stove top is a metal container with a curved bottom - wok, large metal bowl. Add popcorn and oil as normal. Heat for about a minute. Turn the heat off. Stir the kernels for 30s to a minute to let the heat even out. Turn the heat back on and cover. As they pop shake the container to help the kernels settle to the bottom. The same technique can be used in a normal pot, but the heat distribution is not as good.

xk_id 3y ago

I was just about to post about the silicone popcorn makers. They’re amazingly practical, I’m super happy with mine, and I’m pretty sure it can’t get any easier than that. Some risk of burning your popcorn tho as the window between “most kernels popped” and “burnt” is relatively short, so until you figure out the correct timings for your microwave’s power, watch your fire alarms.

coke12 3y ago
You can do this with brown paper lunch bags. Put some popcorn in a bag, fold the top so that it doesn't open when it expands, and hit the popcorn button.
- DaanDL 3y ago
  Most likely all of these alternatives contain PFAS as well, except for putting them in the good 'ol kettle on the stove. Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/science-technology/paper-bags-compostable-food-packages-may-contain-toxic-chemicals-493800 https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/science-technology/paper-b...
  - sgerenser 3y ago
    That article appears to be talking about the type of bags and wrappers you get from fast food joints. I don't think a standard "brown paper bag" contains PFAS.
  - Arn_Thor 3y ago
    I think that only applies to variations of “non stick” or grease repellant paper bags, which is often used by fast food joints to avoid the food sticking to the paper.
Hatrix 3y ago
My silicone popcorn maker works great in a regular household size microwave. Not so good in a small microwave like you get in a cheap hotel or RV.
Blackthorn 3y ago
It does get easier: air popper. No burning to worry about, works perfectly every time.
- SethMurphy 3y ago
  Air poppers are great for efficiency and convenience, but I find the consistency a bit chewy for my taste. Efficiency and convenience usually wins though, which is also why microwave popcorn is such a hit.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    Yeah, I don't care for air-popped popcorn for that reason, too. But I prefer air-popped over microwave.
- xk_id 3y ago
  I have a vague memory of using an air popper and as far as i remember it wasn’t allowed to add oil. With the silicone ones you add oil and salt at the beginning and can ensure a uniform distribution
  - Blackthorn 3y ago
    Yep, no oil for an air popper. You get the popcorn and that's it. If you want to add fats, you do it afterward.

morsch 3y ago

It's really no different. Take a pot, toss in a handful of popcorn with some oil. Turn on stove for a couple of minutes until pops subside. Sprinkle with salt. Done. I never bothered with the butter etc, though maybe I should.

soligern 3y ago
Can you just let it sit on the flame or do you have to move it around?
- randallsquared 3y ago
  I use this method with a flat bottom pot (peanut oil and salt only), and I find that if I don't shake it from time to time, it will sometimes burn a bit before all kernels have popped. So, about halfway done, I shake and/or vertically bump the pot to let kernels settle back to the bottom. As the popping slows, I take the lid off entirely (there's enough popcorn at that point to keep new popping from splatter or jumping out), and add salt, and then rotate the bulk of the popped corn with a bump to one side, salt again, bump-rotate, etc, getting the salt on it evenly without letting it cool too much. I like popcorn that's just-popped hot. Two other notes: I only use peanut oil, because at fast popping temperatures, some oils smoke. The popcorn does not taste like peanuts, if you'd worry about that. I use more oil than most commenters, such that the single layer of kernels (3/4 cup in my pot) are nearly submerged at the start. Cleanup is more involved than a wipe of the pot, but the popcorn is a lot tastier and I don't need any butter or parm.
2muchcoffeeman 3y ago
I have experimented with various techniques: huge pot, wok, air popper, silicone bowls. The silicone bowls are by far the best. Big consistent, crisp pops. Minimal waste, you can even repop the unopposed kernels. But easy to burn if you are not careful. Air poppers are by far the worst. The pop corn always came out like styrofoam. I’d bite into the popcorn and it would just flatten. I don’t believe the comments about getting minimal un-popped kernels using a pot, by just swirling around a bit of oil. Sounds like baloney to me. Results are good but waste is relatively high in a flat bottomed pot. The best vessel for stove top is a metal container with a curved bottom - wok, large metal bowl. Add popcorn and oil as normal. Heat for about a minute. Turn the heat off. Stir the kernels for 30s to a minute to let the heat even out. Turn the heat back on and cover. As they pop shake the container to help the kernels settle to the bottom. The same technique can be used in a normal pot, but the heat distribution is not as good.