Popcorn, My Love—A Recipe

Popcorn is a great snack. I know almost nobody who doesn't like it. I've eaten it in some surprising places around the world, but corn is native to the Americas. I therefore think it important that we here keep up with popcorn research.

I don't know where else it may have originated, but there is an essential tool of the trade that I had never experienced before interning at DR in 2001: the soy sauce sprayer. Real soy sauce, known as tamari or shoyu, depending on the ingredients and methods used in its production, is a 'live' food like raw sauerkraut, kim chi, yogurt and others. When paired with a standard-issue spray bottle, one has a ready source of flavorful salt suitable for a wide variety of foods. But it excels in making superlative popcorn.

There are at least as many variations on popcorn methodology and flavoring here as there are members, and I claim no authority on the subject, but I do like to make large bowls of it for parties and movies as well as an everyday snack. What follows is my version.

The indispensable tool for the job is a thick-bottomed pot with tight-fitting lid. Thin-bottom stock pots virtually guarantee scorched popcorn and some unpleasant time with a wad of steel wool after the event.

Put the pot on the stove and turn the burner on about medium-high. You may need to adjust—just keep alert for any whiff of burning, particularly toward the end of popping. After letting the pot heat up for a minute, pour in enough oil to amply cover the bottom of the pot. You want to use an oil suited to high temperatures; I prefer canola, but soy works as well, as may others. Avoid olive or sesame for sure, as they'll burn at popcorn temperatures. After letting that warm up in the pan for ten seconds or so, pour in enough popcorn kernels to stand uniformly two kernels deep.

Now you wait. After a few minutes the corn will start popping. Don't shake it at all until the corn has been popping for a minute or more. You want to avoid shaking the water vapor collecting on the pot lid  into the oil, which will cool it down and slow the process down. Even after plenty of the corn has popped, you don't want to shake it much. The action of corn popping usually agitates the contents enough to keep the unpopped kernels progressing to the bottom, but I do give a good, firm side-to-side shake two or three times during the popping process to make sure. When the pops slow down to one every couple seconds, turn the heat off (and remove the pot from the burner if you have an electric stove). If the lid starts lifting with too much popcorn before that happens, remove the lid, pour some out, replace the lid, and let it keep going, proceeding to the next step below with the first pouring while the rest finishes popping.

In the seasoning process, time is of the essence. The soy sauce serves both to salt the popcorn and to provide a slight, temporary moisture sufficient to make the herbs and spices stick. But you still want its water content to evaporate from the remaining heat of the popcorn, leaving your corn nicely seasoned but not wet. Make sure you've tested the soy sauce spray bottle beforehand to assure it has a uniform, fine spray, not a course squirt.

Have all your herbs out and open in arm's reach of the bowl before you pour the popcorn. Pour a few inches' worth into the bowl, then put the lid back on the pot to keep it hot.  Now spray the popcorn, turning the bowl with your other hand as you spray. You're aiming for a light, even coating of the mound, but don't spend a lot of time trying to make it perfect. Now quickly dust on each of your spices in turn, again aiming for a light, even dispersal. Start with the coarsest spice and finish with the finest-- that way the heavier coarse particles have the best chance of sticking to the corn instead of falling to the bottom of the bowl. When you've seasoned that layer, toss it a few times in the bowl to mix the seasoned layer into the rest of the corn. Then pour in another few inches and repeat, until you've seasoned all the corn.

My flavorings may change on a whim, but my enduring favorite mix is dill, garlic powder, paprika, and nutritional yeast flakes. It has a well-balanced depth of flavor, and the color is quite festive. If you go for spicy foods, fine black pepper is a good addition. Curry powder can be a nice addition, too. Onion powder gives another rich flavor along with some sweetness. Substituting thyme, oregano, or basil for the dill tastes great, but the particles are heavier and don't stick quite as well. I haven't tried it yet, but have often thought of powdering dried vegetables and adding those. Tomato powder would probably make a great substitute for paprika in my mix. Cheese powder would doubtless be tasty if you're not vegan. Adding a liberal pinch of rosemary leaves to the oil when you add the popcorn gets the rich flavor into the oil and thus well-mixed into the finished popcorn. If the corn isn't salty enough for your taste, sprinkle on salt (preferably fine popcorn salt, which you can make in a spice grinder or mortar), and spray the soy sauce a little heavier the next time.

I really enjoy the process of adding each of the spices individually—something about the frenetically flying hands and jars of spice is chaotically appealing, and incidentally makes an entertaining show for friends. But some Rabbits go for a pre-mixed melange of spice that one can easily sprinkle on the corn in one go. Typically this is done by mixing the various ingredients together with a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder beforehand. This method makes those larger, heavier leaf spices more possible, since they get pulverized into smaller bits. It also allows you to make a bunch and keep it in a jar for making popcorn at a moment's notice even when you don't have the creative energy to make the spices fly.

Enjoy your popcorn, and be sure to send us your favorite flavoring ideas!

March Hare Summer/Fall 2008 Issue 57

The Road Home		It’s a Foundation!
Low-Tech Solutions		Urine Composting
The Life of Brian		Representing Water
Popcorn, My Love

Come see our past issues for lots of Dancing Rabbit information.