Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with popcorn

How to pop mini corn cobs?

quinoa — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:39:00 -0800

A month ago we purchased decorative mini corn cobs that looked a lot like the "mini indian corn" on this page. Attached to the cobs were instructions (now misplaced) that gave instructions to soak and then pop the corn. The decorative phase for the corn is waning, and we're ready to pop it. How? All online links we can find don't mention any soaking step, at least not for corn still on the cob, so we're not sure how to proceed. We can tell from various sites that one option is to simply put a cob in a paper bag in the microwave, but we're wondering if maybe with these we really ought to soak it, given that the instructions specifically mentioned a soaking step - how long and do we then dry it out or pop it right away?

If anyone's local, they were from the Berkeley Bowl. Anyone have the same cobs WITH instructions?

Popcorn balls that even your dentist would eat

hermitosis — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:01:07 -0800

Popcorn balls ought to be the perfect seasonal treat, but they are always woefully inedible. I have this perfect popcorn ball in my mind. Can you help me figure out how to make it? I want a popcorn ball that is sweet, but not too sweet -- think flavors for an adult palate. I also want it to hold together pretty well, but I don't want it to be so hard or chewy that it murders your teeth. I'm all for including ingredients that make them a little more nutritionally satisfying, but a simple recipe that holds up well would probably be the first step.

What are the factors that contribute to hard, chewy popcorn balls that I can hopefully avoid?

90's tv show skit about deviled eggs?

azuresunday — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:48:45 -0800

Mystery TV show segment - in the early 90's (I think) there was an American cable television show which had a cutaway gag about the history of movie theater popcorn. The joke was that before popcorn was invented, concession stands sold deviled eggs. Help me find it! I'm pretty sure I saw this on cable in the early to mid-90's as a kid, most likely on Nickelodeon. My first thought was Pete & Pete, or maybe a Bill Nye the Science Guy skit, but Google is failing me. If I remember correctly, the actual gag featured a 1950's era concession stand with a popcorn machine stuffed full of deviled eggs, which an employee was hurriedly shoveling into paper trays for a crowd of customers. Am I crazy?

A (padded) room of one's own

casarkos — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:31:23 -0800

Help me figure out a solution for textured rental walls? I've recently moved into a new apartment, of the sort whose rental contract requires that you leave it in exactly the same condition as when you moved in. All the walls (and 9' ceilings) in this place are pale dull yellow and totally covered in popcorn texturing, which I thought I could live with when I signed the lease, but now I'm starting to think it will drive me nuts (not to mention I tend to bump into walls, and these walls bump back. Ow.)

Putting up wallpaper isn't going to hide the texture, and will make a huge mess when I have to tear it down when I move out. Chipping off the popcorn and repainting is also going to be more of a mess than I want to deal with, and I'm also hearing things about toxic dust particles in the stuff, and I refuse to have to put it back up when I leave. Basically I don't want to do anything to the walls that will cost major money to undo.

So right now I'm thinking about using some heavier fabric to cover at least the living room and bedroom walls, maybe tacking up some crown molding along the ceiling to hold up the edges and cutting and hemming holes for switchplates and such. Is this feasible? What type of fabrics would work with this? I've never done upholstery or drapery besides putting up curtains, but I can sew decently.

Or do you have a better idea?

Where can I buy Cheese Popcorn like the Boy Scouts Sell?

14580 — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:10:06 -0800

Where can I buy Cheddar and/or White Cheddar cheese popcorn just like the Boy Scouts sell? It was GREAT and now it's too late to buy more from them. It is also rather expensive. I realize I'm probably going to have to buy mail-order. The ready-made stuff I've tried from the supermarket doesn't have the same taste and it always seems like it is half-stale.

How to pop popcorn safely

acoutu — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:02:46 -0800

What's the safest way to make popcorn -- air popper or microwave popper? My microwave popcorn popper just fell on the floor and broke. I'd replace it, but I've grown increasingly skeptical of microwaving a plastic container to make popcorn. The alternative seems to be a hot air popper, but I suspect that also results in heating of plastic. What's the safest way to make popcorn, without ending up with all sorts of plastic leaching? Popcorn is very important to me.

Note: The Silicone Zone popper is reputed to be safer, but it is too tall for my 9" high built-in microwave. And I don't want to pop my corn in oil, since that's not exactly healthy either. I also wonder if microwaving popcorn in a paper bag results in any weird melting of glue and thus some sort of adhesive leaching. It seems I can't win.

Thanks.

Frozen Coconut Oil Turned Green

An Infinity Of Monkeys — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:47:12 -0800

We had some coconut oil in containers in our freezer (we use the oil for popping popcorn - we buy it in bulk and then freeze it for later) and for some reason this latest batch has all turned green. It's been in sealed Tupperware-like containers, the same ones we have always used, and it's always stayed a nice golden color before. We just now went to take one out and noticed the green color through the plastic, and upon checking saw they had all turned the same color. Opened one up, and it smells funny too. We're going to throw it all out, containers and all, but were just wondering what might have happened so we can avoid it happening again (35 lbs. of coconut oil is expensive).

Pop quiz for the hivemind

reformedjerk — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:49:19 -0800

How can I make Kernels popcorn at home? I'm a big fan of Kernels, a Canadian popcorn chain with stores in most of the major malls. Is there anyway I can make this stuff (especially the air caramel and creamy caramel flavors) at home? I've read questions about how to make salty buttery popcorn, but what's the secret for sweet popcorn?

Funny "burn the microwave popcorn" sign?

spock — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 10:27:28 -0800

Anybody remember where (the URL) to find the funny sign you can put near the workplace microwave about BURNING THE FREAKING MICROWAVE POPCORN? (At the risk of ending up on Passive-Aggressive Notes, I could use one right now.)

Ceiling popcorn

Zebtron — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:53:44 -0800

Anyone have any magic for removing the "popcorn" from my bathroom ceiling?

Pooped

chuckdarwin — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 03:23:47 -0800

I recently read on The Blue that microwave popcorn could be bad for you, and would like to go back to more a traditional method of making it. What are your air popper / popcorn maker suggestions (UK)? I know they won't have Orville Redenbacher here. Should I just get the cheapo Argos Special? When I was a lad, they had the Jiffy pop tinfoil stovetop poppers in the store, but that was a long time ago.

My kids love the stuff, but I try and avoid it because it's apparently pretty bad for your gums unless you floss right away.

Healthier Microwave Popcorn

cmh0150 — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 07:41:18 -0800

I understand that Pop Weaver Microwave Popcorn no longer has Diacetyl - an ingredient for flavoring. How can you tell which packages no longer have Diacetyl?

So perfect every time

sohcahtoa — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 11:10:16 -0800

How does the popcorn button on a microwave work? My last two microwaves have had the magic 'popcorn' button. I put in my brown bag, press the button, the microwave runs for 2:10 and out comes perfect unscorched popcorn with maybe 3 unpopped kernels. Were I to just set the timer for 2:10 it wouldn't be nearly as perfect.

Popcorn, but not Hot Butter

furtive — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 14:35:10 -0800

Why do so many funk songs reference popcorn? So many funk songs reference popcorn, but depending on the song it seems to allude to anything from booty to sex to drinking, to just plain old freaking out. So what's the deal? Any do you know of any other songs besides the following?

Off the top of my head I can think of:

James Brown - Mother Popcorn
The Soul Generals - Grandma's Funky Popcorn
RDM Band - Butter that Popcorn
Eldrige Holmes - Pop Popcorn
Big Daddy Graham Trio - Tightening Your Popcorn
Doc Oliver - Soul Popcorn
The Poets of Rythm - Hotpie's Popcorn
The Supremes - Buttered Popcorn

tasty popcorn toppings

croutonsupafreak — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 21:59:56 -0800

What are some tasty toppings I can put on air-popped popcorn that contain no cholesterol, no salt, few calories and are vegetarian?

Recipes and Tips for Real Popcorn

hollygoheavy — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 09:51:17 -0800

How do you make popcorn? Specifically old fashioned, non microwave stove top popcorn. I really want great salty buttered popcorn that doesn't come from a bag.

staples in the microwave??

footnote — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 09:19:42 -0800

Is it really possible to make homemade microwave popcorn? According to a NYTimes article from yesterday:

"For popcorn in the microwave, the group suggests the following: Place a quarter-cup of good quality popcorn in a standard brown paper lunch bag; mix with oil and seasoning; seal the bag with a single staple (one staple does not contain enough metal to cause a spark) and heat for two to three minutes. Alton Brown, who cooks on the Food Network, uses this method."

The point of this is to avoid chemicals leaching from the storebought bag, but it also seems like it would make tastier popcorn. Alton Brown is my hero, but I'm still scared of putting a staple in the microwave. And how much oil to use?

Why does margarine melt my popcorn?

sled — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 17:02:21 -0800

Whenever real butter is used for a topping on my popcorn it seems to work well, coats the popcorn, does not make it soggy. When I use margarine it seems to "melt" the popcorn, making it soggy. I am curious to hear some technical reasons why this might happen. I know the melting points are nominally similar, so I have crossed that out. My brainstorm starts with a higher specific heat, a different lipid bilayer, or some more complex organic interaction between the differing molecules?

How to attach a 120v popcorn machine to a bike?

TurkishGolds — Sat, 30 Oct 2004 21:07:10 -0800

I want to attach a popcorn machine to a bike like this. The machine takes 120 Volts, any idea how I could power it?

Looking for a TV-show Title

cortex — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 14:48:40 -0800

I remember a TV-show, oh so very vaguely, that I want to say was called "Popcorn." But it's not, apparently, according to Google and IMBD... It would have been mid-late 80's or MAYBE early 90's, judging by the haziness of my childhood memory. I cannot remember any specifics about it, except that it had a theme song that I think of as "the Popcorn song" -- a synthy intrumental thing featuring a "pop" like synth sound playing the melody.

I've heard the song once or twice in the last ten years. I remember watching SOMETHING, I have a sense that it was pretty geeky and possibly on public television, but I'm going fucking bats trying to figure out what it is that I'm thinking of.

Popcorn in Edinburgh? Tell me where?

sailoreagle — Mon, 02 Aug 2004 12:49:30 -0800

This is a completely silly question, but: where the heck do I buy corn in Edinburgh? [mi] I am currently located in Edinburgh (centre of the city), working at some venues for the duration of the festival. I and my coworker crave popcorn. We have a popcorn popper machine for our office. We, however, lack the corn.
We've been in a variety of grocery stores, and none sold corn. So where the hell can we get some? The closest to the Royal Mile / Princes St. general area, the better.

Microwave Popcorn

hootch — Wed, 25 Feb 2004 14:49:45 -0800

I bought some microwave popcorn that pops fine at work (a newer microwave with a popcorn button), but at home, with popcorn from the same box, I end up with a shriveled bag. The microwave at home isn't so new as to have a popcorn button, but it's not totally ancient either. I'm guessing there's some trick to it that involves NOT following the instructions provided on the bag, but I have no idea what they might be. Any ideas?