Making old-fashioned popcorn on the top of the stove is almost a lost art in today’s world of microwave popcorn and fancy air-poppers. Ask your average kid today how to make popcorn and a good number of them are likely to tell you how many minutes it takes in the microwave. Even when I was growing up, my father (who was the official popcorn popper in the family) used Jiffy pans. I have no idea why he, who grew up on a farm in the era of doing everything for yourself, eschewed the simple matter of measuring out the popcorn and oil for himself and went with the pre-measured and packaged foil Jiffy pans, but I grew up without ever seeing anyone pop popcorn the old-fashioned way and had to learn how later. There’s a little bit of a trick to making good popcorn, with no burning and few old maids (unpopped kernels), but it’s easy once you know how.
Popcorn is the perfect natural snack, much healthier than chips, and it’s cheap, cheap, cheap! But not so cheap if you’re buying it in those microwave packages. You can make popcorn for pennies on the top of your stove. You don’t need an air-popper–and in fact, I think air-poppers give a weird flavor to popcorn. I had one and got rid of it long ago. The best popcorn is made the old-fashioned way, and it doesn’t really take much more effort than an air-popper or microwave. You can season it up a thousand different ways to suit yourself and make your own gourmet popcorn.
The simplest popcorn, flavored with nothing more than butter and salt, is my favorite most of the time, but sometimes I also like to add a little sugar, or even some cinnamon-sugar. Occasionally, I get adventurous and try some other spices or herbs. Good ones to try are cayenne, garlic, and pepper. Or sprinkle in some Tabasco sauce. Whenever I make popcorn, I make a big pot and snack on it for days. There’s no point making a little popcorn. It’s addictive. It’s one of my favorite snacks anytime, but I find myself making it more in the winter for some reason. The sound of popping corn is homey and comfortable. It makes me think of my dad in the kitchen with his Jiffy pan, and my grandmother in her kitchen making popcorn balls at Christmas.
This is the size recipe I make in my 5-quart pot. You can cut the measurements in half for a smaller pot. If you’ve never made anything but air-popped or microwave popcorn, here’s how to make REAL popcorn, the old-fashioned way:
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How to make Old-Fashioned Popcorn:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup popcorn kernels
salt to taste
butter to taste
Put 1/4 cup vegetable oil in the bottom of a large pot. Place three popcorn kernels in the pot.
Turn the heat to medium-high. Watch for the kernels to pop. They’ll be popping before you know it–don’t go away!
Once all three have popped, add all the popcorn and the salt, put on the lid, and remove the pot from the heat for 30 seconds. This allows the rest of the popcorn to warm up before returning to heat, which will mean fewer unpopped kernels in the end. Note: Adding the salt before popping helps evenly distribute the salt throughout the popcorn. I use two teaspoons of salt. If I’m going to be adding sugar, I add it later, after the popcorn is popped, unless I’m making Kettle Korn and want to “burn” the sugar, in which case you’d add it before popping.
Put the pot back on medium-high. Using oven mitts to hold the pot, begin shaking the entire pot over the burner. Try to hold the lid on the pot as you shake so that the cover is just slightly cracked–this helps vent steam and make your popcorn crisp.
Continue shaking the pot until you don’t hear kernels popping anymore. Remove from heat. Drizzle (lavishly!) with butter and/or whatever else suits your fancy.
Only two, count ’em two, unpopped kernels.
Have ever tried popping popcorn in bacon fat? Now that’s disgustingly delicious, let me tell you. You can also try different flavored oils, but avoid oils that smoke. I usually just use plain vegetable oil.
Goodies you can add in to a bowl of popcorn include red hots, M&Ms or other candies, all kind of nuts but especially cashews and peanuts, raisins and other dried fruit pieces, pretzels, or Chex cereal.
For cheesy popcorn–I don’t like powdered cheese, but if you must, get some higher-quality powdered cheese, such as from an Amish store. The best thing to do is melt some real cheese for your popcorn. To make a cheese sauce, place 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour in a small saucepan, stirring to make a roux. Gradually stir in 1 cup milk. Add 1 1/2 cups of any shredded cheese, stirring to melt. Add other seasonings as desired, pour over popcorn, and mix well. Depending on how much popcorn you’re making and how much cheese flavor you want, you might need all the sauce or only part of it. You can cut it in half if you want. Try parmesan cheese and black pepper!!!
Here are some popcorn recipes I found on Farm Bell Recipes:
Easy Popcorn Balls
Chocolate Popcorn
World’s Best Popcorn Balls
Baked Caramel Corn
Snickerdoodle Chex Mix with popcorn)
Cracker Jack from Scratch
Kettle Korn
I love that Kettle Korn recipe, by the way. LOVE IT.
What is your favorite way to make popcorn? How do you make it–old-fashioned, air-popper, or microwave?
See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.
bonita says:
Old fashioned, really old fashioned…in a pot that’s past the half-century mark!
Butter/salt always, cheesy parm and black pepper for a treat. aAnyone remember tossing the hot popped popcorn into a large (paper) grocery bag the adding the salt and butter and shake, shake, shake?
A dear friend who worked for a popcorn company ages ago shared the low-down on good popcorn. The best (whitest, largest, most willing to pop) was purchased in the field by the distributers for theater popcorn. Yes, they got the pick of the litter. There’s a trick to storing popcorn, it needs to stay dry to avoid smut and fungus, but too dry and it will not pop. Water content in the kernel is the key to plump popped popcorn. Oh and popped corn may resemble either a butterfly or a mushroom. The butterfly type is preferred for eating; while the mushroom type is used in confectionery products. Sorry didn’t mean to go on so long, but I wanted to keep typing until the urge to make some popcorn passed. It hasn’t yet—off to the kitchen!
On January 6, 2011 at 1:34 am
Bev in CA says:
This Saturday I made popcorn to have while we watched a movie. Yes, I popped it the old-fashiioned way on the stove. Very much a memory from my childhood. Microwave popcorn always has too many old maids. Thank you Suzanne, never heard that term before. Cost is a factor, also. I love my time saving kitchen helpers, especially when cooking for a crowd, but have also decided some of the old-fashioned ways are best. If I want several potatoes grated for hash browns I use my hand grater. Why mess up and have to wash something bigger. Thanks for all the other ideas for some tasty popcorn eating.
On January 6, 2011 at 2:55 am
thunja says:
I’m inspired. I have not popped a proper pot of popcorn inyears.We always popped on the the stove top. My little Sis and I would on top of the butter and salt use parmesans cheese (the stuff in the green sprinkle can). Then we stopped using butter and parm all together and used celery salt. try it you will like it.
On January 6, 2011 at 3:02 am
Lyz says:
While living in Hawaii, I was introduced to a whole new array of popcorn seasonings and additions. Some examples are mochi (Japanese rice crackers, usually in the International Food section of your grocery store), macadamia nuts, nori furikake (Japanese rice seasoning, also in International Food section). There are kiosks in the malls on O`ahu that sell huge bags of popcorn prepared with these as well as other even more adventurous items, I leave it up to your imagination. To this day, I put mochi crunch and nori furikake in my popcorn when I go to the movies, our family tradition.
On January 6, 2011 at 6:30 am
blueberrylu says:
A spice mix like Mrs. Dash and a sprinkling of salt is super yummy on popcorn!!! Another favorite is chicken seasoning. I live in the thumb of Michigan, just a hop, skip and a jump from Frankemuth and it’s famous chicken, and the chicken seasoning from Zehnder’s or Bavarian Inn is very tasty on popcorn and all kinds of other things too. It’s not quite 7am, but I feel the need to pop up some popcorn for breakfast.
On January 6, 2011 at 7:02 am
Rachel says:
I have an awesome pan called a “whirly pop” it has little arms that extend from to the bottom of the pan attached to a crank that you turn so it’s just like cooking popcorn the old fashioned way with a bit of a twist (or a whirl). My favorite flavor is slightly sweet and salty, like kettle corn.
On January 6, 2011 at 7:18 am
Mary says:
I also have the awesome Whirly-Pop popcorn maker. I Love it…bought it at a Cracker Barrel downstate in Michigan. It’s so simple and makes the best popcorn. You make it just as you describe on top of the stove. Of course, it has it’s own vent, so you don’t have to lop-side the cover. The prongs that come from the cover stir the popcorn as you turn the crank. Popcorn with just salt and butter is my favorite snack. The Whirly-Pop has a little recipe book with it too, suggesting other flavors. I’m so afraid of something happening to it that I bought one at a garage sale to put on reserve. Someone preferred microwave and got rid of it. Good for me.
On January 6, 2011 at 7:41 am
CindyP says:
I love the stove-top best! That’s how we did it when we were kids, too. Every Friday night, we’d pop up 3 big pans of it. The ratio was cover the bottom with oil, then with popcorn kernels..it always filled the pot.
Something I’ve been doing lately is putting a dash, not a teaspoon, of liquid smoke in with the oil. Gives it a wonderful flavor!
On January 6, 2011 at 7:50 am
Kathleen says:
I don’t know, Suzanne. There is something magical about the Jiffy Pop turban-shape appear from a flat pan. Suddenly, it’s 1970 something and I’m in pj’s my Gramma made…asking if I can open it up. And somewhere in the background, my brother is getting out the board games.
On January 6, 2011 at 7:54 am
joycee says:
Suzanne, do you know how to refresh popcorn that’s lost it’s moisture and won’t pop. I had two jars of Orville Reddenbacher in the pantry and one has got too old to pop good. Not sure how much water to add…we always pop the old fashioned way, tastes way better than microwave! Can’t wait to try that kettlecorn recipe.
On January 6, 2011 at 7:56 am
SandyCWV says:
Great Idea! New Year’s diet CAN include popcorn. Calorie wise – I might have to go with air popped though. 30 cal per cup versus oil popped 64 cal. Will make a small batch though – air popped and with no butter might get boring. Better than snacking on chips though!
On January 6, 2011 at 7:59 am
CasieD says:
When I was growing up my mom had a pan dedicated to popping popcorn. It was a bit scorched and black on the outside from the oil dripping over the edge and using it on an old gas stove. I remember how the hot popcorn would sizzle when the melted butter was poured over it. Yum!! I think I need to get me an old popcorn pan now too!!
On January 6, 2011 at 8:07 am
charmaine deadman says:
my mother always made popcorn this way. I didn’t know there was any other way growing up. I discovered how to make kettle corn on my own, and it was a wonderful discovery. I was a single mother with my first daughter and we didn’t have alot of money. Popcorn was a great cheap snack. We would go to the library and take out a ton of books and bring them home dragging them in the sled behind us. Before my daughter’s bedtime I would read to her some of the books we picked out together. Then it was lights out, and momma time. I made myself a bowl of popcorn and sat in a chair and read for hours. My favorites from that year by the way were, Bridges of Maddison County and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
I went through so many books and so much popcorn that winter! Thanks for posting and reminding me of such a warm memory.
On January 6, 2011 at 8:24 am
Carol Langille says:
I grew up with old-fashioned, popped in a pan on the stove, popcorn. When Jiffy Pop came around, we got that sometimes but usually still popped it the old fashioned way. When I married, I always popped corn on the stove and when I remarried, I popped it that way for my new husband her his 6 yr old granddaughter. She told me it was magic because she thought ALL popcorn was popped in the microwave. Come to find out, my husband had never had popcorn popped on the stove. His folks had always used a hot air popper.
No matter how you pop it, popcorn is delicious and healthy…unless, of course, you add cheese sauce and butter and sugar and stuff. Which is so totally worth making it unhealthy sometimes!!
Think I’ll go make some popcorn!
On January 6, 2011 at 8:25 am
Joni says:
Oh my gosh! I’ve popped popcorn on the stove BUT why have I never known to add the salt to the popcorn in the pan? I can’t wait to try it and more of your wonderful recipes!! You are such a fun and knowledgeable person!
xoxo
Joni
On January 6, 2011 at 8:43 am
Miss Becky says:
this post is so timely. in my house we have been in an on-going popcorn discussion for months and months now. It’s always white kernels, or course, but for a long while now our popcorn has been so hully. we pop it on top of the stove, but use coconut oil. I’ve never used a popcorn popper, they are messy and it doesn’t taste as good. And I like to sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, but the good stuff, preferably organic, NOT Kraft.
We simply can’t figure out why there are so many leftover hulls. It never used to be that way. I’m sure this discussion will be going on for awhile!
On January 6, 2011 at 8:46 am
holstein woman says:
This brings back memories for me also. My Grandpa grew popcorn as one of his sale crops when I was a child (pior ot 10 years old, my mom moved us after that). We cooked it in a cast iron frying pan with butter because it was what we made from our milk (cream). All I remember was that we ate lots of it that year. We strung if for the Christmas Tree also. :hissyfit:
Then one year he grew sugar cane. That was a treat in itself out of the field.
On January 6, 2011 at 8:51 am
texwisgirl says:
We used to have a neighbor that looked like Santa Claus. Every Saturday he’d be down at the country grocery store parking lot, cooking up and selling real live kettle corn. YUM! Addictive!
On January 6, 2011 at 9:00 am
Pete says:
Will admit that I prefer air popped popcorn! Never liked the taste of oil except olive oil. On anything.
BUT!! Some years ago I was introduced to adding worchesteshire sauce and parm to warm popcorn. Shake it well and enjoy! (If doig this, no need for butter or salt.)
On January 6, 2011 at 9:09 am
Linda Segerson says:
Old fashioned popcorn is the only way to go. Our 2 grandsons love it, we have it every time they are at the house. The 8 yr old knows exactly what I use to make it and he gets everything out and ready for me to make. I keep microwave popcorn at the house just for fill in for my hubby, if I am too busy to make old fashion popcorn then he will pop microwave popcorn for himself. The grandsons will not eat microwave popcorn anymore, they are now making old fashioned popcorn at their house. It is much better for you!
On January 6, 2011 at 9:24 am
hilljackgirl says:
I LOVE popcorn! :snoopy: Cooking it on the stove is the only way for me! I even have a pan that is only used for popcorn!I am so addicted that when my nieces and nephews come over they look for my popcorn bowl to see if I have some left for them. 😀 To keep you popcorn kernels fresh( it makes them pop better) you should keep them with in the freezer or refrig. Some of the best popcorn to use is ladyfinger, it has small kernels but has such a good flavor and no hulls. Did you know that there is also blue popcorn that is slightly sweet? I order almost all of my popcorn from Lehman’s but I’m sure you can find it closer to you especially if you have a bulk food place. The closer you buy to your home the fresher it is and yes there is a big difference! I haven’t heard of putting the salt in the pan, learn something new, I’ll have to try that! Now I wish I had a big bowl of popcorn right now! :eating:
On January 6, 2011 at 9:37 am
Deb says:
I do mine the “old fashioned new fangled” way in a microwave corn popper. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Presto-PowerPop-Microwave-Popcorn-Popper/3164 It’s a popper that uses oil, but only takes 3 minutes in the microwave.
Before that I always made mine on the stove in an old pressure cooker. It seems that the weight of it just made for better popcorn.
Recently I tried “mushroom” popcorn from the Amish store and it popped up bigger and better than any corn I’ve tried. I’m a purist and only put real butter and salt on my popcorn.
On January 6, 2011 at 9:49 am
Louise Clark says:
My grandson was amazed the first time I made popcorn for him on the stovetop. He had only had microwave popcorn before. We went one step further this year and grew some popcorn in our back yard.So good, and we learned a lot too.
On January 6, 2011 at 9:52 am
Whaledancer says:
Stove-top popcorn tastes SO much better than microwave or air-popped! The microwave toughens the corn, I think. I have a Whirley-Pop corn popper pan, too.
When I was a kid we popped corn over the fire in the fireplace. We had a long-handled corn popper just for that purpose. Popping in a pan on the stove was more efficient, but doing it over the open fire was more romantic. We also made our own popcorn to take to the movies; I remember making a big grocery-bag full to take to the drive-in…enough for a carload of people.
Putting the salt in pan with the corn is a good tip, Suzanne; I’ll have to try that.
But for those who prefer the ease of microwave popcorn (and I confess I sometimes do), you still don’t have to pay the high cost of the prefilled bags. There are very inexpensive plastic microwave popcorn pans that allow you to use the loose kernels. Or you can pop it in a brown paper lunchbag; it works fine. Put 1/4 cup popcorn in the paper bag. Fold the top of the bag over to close (or twist top of bag or tape bag closed). Place the bag in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, or until there are 3-5 seconds between pops.
Great, now I’m craving popcorn. Guess I’ll be making some today.
On January 6, 2011 at 10:05 am
brookdale says:
Oh Suzanne, how that takes me back to my childhood! In the evening my grandfather would pop a big panful of popcorn and would melt Grammy’s butter (lots) to pour over it, and a good shaking of salt. He liked to eat an apple with it; cut a slice of apple with his jacknife, then a handful of popcorn. He’d pass me an apple slice on his knife and Grammy would frown at him but he didn’t care. Great memories!
On January 6, 2011 at 10:09 am
Mrs. Weeb says:
We use the microwave more often than not, but I refuse to eat all the chemicals in the packaged stuff. We jus put a tablespoon of oil, a little salt and 1/3 cup of popcorn into a brown lunch sack type bag and pop in the microwave. Be careful though, it burns easy. Fold the top of the bag over a few times nice and tight and viola-microwave popcorn.
Though for movie night this weekend I think we will try some of the recipes above and pop it the old fashioned way!
On January 6, 2011 at 10:14 am
lemniskate says:
I am a huge, huge popcorn fan. I can make it on the stovetop – the whirly pop pan really is the easy way, though it says you can even cook without oil that way and I was never able to figure that out. And I don’t much mind microwave popcorn, but the way to go is a popper called a “stir crazy”. You pour in the oil, you pour in the popcorn, you plug it in, and it stirs continuously. You can even use it to make kettle corn. There’s no better way to make popcorn, to me.
And I prefer melted shortening to oil; for some reason there’s a real discernible difference in the taste.
On January 6, 2011 at 10:17 am
Anita says:
I LOVE popcorn on the stove. That’s how my mom always made it, and I learned from her. But I didn’t make it that way for my daughter until she was almost ten. And when I tried, the popcorn was horrible. It was so stale! I got discouraged and haven’t tried again. How can I be certain that I don’t buy stale popcorn again? (Yes, I checked the date. It had not been on the shelf long.)
On January 6, 2011 at 10:39 am
Patty says:
Popcorn flavored with celery salt after it is popped is terrific!! Try it and you’ll just love it!!
On January 6, 2011 at 10:49 am
Debbie Luttrell says:
I love my popcorn made on the stove using the Whirley Pop. My 8 year old can even do it herself.
On January 6, 2011 at 11:05 am
Kristen E says:
We mostly do microwave popcorn around here, but occasionally I’ll make “real” popcorn, which we both love. It’s definitely a treat because I not only put in butter and salt but also lots and lots of parmesan cheese – it makes it delicious! 🙂
On January 6, 2011 at 11:14 am
Steve Oswald says:
😀
Suzanne,
This is the ONLY way I make popcorn! I only recent learned the pre-heating the oil, then the kernels trick, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE!
My kids say that any other popcorn is not nearly as good as what they get at home (insert mock-humility here). 8)
Parmesan and Lawry’s seasoned salt is a tasty addition to butter!
Steve in Kewaunee
On January 6, 2011 at 11:27 am
Karo says:
I made lots of popcorn on the stove when I was a kid. My dad had me convinced I made the best popcorn around and I believed him. I was about twenty-five when I finally realized he only said that so I would always be willing to be the one popping the corn.
On January 6, 2011 at 11:31 am
Gen-IL Homesteader says:
Stove-top is the only way I make popcorn! I don’t measure the ingredients, just pour until it looks like enough. I’ll have to try your trick for having less unpopped kernels, though. All those leftovers drive me crazy.
I haven’t seen any other commenter mention what we LOVE to put on our popcorn…..We drizzle melted butter and then sprinkle brewer’s yeast! Growing up my mom did that, so when I got married I went to the popcorn aisle at the store looking for brewer’s yeast in the topping section. Had to ask an employee who informed me I should go to the health food aisle. All those years I thought my mom had used popcorn topping when she was really feeding us health food!! lol But, I love it and raised my kids on it, too! Sunday nights for hubby and I are homemade smoothies and popcorn! YUM!!
On January 6, 2011 at 11:34 am
BeckyW says:
I make mine on the stove as well…but I have a popper that you can stir your kernels instead of shaking the pot by hand….it’s got a crank on the top and a bar in the bottom of the pan…works great.
Kind of like a theatre popper in theory I suppose.
I make caramel corn at Christmas time. Have never tried popcorn balls…
On January 6, 2011 at 11:35 am
EBet says:
That is the only way we eat popcorn around here, it’s the best! My dad likes to put fresh garlic on his.
On January 6, 2011 at 11:43 am
Donna Mc says:
Popcorn is my #1 snack. I LOVE it…especially w/ garlic butter and good parm. cheese, NOT the green can ‘o cheese-wanna-be’. OR kettle corn…mmmm, so good. I always pop on top the stove, too. Microwave popcorn is just so fake tasting. Store bought popcorn – Smartfood is great! White cheddar yum…but homemade is still the best.
I have one problem tho’…my son HATES popcorn. He has popcorn-phobia! He says the smell makes him feel sick….so I have to close all the doors to the kitchen & try to keep it contained to one room. So insane. haha! Oh well…spraying a little air freshener afterwards is worthy it.
On January 6, 2011 at 11:49 am
Gem says:
We (should) have our own P.A.A. (Popcorn Addicts Anon) meetings here at this house! We make it the old-fashioned way, Cast iron pan etc.
Will definitely try these recipes to add to our healthy-addiction repertoire!
On January 6, 2011 at 11:50 am
Ramona says:
My husband is the official pop corn maker at our house. He does it on the stove and being a guy – doesn’t measure.
But it comes out WONDERFUL every time and that’s a hoot cause I burn the bagged stuff in the microwave all the time.
On January 6, 2011 at 11:51 am
Suzanne Perry says:
I too have a whirley pop and LOVE it! I did popcorn on the stove top without a few times and burned the popcorn, I don’t have that problem with my whirley pop. I also will pop it in the microwave, just put 1/4 cup kernels in a paper lunch bag, fold the open end closed a couple of times, and then pop for a couple of minutes until popping stops. Doing it that way in the microwave eliminates all need for oil and is the way I pop for stringing for my tree 😉
On January 6, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Tracey says:
I use a stove top popper with a crank handle, but I use coconut oil! It gives a sweet richness to the popcorn and is delicious!!! Popcorn is great with truffle oil on it, too!
On January 6, 2011 at 1:21 pm
Suzanne Perry says:
Forgot to add… if you pop your corn in a lunch bag in the microwave and don’t add the oil you can reuse the bag many times, which makes it more economical too!
On January 6, 2011 at 1:22 pm
Nikki says:
My grandmother made her popcorn with leftover bacon fat, it was really good. I tried microwave popcorn for a while. I just couldn’t get use to all that salt!! I only make popcorn now on the stove top. It was the way I did it when I was at home, growing up. Now I’m trying to pass the tradition on down to my almost 14 year old son. It’s hard because he always says “mom’s” taste better! I think he does that so I make it!! 😆 Now I just need to cut back on how much butter I put on my popcorn, just love that butter!! 😀
On January 6, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Daria says:
I guess I’m of the unpopular opinion – I love air popped popcorn, and just got a new air popper for my birthday last month. It is SO easy to use, faster than the microwave, and doesn’t have that weird chemical taste. I think the popcorn is delicious, but I grew up on air popped. It has no oil so that might be the “strange” you taste. 🙂
If you want the best popcorn, grow your own – it’s easy and delicious – just don’t grow sweet corn that flowers at the same time; they’ll cross pollinate and neither will turn out well. If you plant varieties with similar growth timing patterns, you can separate them by a couple of weeks; or if they have different flowering dates, just grow them together.
On January 6, 2011 at 2:02 pm
Susan says:
I have a popcorn pot that I have carried with me thru at least 5 moves over 30 years. It’s just a reg. pot but if you cover the bottom with oil, then with a layer of corn, it fills the pot just to the top. Fits just perfect. No special equipment needed. Except for lots of butter and salt. It’s the only way to make popcorn for me.
On January 6, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Jessica says:
We do it on the stove most of the time. I like it better made that way. We use butter and salt, but I also have some white cheddar powdered cheese that I like to put on it instead of butter and salt. Sometimes we have microwave popcorn, the xtra butter variety, but it’s nowhere near as good as popped on the stove.
On January 6, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Wanda Devers says:
When I was a child we grew our own & popped it on the stove in a black skillet with long handle. We used lard or bacon grease. We always made the big dishpan full and seasoned with salt & butter. The four kids could easily eat it all at one sitting.
Later we got the Popsright brand that had a little seasoning packet in the bag. It was butter flavored salt & we all loved it. They no longer have the flavor packets & we’ve never found seasoning that tasted like that did.
lately I’ve bought popcorn from our local Mennonite store called tiny & tender. It’s delicious & I plan to try their giant mushroom when I go back. For health’s sake I have to use an air popper but have learned the trick of spraying the popped corn with butter or olive oil flavored cooking spray. It tastes better & the salt sticks to it better.
But–nothing is as good as the old fashioned way!!!!
On January 6, 2011 at 4:27 pm
Lisa T. says:
HUGE popcorn addict. I refuse to buy microwave anymore. Stove top with a tablespoon of honey melted with the butter and a few shakes of sea salt…Oh lord. Add a huge mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on top and I am in heaven.
On January 6, 2011 at 4:42 pm
lilac wolf says:
We watched Alton Brown do this ages ago with a metal mixing bowl and tin foil – husband still does this. And we learned that this was the original cereal, leftover popcorn would be covered with milk and eaten the following morning ans a special breakfast treat (and it’s not half bad – I had to try it!)
On January 6, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Tess says:
I need help…. I am addicted to your website Suzanne!! I especially love the goats, chickens, cow (oh my God!),sheep, recipes…Oh no I’m getting nothing done again!!!
On January 6, 2011 at 9:35 pm
lizzie says:
I love kettle corn, so hubby brought home a whirley pop corn maker from his work, its basically just a pot, you add oil and popcorn, we use coconut oil and add sugar, it has a little handle that you twist around while the corn is popping, so it dosen’t burn, turns out wonderful, all the corn is popped, and is so crunchy, because of the coconut oil, we use it all the time.
On January 7, 2011 at 1:08 am
mommafox says:
I pop on top of the stove-most of the time-with a whirly pop pan. When or if I have any left, I usually eat it sprinkled over a bowl of tomato soup. My grandpa used to grow what he called “strawberry” popcorn.They were small, stubby, red ears of popcorn. The kernels popped into the tenderest, white corn. Going to look in the seed catalogs and see if anyone sells this corn anymore. Thanks for dredging up that long, lost memory.
On January 7, 2011 at 1:46 am
Sheila says:
Funny you should make a post about popcorn… we recently hosted a German exchange student for 10 days. He marveled at microwave popcorn. He loved it and explained to my daughters that they make popcorn on the stove. We now send him packets of microwave popcorn! LOL! However, this weekend… I will show my daughters the true way to make popcorn. Thanks for your post.
On January 7, 2011 at 10:25 am
Imperious Fig says:
I use one of those electric popper that stir the popcorn. Real popcorn (not microwave bags) is almost hard to find but it tastes so much better and I get to control the salt and fat content.
On January 7, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Cyndy Buiniskis says:
Oh Suzanne, you’ve sparked more yummy food memories! :snoopy:
My sister Sharon made the BEST stove-top popcorn I’ve eaten to this day! I’m sure it’s the same as yours and others, but to us younger kids visiting our grown-up sister, mmmmm it was the best! And she was like you, made a huge batch that we all snacked on for days! Between that and her peanut butter fudge, we were in heaven!
Oh wait, do I hear it popping? No wait, now I smell it too….ahh, sweet torture, she’s in Pennsylvania and I’m in Texas!!!
On January 7, 2011 at 4:33 pm
lavenderblue says:
We had a crank operated popcorn popper when I was a kid, my husband always used an old aluminum kettle his mom used to use to make pot roast. Boy, was she mad when she saw how scorched he’d gotten the bottom of it.
His favorite recipe was to add shredded cheese to the pan while it was still warm. It was the best. I speak in past tense because we just don’t make it on the stove, anymore. Guess I have to haul that pan out again.
My mom used to grow strawberry popcorn, too. I remember it being hull-less. Not sure if that is true or not. She also used it for autumn decoration, wreaths and such.
On January 7, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Sheila says:
I’ve got one of those whirley crank pans too, I love it, found it brand new in a box at a yard sale this summer for 50 cents. I have a ceramic stove top and shaking the pot scratches the top. All summer I shake popcorn on the burner of the gas grill. Then I started using the crank pan and I will never use anything but it. Kettle Korn recipe is great.
On January 7, 2011 at 9:40 pm
princessvanessa says:
I’ve got a large jar of Orville Redenbacher’s Popping Corn on the pantry shelf. I pop it like you do. Mom showed me when I was about 5 years old and let me start making it myself when I was about 9 or 10. We would also make homemade doughnuts. We didn’t have a lot of money so all our “goodies” were homemade….fudge, divinity and pastries,
I’ll admit that I do have some Act II Butter Lovers microwave popcorn for a snack just before bedtime and don’t want to mess with the stove. I buy it when it’s on a good sale.
On January 8, 2011 at 1:28 am
KELLY says:
Our Nana Woods would pop it for us in her large “chicken frying ” cast iron skillet on top of her O’Keffe and Merritt stove . She would make bags and bags of it for us to take to the Saturday movies and gave us each ( my sisters and myself ) a quarter for a coke and candy bar ! Her popcorn was the best and my favorites were the half cooked ones !
We usually shared with the kids from our neighborhood , every thing my Nana made in that pan was full of love and we could taste it in every bite .
On January 9, 2011 at 12:31 am
Shelley says:
Thank you so much for posting this! I’d bought some bulk popcorn kernels a few weeks ago and we made them tonight using your instructions. They came out perfectly and were so fun to make! Next time… the bacon fat!
On January 11, 2011 at 11:11 pm
brookdale says:
Suzanne, Just wanted to tell you I made your popcorn recipe tonight and it was SOME GOOD! I’ve made popcorn on the stove many times but never put the salt in first, or used the 3 test kernels. We used to have one of those wire poppers but it’s with the camping stuff now. DH, the popcorn gourmet here, said it’s the best he’s ever had! Of course I drizzled it with lots of butter too.
On January 12, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Diane Herr says:
oh the memories of stove top popcorn, I remember when I was young we grew popcorn and peanuts in the garden and when harvested popcorn was in a burlap bag hanging in the shed and peanuts were tied with string and hung to dry in the shed. Going to get out the seed catalog now so the grand daughter can have this memory too.
Thank you for sparking the memory.
On January 21, 2011 at 12:16 am