Poppin' Brilliant

A subject I've meaning to address for a long while is my adoration for the humble snack - popcorn. Having touched on this in a previous post about my glory days working at Reigate cinema where I had access to unlimited old school butter popcorn all day long, I thought I would delve a little deeper into why this simple crunchy puff of corn makes me so happy. 

Not being a  crisp fan (gasp) I've never just restricted my popcorn consumption to the cinema and am always up for trying new flavours and brands. I wanted to take you through my favourites so you can love popcorn as much as me. 

1. Popcorn Kitchen - Sea Salt and Olive Oil. 

http://www.popcornkitchen.co.uk/

This amazing popcorn producer lights up my life when I can get a hold of their wonderfully salty and lighter than air popcorn. I could eat a whole bag to my self in less than 10 seconds. Fact.They also have a huge popcorn kettle which they bring to events and pop it there and then- heaven! Special mention to their sweet chilli flavour which also rocks my world. 

2. Joe and Seph's Caramel, Pepper and Chilli

http://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/index.php?mode=pouches

The Willy Wonkers of the popcorn world. Joe and Seph's array of amazingly creative flavours will knock your socks off. The first time I tried this wonderful creation I was amazed by how the flavours develop in 3 very clear stages, sweet then peppery then spicy. It was truly incredible and I think I gush about this to them every time I see them at events. In terms of munching I think their goats cheese and black pepper and peanut butter flavours do it for me. But the sheer amazement of the Caramel, Pepper and Chilli swings it for me. 

3. Love Da Popcorn - Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar 

http://lovedawebsite.com/

These guys just ooze charisma, and their popcorn- well it doesnt ooze because that would be strange behaviour for popcorn, but it does pack a great flavour punch. I fell in love with the company after finding them in Waitrose and then reading every inch of their website which is fantastic. They have somehow managed to get their personalities into popcorn, it's popcorn personified and I love it. Their approach to marketing is just brilliant, one of their ideas was to get fans to tweet a pic and they would do something awesome, I'm not sure it was possible to do all the awesome things but they their darned'est.

4. Whiteys Popcorn - Smokey Chilli 

https://www.facebook.com/whiteyspopcorn

 

Whiteys Popcorn get's an extra special mention for making me a very happy chappy one day at work and sending me a big box of popcorn. It was like all my Christmases came at once and me and my colleagues got to sample four of his delicious flavours- It was like popcorn day, popcorn for breakfast lunch and dinner. The smokey chilli was definately my fave, it had a lovely kick and subtle smokey flavour. mmmmm Thanks Mark Whitey! 

In a desire to get some delicious popcorn at home, without going to the shops, or travelling to a food festival, I decided to try and make me own. It being one of the oldest recipes in the world. In fact people were popping corn back in 3600 BC in Peru, then settling down in front of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In all seriousness, they were making popcorn back then - how cool is that?! 

So here's a recipe to getting down ancient Inca styley and making your own home popped corn. (I've chosen good ol' Olive Oil and Sea Salt- but there's tons of variations to try)

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1/3 Mug of corn kernels 

Salt to Taste

Easy no burnt popcorn weird tasting bits method!

1. Put your oil in a heavy based saucepan with lid on a medium high heat

2. Place 2-3 kernels in the pan.

3. Cover with lid

4. Wait for the popcorn to pop then pour in the rest of your corn and evenly coat in the hot oil - remove from the heat. 

5. Count to 30 - I recommend the One Elephant, Two Elephant method. 

6. Return the pan to the heat, the corn will start to pop at this point you need to gently shake the pan. 

7. when the popping slows to a few seconds between each pop, take it off the heat. 

8. Salt to taste. 

9. Watch Harry Potter.