A Good Bowl of Popcorn Should Not Be Hard

May 18, 2012 8:49 PM

Unsatisfying popcorn making: Either help me figure out what I am doing wrong with the brown bag method or help me choose between the Whirley Pop, the Lindy's, or some other tool/method aside from traditional pan popping.

I have a 1100 watt microwave, 10 yrs old, excellent condition. Using 1/4 C popcorn, 1.5-2 tablespoons of canola oil and a little salt in a brown bag, I pop until there are 1-2 second in between pops. I either get a full bag with burnt clumps or 1/3 of the bag with a ton of unpopped corn. What gives?

So if I want to get into another method, what do I do? I hear great things about the Whirley Pop, and some great things here, except newer versions get the thumbs down because of thin metal and plastic gears. The Lindy version gets some good, some eh reviews, but I don't know anything about it.

Additionally, I live alone and while I can eat a pretty big bowl of popcorn, I can't polish off a gallon of it. Are any of these poppers right for me? A well-popped brown bag is about right for a night in, when I do get it right.

Does anyone else have any other ideas?

posted by oflinkey to Food & Drink (36 answers total)

I am a pretty big fan of just using a pan on the stove -- is that an option for you? It's the exact same ingredients, but in a pot. Heat on medium, shaking a bit, until the first kernel pops, then cover the pot and keep shaking while the rest of the kernels pop. I get great results every time; usually there are only a few unpopped kernels.
posted by shamash at 8:52 PM on May 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

I've always used a basic air popper, which you can easily get for between $15-$20. No oil necessary and you can't burn it - you just can't mess it up. You can make as much or as little as you want.
posted by flex at 8:55 PM on May 18, 2012 [3 favorites]

Oh, re microwave: have you ever successfully done the brown bag in your microwave? You might want to try changing the power settings so that you're popping on medium instead of high. One of my siblings found the perfect setting for doing popcorn in the brown bag was the "pizza" button, because it alternated between low, medium, and high power. If you have something similar in your microwave, it could help avoid burning the kernels.
posted by shamash at 8:55 PM on May 18, 2012

We do the brown bag method, but I've found it just doesn't work with that many kernels to start. It's a pain because you might need to make two minibags, but an 1/8th of a cup pops much better (also, we usually microwave it dry, you don't need the oil to get it to pop! and then drizzle it with butter and salt). I'd give that a try at least before investing in big popper.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 8:56 PM on May 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

I use 1/4 C. dry as well. Two minutes on high and it's done with very few duds.
posted by gregglind at 9:00 PM on May 18, 2012

The whirley pop is, in our experience, superior to the stove top and air popping methods.
posted by bq at 9:01 PM on May 18, 2012 [5 favorites]

Make sure you toss the kernels around in the bag so they're evenly coated with oil. Try popping on a lower setting as shamash suggested.

Personally, I prefer to do it in a pan over medium-high heat. It helps if you have a heavy pan and a gas stove. Use enough oil and it'll be easy.
posted by WasabiFlux at 9:02 PM on May 18, 2012

A couple of things to possibly change up next time for better results:

1) Use less or no oil. Alton Brown (food scientist after my own heart) recommends the recipe you posted, but several of the comments on his recipe online had similar concerns as yours. I would nix the oil, or reduce it to 1/2 to 1 teaspoon, and increase the amount of kernels to 1/3 cup. Too much oil could be frying your popcorn, while not enough popcorn in the bag could be causing it to burn.

2) Stop the microwave once or twice through the process and carefully shake the contents to help distribute heat in the bag.

3) Soak the kernels beforehand. The reason popcorn pops is because it has moisture and, once heated, steam inside the kernels. If your popcorn is old (whether because it sat on the store shelf or your shelf for a long time) there isn't enough moisture for a pop and it burns instead. Soak your kernels for about 15 minutes in cool water, then pat them well/dry to replace some moisture and avoid burned popcorn.

I hope that helps! Like shamash, I usually make mine on the stove.
posted by weeyin at 9:02 PM on May 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

Try a microwave popcorn maker instead of the bag. You don't have to use oil with it, but you can.

I liked the whirlypop, but in the end I don't think it was really any better than any aluminum pan on the stovetop.
posted by crush-onastick at 9:06 PM on May 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you so far-- I live in an apartment with an electric range instead of gas, and I have tried the pan method. I made it that way growing up, so I can do it in my sleep....but just not on this stove.
posted by oflinkey at 9:07 PM on May 18, 2012

It's a pretty wretched sound making popcorn on a traditional electric burner, but it's possible. It takes a little finessing- lightly glide the pan across the burner instead of dragging it. Use a pan you don't really care about as it will make the bottom ugly.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 9:20 PM on May 18, 2012

I use a Whirley-Pop on an electric burner and get great results. I've had mine for a few years now and use it an average of probably once a week, with no sign of wearing out.
posted by Nedroid at 9:34 PM on May 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

I grew up on popcorn popped in a stove-top pan, and I love the flavor and texture of oil-popped corn. That cannot be duplicated. However...

I bought an air popper in the 70s and that has been my mainstay since. I have yet to to wear one out. I get about 10 years of use out of one before the outside gets so grungy that I toss it out for aesthetic reasons. Also, they are fast. I can pop up a batch between the end of one show and the beginning of the next, and that is sufficient time to melt the butter and prepare a beverage.

I suspect the problem with your microwave method is the bag is not moving. Thoroughly coating the corn with oil and popping it on a spinning turntable should fix you up.
posted by Ardiril at 9:43 PM on May 18, 2012

In the spirit of tech guys asking if you've checked to make sure the computer is plugged in: before you buy anything you should check to see exactly how old your popcorn is. I know I've had a problem with it being too old and died out to pop.
posted by Gygesringtone at 9:45 PM on May 18, 2012

We have a whirley-pop with thin metal and plastic gears and like it. It makes good popcorn on gas or electric. There's no problem making less than a full batch.

We've had ours for about ten years and I usually make popcorn once or twice a week. It's starting to get a bit old and beat-up and we might want to replace it soon. To me, having to replace a $20-odd product every ten years isn't a big deal, but your feelings about acceptable frugality might differ.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:50 PM on May 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

That Nordic Ware microwave popper works great and I recommend it heartily.
posted by kindall at 9:53 PM on May 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

Seconding that you need to make two small batches without oil in the microwave. You'll have some unpopped kernels, but no burned spots.
posted by Nickel Pickle at 9:53 PM on May 18, 2012

I'm going to throw in another lobby for the hot-air popper. As far as I'm concerned oil adds nothing to popcorn but grams of fat. If you're going to add fat to your popcorn it should be in butter form. It's fast, you can pop small amounts without fuss, it's virtually clean-up free - you have to give it a quick wipe once in a while to clean up the spare popcorn chaff but if you don't use the little integral butter-melter-dish you can easily get away with just unplugging it and setting it aside for several batches. If you leave it for an extra minute or two all it will do is blow hot air on your popcorn and brown the few unpopped kernels rattling around in its hopper (obviously I do not advocate just leaving the thing running unattended but it is a lot more forgiving than the microwave or stovetop because the popped corn ejects itself out of the heating unit into the bowl. If it's not clear I really like our air popper.
posted by nanojath at 10:45 PM on May 18, 2012 [1 favorite]

I once traded a couple leeks and an onion for an air popper at a garage sale. Best garage sale purchase ever. I got so many years of perfect popcorn popping out of that thing.
posted by aniola at 10:49 PM on May 18, 2012 [2 favorites]

I've successfully made popcorn in a paper bag in the microwave and I'll second what others have said above, reduce the amount of popcorn in your bag and nix the oil. I use a couple of tablespoons of popcorn and no oil and I have no unpopped kernels and no burnt kernels. Works for me every time and in every microwave I've tried it in (work, home, and friends'). Good luck.
posted by patheral at 10:56 PM on May 18, 2012

I just bought a $20 air popper, Presto poplite, I believe, on amazon. It works great.
posted by fieldtrip at 11:01 PM on May 18, 2012

I've never had better, reliably great popcorn than that produced by the "Westbend Stir Crazy" machine. It isn't a stovetop or microwave popper, it is a device that takes oil (necessary!) and plugs into an outlet.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RC6R/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

Ewwww, I loathe air-popped popcorn. What's wrong with you people?
posted by Invoke at 11:01 PM on May 18, 2012 [4 favorites]

I recently ditched the brown paper bag method and that recipe for my bowl-n-plate method.

I determined that a lot of the burning of clumps of popped corn was coming from the relative immobility of the popcorn in the bag. It's kind of cramped in there, and rotates weirdly.

I just use a big glass mixing bowl with a plate covering the top.

1/8-1/4 cup of popcorn, depending on how much you want. Something very inexact like 1-3tsp of COCONUT oil. A dash of salt.

Sometimes I add some cayenne pepper and paprika and it is delicious. Adding it beforehand makes more of a mess (not really a mess, but you have to wash the plate), adding it after is cleaner but then sometimes you inhale some pepper.

I run the microwave for 5 minutes and usually stop it 3:30-4:00 in.

Yes, sometimes there are unpopped kernels. But guess what? When I'm done with the popped stuff, I just re-pop the unpopped ones and they're great!

I wouldn't mess with microwave "power" settings too much until you have a fairly satisfactory recipe down. On every microwave I've ever used the "power" setting is merely a duty cycle setting. 90% = 9 seconds on, 1 second off, etc.

I had an air popper growing up. It was reliable and great, but dang that popcorn was bland.
posted by MonsieurBon at 12:16 AM on May 19, 2012

It's highly possible that it's the popcorn itself. Try a different brand, and/or buy it from a different store that may have a faster turnover. It may just be old.
posted by MexicanYenta at 1:02 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

I have a whirly pop and use it almost every day - have had a few over the years and usually get a new one when I move. I love it.
posted by fromageball at 4:26 AM on May 19, 2012

I use 1/3 cup for 1:55 with the brown bag method and I get good results. However I have noticed that Orville Reddenbacher pops much better than Pop Secret brand, and that the fresher the popcorn the better. I get more unpopped kernels the older the popcorn is.
posted by COD at 6:22 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Nth-ing the Nordicware microwave popcorn popper. Works every time, and I have a discerning popcorn-addict for a gf. This bowl has her seal of approval. This and flavacol popcorn salt.
posted by alchemist at 7:27 AM on May 19, 2012

Air Popper + Real Melted Butter + Salt = Greatest bowl of popcorn you've ever had.
posted by magnetsphere at 7:34 AM on May 19, 2012

Ewwww, I loathe air-popped popcorn. What's wrong with you people?

Here's why air popping isn't loathable but loveable:

Browned butter. The 3/4 stick of browned butter (or butter/olive mix) and the popcorn finish cooking in about the same amount of time. The trick to cover all the popcorn is to pour half the butter into half the bowl of popcorn and then pour the rest on top. That way it's ok to eat all the buttery ones off the top.

Since that's an unsustainable amount of butter to be eating every night, you can replace the butter with lemon/lime/etc. sometimes. Also tasty.

In conclusion, air popping gives you tasty tasty control over the non-corn ingredients.
posted by aniola at 7:34 AM on May 19, 2012

Ah. You want the Perfect Popcorn method from Simply Recipes. It's a pan method which pops everything at once and doesn't burn. Far superior, and you don't need another single-use kitchen gadget!
posted by heatherann at 8:06 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Another vote for the air popper. A $20 air popper from Walmart, some fresh kernels, and that epic post here on ask.mefi about popcorn toppings has changed my life. It's the most awesome, healthy snack food ever! If I weren't on my phone I'd link to the thread, sorry!
posted by cgg at 8:38 AM on May 19, 2012

I swear by the Whirley Pop. Its fun to to use and makes a perfect batch of popcorn each time. I've used it on both gas an electric ranges with the same great results.
posted by JennyJupiter at 8:45 AM on May 19, 2012

I can't agree with Invoke enough. Stir Crazy. You can even make kettle corn in it. Rule of thumb for popcorn is to use about 1/3 the measurement of oil that you used for popcorn - which shouldn't work because one is a dry measure and one is a liquid, but it still seems to work for me.

I've had one of those stovetop whirly pops and they're fine, but you have to sit there and stir it without stopping, and I'm not fond of that. The Stir Crazy you can just set up and then leave it til the popping stops. I hate air popped popcorn, it's like walking into a stiff wind.

I am a popcorn maniac, it is my absolute favorite food. You should try various types from different grocery stores to try getting different kinds of popcorn; there are literally hundreds of specialty types but it really comes down to what you like; I've tried the novelty stuff; blue or whatever and you just don't get the big fluffy pops with it. The latest I bought is kind of extra-hully, I'm going to buy something else next time. I usually lean toward yellow popcorn instead of white. And I like the taste of melted shortening instead of oil. The butter flavored crisco is pretty good. And I keep my popcorn in the fridge, I haven't done a scientific comparison but I like the results better.
posted by lemniskate at 8:48 AM on May 19, 2012

And I keep my popcorn in the fridge, I haven't done a scientific comparison but I like the results better.

I forgot to mention this, my wife's family has some members that grow popcorn on their farm, they keep it in their freezer. I never did get an explanation as to why it keeps longer, but they swear it's true. For what it's worth, my experience is that it keeps it tasting fresh longer and makes a handy icepack if needed.
posted by Gygesringtone at 9:04 AM on May 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

The Stir-Crazy is indeed the best if you can/want to store a single-purpose device like that.

My electric stove-top technique requires some experimentation, but works well. The three kernel thing comes from somewhere apocryphal, but I'll say I learned it here.

1. Put a 2-3qt pot (not pan) on a burner.
2. Put your tolerance of oil into the pot (1-3T for 1/3C kernels)
3. Put three kernels of popcorn into the pot
4. Turn the burner to a little under halfway between off and hi (3 1/2 on my stove)
5. When the third kernel pops, the oil is hot enough, but don't do anything yet.
6. Wait a few minutes to see if the three popcorns burn from just sitting there. If they do, turn the heat down a little. This should be pretty close to the burner level required not to blacken the good popcorn while you're making sure the last kernels pop. If you can smell anything like popcorn browning, it's already too late.
7. Put 1/3C popcorn in the pot and cover. Eventually listen to the popping
8. Wait until the popping slows a lot
9. Shake
10. Wait, then shake the pot. Repeat as desired.
11. Dump into a big salad bowl or something
    • For buttering, dump the popcorn into a grocery bag first, pour a couple T melted butter on it, then close and shake, then dump into the salad bowl. Salting can be done this way as well.
12. SERVE AND ENJOY

posted by rhizome at 11:15 AM on May 19, 2012

Just jumping in to suggest that when popping on a stove, don't cover with an airtight lid--use a colander. You want the steam to be able to escape so it doesn't get chewy.
posted by Camofrog at 5:40 PM on May 21, 2012