do you have any info on the new reusable containers for popping corn in the microwave? i think most are plastic so that may answer my own question. I come from Iowa, known as the corn state when i was growing up in the 50's & 60's. we had a wonderful sweet corn festival (all the corn-on-the-cob you could eat for free!) now it's the "stinkin" hog state and they feed most of that delicious corn to the hogs. i miss the smell of iowa sweet fresh country air.

linda river

Popcorn has become like coffee - it's the simplest thing in the world to make, but we are becoming trained to believe that it's just too hard.  You can always make popcorn on your stove, in any pot with a lid, just a little oil and whatever popcorn you like.  No microwave, special containers, popper, etc.  And of course, nothing has a butterier flavor than butter.

My father-in-law has one of those, and I liked it so much he bought me one last Christmas.  That popper works extremely well, and you do get a lot of uses out of the disk that goes in the bottom. Just wish I knew what the heck it was. If they came up with a re-usable version you could wash, that would be excellent.

One of my good friends was just commenting that everyone eating the stuff out of the microwave bags had no idea what they are missing. He is a die-hard popcorn fan. At his urging I tried the stove method and just couldn't get the hang of it, plus I prefer not to add too much oil to my diet.

Now, if anyone can recommend good kernels... all my grocery has is Orville in plastic.

I wouldn't use any paper or plastic in a microwave...there are still chemicals in brown plastic bags...

But, you have given me an idea to try to use a large ceramic bowl to see what happens to pop corn that way.

I stopped eating microwavable popcorn when I realized that the butter flavoring was causing the workers who make it to have chronic lung problems.

Now, I read every label on everything I buy.

One day I read that a certain brand of crackers had "wood resin" as an ingredient.

Wood resin?

Are we supposed to eat like beavers, I ask?

Nice blog.

I pop corn in a Dutch oven on top of the stove in a few tablespoons of canola oil--no butter needed.  (Alas, coconut oil is way bad for you.)

Turn on heat to medium-high, coat the bottom of your pot with oil, put in a few test kernels, put the lid on, and wait till they pop.

Then put in the rest of your popcorn (about 1/3 cup per 2 people) and replace the lid.  Constantly tilt and shake the pot over the heat so it all pops without burning.

Pour into a bowl and garnish with salt and whatever.

You do need to wait a few minutes after popping for the popcorn to crisp up--the steam needs to evaporate.  Also this process can leave a coating of cooked oil on your pot.  It wears off after a while, but if you care about that sort of thing you might want to dedicate a pot to popcorn.

I have two heirloom corn-poppers:  one for fireplace popping, the other for stove-top use. In each I follow a 3-to-1 ratio of kernels to oil, always heating the oil to a temperature that pops a few test kernels.

The further secret is to use a good dose of salt AND a great sprinkling of nutritional yeast.

|-|-|--|---|-----|--------|-------------|... (The fibber's notchy pipe line.) When did the Age of Aquarius become the Age of Acquire-us?

Thanks for the stovetop directions for popping corn!  The oils need to be flip-flopped though.  Canola oil is made from the rape plant - rapeseed oil is highly toxic - bugs won't touch it.  Canada has done its best to modify the seed (Hence the name Canola), but I wouldn't eat anything that was inherently toxic at one point.  Scandinavian countries also grow the rape plant to be exported to the USA, as well as for use in pesticides.  Residents told me they won't eat it themselves!
Coconut oil, on the other hand, is extremely good for you in so many ways (topically too).  All good things in moderation, of course.  So, pop away with coconut oil!  Tastes good too!  
I would encourage readers to read up on both of these to make your own decisions, as with anything you read.

Showtime stovetop popper, tablespoon of olive oil, and unsalted butter.  After popping, sprinkle with Jane's Crazy Mixed up Salt.

The tiny bit of olive oil keeps the butter from burning.

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act!" -- George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair)

Well, I didn't know that rapeseed oil was icky to begin with.  I was going to mention that a significant portion of canola oil in the US is now GMO.

My resealable bags of Natural Value organic popcorn bought at the natural foods store are delicious.  I do use a microwave popper, although it doesn't have the "disc" others mention.  It consists of a tub with a bottom that resembles an inverted coffered ceiling and a removable lid with steam vents. No oil required.  It is plastic, but it's so easy.

Lou, you are depressing and silly.  I very much enjoy your writing!

Growing your own popcorn is a great way to go, too. I am sure we get "Franken-genes" from nearby cornfields, but I take some consolation in growing it organically. There's nothing better than heirloom varieties of popcorn to munch and share. I grow a combination of varieties and they cross pollinate to make some of the prettiest popcorn I've ever seen, if I do say so myself. We make it in a popcorn maker with olive oil, then top it with soy sauce and nutritional yeast.

I use organic popcorn with organic Nutiva coconut oil (comes in a solid white form) popped in a pan on the stove. Melt the coconut oil, add the popcorn and  have a delicious, healthy treat that needs no butter since the coconut oil gives the popped corn a nice 'buttery' flavor. My highly enlightened 'ecological internal medicine' physician recommended this.

Try grapeseed oil instead of canola. I pour some in a pot to coat the bottom of the pot, let it warm up on medium heat, and dump in a layer of kernals. A few minutes later - fluffy popcorn (organic, bought in bulk!). Melt some butter and add a little salt - and you've got yummy popcorn. Now that I make it like this I find I intensely dislike the regular microwave stuff my friends use - way too salty and fake tasting.

I think you have more than pesticides to worry about if you purchase popcorn at the movies.  At 16 and more than a little clueless, we used to use a metal solvent each and every night on the machine we popped the corn.  Next morning, the popped corn would go into that solvent-saturated machine to be distributed.