Highlights: Popcorn

I’ve had popcorn on the brain for months.  At the beginning of the holiday season, someone posted about Popcorn Indiana’s seasonal chocolate and peppermint popcorn flavor.  And I wanted it.  Unfortunately, after checking every store I found myself near for weeks, I never did find a bag.  It occurred to me at one point to try making my own…or any other kind of popcorn, but I just couldn’t find the time.  But why not try?  Popcorn is fast, it’s easy, it’s a whole grain and it’s completely customizable.

In the past week I’ve finally gotten around to trying out some of the 19 popcorn recipes I have sitting in my Evernote account.  The first was Honey Butter Popcorn and it was wonderful, just the right amount of sweet.  This afternoon I made a batch of Buffalo Parmesan Popcorn and couldn’t believe how well it turned out, despite the fact that I didn’t use any Cajun seasoning.  I love the buffalo popcorn from Coastal Maine Popcorn and this was a surprisingly close match.  I want to increase the amount of cheese next time, but that’s just me.

I usually make my popcorn on the stove top with a little vegetable oil, but I know a lot of people prefer the microwave. You can microwave popcorn in a paper bag (try these instructions from Closet Cooking), or, as this post from One Good Thing explains, you can pop popcorn without a paper bag. (via Life Hacker)

mental_floss recently posted the explanation for why popcorn pops, but even as someone who loves science, I’m much more interested in how good it tastes than why it magically pops.  I also love their suggestion to season your kernels with Old Bay.  Why didn’t I think of that?

Julie posted a collection of popcorn seasoning ideas last month that would be perfect for a gift or making for yourself.  I’m especially intrigued by the smoky curry idea.

The Whole Grain Council reminds us that popcorn is “the perfect snack food”.  They may be right (especially with the variety of toppings I’m planning to start trying out!)

If none of those suggestions strike your fancy, try Pinterest.  You’ll have more popcorn ideas than you ever needed.