Make popcorn yourself: sweet and salty like in the cinema

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Make popcorn yourself
Perfect popcorn just like in the cinema

© Olha Afanasieva / Shutterstock

by Janine duration and Vivien Windel

Making popcorn yourself is easier than expected and brings real cinema flair into our home. The scent spreads throughout the house and it tastes just like in the cinema. It’s so easy to make popcorn yourself – sweet and salty!

If you make popcorn yourself, you can easily get that cinema feeling on your couch at home! Whether sweet or salty popcorn, dipped in caramel or completely natural – you decide according to your taste. You can find out how to make popcorn yourself and what you can spice it up with here.

Make popcorn yourself: you need that

The most important thing: corn. However, there are different types of maize. The best known is probably the classic sweet corn, which people like to eat for grilling or from a can. However, only one variety is suitable for making popcorn, namely puffed corn, colloquially also simply called “popcorn corn”. Don’t worry, you can get it in most supermarkets or in many drugstores in the grocery department. The most famous popcorn is the “golden butter”.

You can use these gadgets to make your own popcorn:

  • Pot or pan with a matching (glass) lid
  • a microwave
  • a popcorn machine (operated with hot plates or hot air)

You need these ingredients to make your own popcorn for about two servings:

  • 2 tbsp unflavored oil
  • 50 g popcorn corn / puffed corn
  • 2-3 tbsp salt or sugar

Make popcorn yourself: Recipe for preparation in a pot or pan

The preparation:

  1. Put the oil in the pan or in a saucepan so that the bottom is lightly covered. Heat the stove top.
  2. Add popcorn corn. Make sure that the grains are not on top of each other, but next to each other.
  3. Put the lid on (!) And wait until the corn starts popping. Reduce heat.
  4. Do not leave the hotplate! Swirl the pot or pan in between to prevent, among other things, the grains from burning.
  5. When it stops popping, take the pot or pan off the heat. Let it rest briefly and then swirl it again if a grain pops up.
  6. Then pour into a bowl and refine with salt or sugar as desired.

Make sweet popcorn yourself: preparation in the microwave

The microwave is probably the fastest, but also the least flavorful variant of making popcorn yourself. The cinema feeling will tend to be absent here. You can use popcorn or a ready-made mix from the supermarket for this.

But be careful: When making popcorn yourself in the microwave, you should use a special popcorn container or, alternatively, a microwave-safe container for safety reasons.

The preparation:

  1. In a flat-bottomed, microwave-safe container, stir together the oil, popcorn corn, and sugar so that all of the kernels of corn are covered with the sugar and oil.
  2. Place the lid loosely on the bowl (do not close it!). Microwave at 800W for 3-4 minutes until there are hardly any grains popping. Then pour into a bowl and allow to evaporate and cool.

Make caramel popcorn yourself

The classic variants are super tasty, but that can be topped! Caramelized popcorn you get if you add the sugar to the pot at the beginning. For the ultimate caramel taste experience, prepare the caramel in advance:

  1. Heat 150 grams of sugar, 60 grams of honey and 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and allow to melt.
  2. When the mixture begins to foam, remove the pan from the heat.
  3. Let cool a little and pour over the already prepared popcorn.
  4. Mix well and then eat it.

The mass is enough for about 100 grams of prepared popcorn.

Make chocolate popcorn yourself

For the chocolate popcorn, first prepare caramelized popcorn as described in the point above. This creates a caramelized layer that prevents the chocolate from being soaked up by the popcorn and everything from becoming mushy. Subsequently:

  1. Spread the popcorn out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and let it cool.
  2. Now you melt chocolate in the saucepan, stirring constantly.
  3. Finally, pour the liquid chocolate over the popcorn and mix everything together well. Stir well again at the end so that everything does not stick together.

Once the chocolate has cooled down and hardened, the movie night can begin!

Homemade popcorn: the healthiest option for a successful evening at the cinema

Popcorn is a fairly low-calorie and healthy snack in and of itself. Only sugar and salt make it an unhealthy calorie bomb. But if you attach great importance to a low-calorie variant and the natural taste of popcorn tastes best anyway, making popcorn yourself is the jackpot. Because then you can simply leave out sugar and salt in the preparation. For a fat-free variant, a popcorn machine with hot air is best.

How to properly store popcorn corn

Since you often only need one to two tablespoons from a package, it is important to store the remaining corn kernels correctly. Because if you store popcorn corn properly, it can be kept for up to 12 months. This should include the grains dark, cool and dry be kept.

By the way, if you’re in the mood for healthy snacks, try some delicious energy balls! Here you will find another 10 snacks that you can eat without hesitation in the evening. Even more great recipes and tips for your movie night, but these snacks are also ideal for guests.

Video tip: Make healthy coconut balls yourself


 Make popcorn yourself: Perfect popcorn just like in the cinema

Brigitte

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