I love popcorn! I have an air popper and a pantry full of microwave popcorn. What I really wanted, though, was to reproduce the taste of movie theater popcorn. After doing some research I figured out that you really need an oil popper to get that flavor, along with some special ingredients. Fortunately, I discovered that it's really not that hard any more to find those items. First on my list: the highly-rated West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Popper. This thing looks pretty weird - sort of like a giant fishing bobbin. The bottom is solid and the top is a transparent plastic bowl. You put your popcorn, oil and flavoring into the bottom, plug it in, and just wait. A motor rotates metal paddles that stir everything up, while a concealed heating element brings up the temperature. Unlike microwave or air-popped popcorn, what happens with this machine is that the kernels all start popping at once. Once that begins, it's only 30 seconds or so before the popcorn is ready. It was enough to overcome the curiosity of my cats and send them tumbling off the counter and into the next room. I love this machine. There's a secret, though: the right ingredients. You can't just put vegetable oil and Orville Reddenbocker in there and end up with a snack that tastes like it should have cost $9 at the theater. No, you need the right oil and the right flavoring! Do yourself a favor, and when you order this guy from Amazon, also order some Flavacol and some coconut oil. Flavacol is a very finely ground salt powder mixed with flavorings. I have no idea what those flavorings are - only that they are what gives theater popcorn that unique taste. (By the way, there are other flavorings too - including one that makes caramel corn!) Even without those special ingredients, though, I strongly recommend you give this popcorn popper a try. It makes a delicious healthy snack in a very short time with easy clean-up. It's less expensive in the long run, makes bigger servings, and doesn't contain the nasty preservatives and transfatty oils of regular microwave popcorn. For $40, you really can't lose!
I love movie theater popcorn. I am always looking for ways to replicate it at home. Thank you for this post.
I have a weakness for movie theater popcorn myself...thanks for sharing the secrets to it! Love your description as well. I'm sure my cat would have me for it, too, but it sounds like it just might be worth it!
I'm not a popcorn lover at all, so I haven't tried to make popcorn yet at home. Who knew that homemade popcorn tastes different as compared to movie theater popcorn? Now I know that Flavacol is the secret.
