National Popcorn Day - January 19 and National Popcorn Month - October: Sources and Recipes for Yummy Popcorn Snacks
Who doesn't like popcorn?
National Popcorn Day is on January 19. Why pick a day in the middle of winter to celebrate this great American snack? The origins of this celebration are lost in antiquity. Some popcorn experts say it has to do with the original date of the Super Bowl - top two national football teams play each other- originally this was in in mid-January. Now, annual championship is sometimes scheduled for February.
Popcorn during harvest season, if you can't for winter to celebrate popcorn. October is National Popcorn Poppin Month. Here is a link to some Frightfully Delightful Treats for October popcorn pleasure.
Sporting events are always the perfect opportunity for popcorn munching. So there is nothing to say viewers can't get their fill of popcorn while watching the Super Bowl whenever it is scheduled or for any other sporting event. Popcorn in it its many varieties and many guises makes the perfect snack. According to the national Popcorn Board this snack is one of the most wholesome and economical foods available. And to prove it, they say that Americans consume 16 billion quarts of popped popcorn annually or 52 quarts per man, woman and child. And as you'll find while reading this lens, there is a never-ending variety of ways to prepare this American native.
Popcorn tube with film reel: http://office.microsoft.com
Popcorn from Cob to Kernel to Popped Corn
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October is National Popcorn Poppin Month. Celebrate with Perfectly Popped Fluffy White Popcorn!
Friday, January 19, 2015, is National Popcorn Day
Perfect Stovetop Popcorn
Recipe and photo courtesy of The Popcorn Board
Cook Time
Prep Time: 15 minutes to gather equipment + 5 minutes popping time
Total Time: About 20 minutes for the first batch
Serves: Variable - Depends upon size of the pan
Ingredients
- A 3 to 4 quart pan with a loose lid that allows steam to escape
- At least enough fresh popcorn to cover the bottom of the pan
- one kernel deep
- 1/3 cup of oil for every cup of kernels (Don't use butter!)
Instructions
- Cooking
- Heat the oil to 400 - 460 degrees Fahrenheit (if the oil smokes, it is too hot). Test the oil on a couple of kernels. When they pop, add the rest of the popcorn, cover the pan and shake to evenly spread the oil. When the popping begins to slow, remove the pan from the stove-top. The heated oil will still pop the remaining kernels.
- Salting
- Pre-salting kernels toughens popcorn. So, salt the popcorn after it has been popped -- or skip salt altogether and add salt-free spices.
- Measure Rule
- One (1) ounce (or 1/8 cup or 2 tablespoons) of unpopped popcorn equals about a quart popped
- * 4 ounces in cup
- * 4 cups in a quart
- If you’re using cup kernels, you’ll yield about 4 quarts of popped popcorn (or 16 cups of popcorn) which would make a sizeable snack for several people (or one very hungry person).
Ways to Prepare Popcorn
How do you prepare popcorn?
Popcorn Poppers from Amazon - Equipment as individual as the person popping the corn
Basic Yummy White Corn Popcorn Ball
![By Evan-Amos (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://usercontent2.hubstatic.com/11700143_f496.jpg "By Evan-Amos (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons")
Internet Sources for Popcorn Treats - These are for those special moments when you don't feel like concocting a popcorn treat in your own kitchen.
I just plain love popcorn in whatever form available. I grew up within walking distance of the old Euclid Beach Park in Cleveland, OH that sold some of the best and freshest popcorn balls I've ever tasted. Several years after the Park closed in 1969, Dudley Humphrey (fourth generation) and his wife Betsy took to making and marketing Humphrey Popcorn Balls full time. The corn for this confection is still grown on the original Humphrey farm in metropolitan Cleveland. The popcorn balls may be purchased online or at local Cleveland supermarkets.
The Popcorn Factory is my sister's standard go-to place for popcorn treat gifts. A bonus are the colorful, seasonal tins in which the goodies arrive. Once empty, they are great for storage, wastepaper baskets or wherever you need a multi-gallon tin container.
Harry & David TM originally known for quality fruit packs, now produces gourmet goodies like Moose Munch popcorn gifts of caramel-coated popcorn. Varieties are blended with chocolate, almonds, cashews and more add-ins. There are even fat-free varieties. I became hooked on Moose Munch popcorn when one of my children moved to an area where there was a Harry & David TM outlet store. I could stock up on treats with a free conscience because the prices are so great.
- 1 - The Humphrey Company Popcorn Products Since 1897.
Among the best and freshest popcorn balls, ever! - 2 - The Popcorn Factory
Tins full of homemade gourmet popcorn treats. - 3 - Harry & David TM
Home of the taste-tempting Moose Munch popcorn treats.
Popcorn Treats - See for Yourself - Where and how they are made.
If you're like me and want to know how edible concoctions like popcorn balls are made, take a few minutes to watch these videos about making old-fashion-tasting popcorn balls for sale in the retail world.
How to Make Popcorn Balls
Homemade Popcorn Treats
Stove-top Popcorn-making Kettle
Aids to Making Perfect Popcorn
My mother-in-law always used her favorite deep saucepan for making stove top popcorn. Now-a-days, we can choose from many accessories to pop the perfect bowl of fluffy white or yellow corn. I play no favorites and use all the equipment the equipment I own depending upon how much corn I'm popping. The mini-popcorn-machine is perfect for popping corn for a family movie night.
What's Your Favorite Popcorn Treat?
Cook Time
Prep Time: 20 minutes + Cooling Time
Total Time: 30 to 45 minutes
Serves: Amount Variable According to Size
Old-time Popcorn Balls and How to Make Them - Easy and quick to make; great any time
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup white corn syrup
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 quarts unsalted popped corn - Remember to remove any un-popped popcorn kernels.
- Food dye (your favorite color)
- 5 to 6 drops (optional)
Instructions
- Place popped corn in a large bowl or pan.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add sugar, corn syrup, water, butter, and salt. Cook until reaches a temperature of 270 degrees F. on your candy thermometer font. If you don't have a candy thermometer, drop a small amount of sugar syrup into very cold water - it will solidify but separates into hard brittle threads when done. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract, stirring only enough to combine. If you choose to use some food dye, add it now.
- Pour hot syrup over popcorn a little at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until all popcorn is coated. Let popcorn cool slightly, until you can handle it easily.
- Using well buttered hands and working quickly, shape about 1 cup popcorn into a ball (by squeezing between both hands). Place popcorn ball onto waxed paper to let cool. Repeat with remaining popcorn. NOTE: Mixture will be hot so be careful!
- Let popcorn balls cool completely. Wrap each individual ball in plastic wrap or colored food-grade cellophane. Store at room temperature.
- Recipe and photo courtesy of Linda Stradley and What's Cooking America
Cinnamon Popcorn Crunch
- 3 quarts popped popcorn
- unsalted
- 1 can (6 1/2 ounce) salted mixed nuts
- 1 pound light brown sugar
- 1 cup light corn or maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix popcorn and nuts in large buttered bowl.
- Combine sugar, syrup, butter or margarine, water, salt and cinnamon in saucepan.
- Heat slowly to the boiling point, stirring until sugar melts.
- Cook to hard crack stage (290-295 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Pour syrup in a fine stream over popcorn and nuts.
- Stir until popcorn and nuts are evenly coated with syrup.
- Spread out on large buttered surface or waxed paper.
- Separate into bite-size portions with forks. Cool.
- Photo and recipe courtesy of The Popcorn Board
Tomie de Paola is a favorite children's author. Here he is writing about popcorn!
Let's Read About Popcorn! - A Great Books from Amazon
Popcorn is the all-American treat. This selection of popcorn-related books tells about its history in the Americas, how to grow popcorn, the science behind the popping kernels, recipes for a wide selection of treats and the beauty of the humble kernel in poetry. There's a little something for everyone here...
Popcorn Pleasure
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Cheery Cherry Popcorn - The Perfect Valentine Treat
- 2 1/2 quarts of air-popped popcorn
- 1 small package cherry flavored gelatin
- Butter flavored spray
Popcorn and Movies Go Together
Instructions
- Put popcorn into a very large bowl and spray lightly with butter flavored oil.
- Sprinkle with gelatin.
- Put in 350 degree oven for five minutes.
- Gelatin will dissolve slightly and stick to the popcorn.
- Cool and divide into serving portions
- Pack in cheerful snack bags or boxes available at craft and kitchen stores.
- Photo and recipe courtesy of The Popcorn Board
The Science Behind Popcorn
What makes Popcorn Pop?
From the Popcorn Board comes some interesting information about the science of popcorn. Early Native Americans believed a spirit lived inside each kernel of popcorn. Scientists now know that there is a tiny amount of water within each kernel. As the kernel is heated, the water expands and becomes steam. This causes the starch inside of the kernel to explode. A single kernel can swell to 40-50 times its original size!
To learn more about the science of popping corn and to see the transformation from kernel to popped corn in super slow motion (captured between 13,000 and 15,000 frames per second), visit this Popcorn Board web site link.
