In winter, it is especially tempting to spend the evening at home, wrapped in a warm blanket, and watching your favorite films. Well, what’s a movie show without popcorn?!
Simple and easy to prepare, popcorn is one of the most popular and beloved snacks around the world. In addition, it is very versatile and allows you to safely experiment with seasonings and spices, each time getting a new bright taste!
Let's start with the simplest version of popcorn - "dietary". All you need is corn and cooking utensils.
Heat a frying pan, ideally non-stick, over medium heat. Add the popcorn kernels, cover with a lid and continue heating for a few more minutes until the last of the popping sounds of the popcorn have stopped popping. For a microwave, this is 2-4 minutes at maximum power.
For your first experiments with cooking popcorn in the microwave, it is better to choose a glass mold with a lid, so you can observe the process and stop heating when all the kernels have popped. In the future, you will know exactly the ideal proportions and cooking times for your microwave oven.
The option, frankly speaking, is not the most impressive, but the simplest and most gentle on the figure.
Option "classical"- salted popcorn with butter. You will need: corn, salt and a little vegetable oil.
Pour 1 tbsp into a preheated frying pan. vegetable oil and add enough corn to cover the bottom with a thin layer. Cover with a lid and wait until the claps stop.
You can shake the pan periodically to ensure even heating.
Sprinkle the finished popcorn with a few pinches of finely ground salt and mix well.
Popcorn can also be topped with a small amount (35–50 g) of melted butter.
We've got some amazing classic salted popcorn made at home!
Popcorn "caramel". My favorite, to be honest. Having tried homemade popcorn with real caramel, you no longer want to go back to popcorn with the “aroma” of caramel, as is now customary to write on the packaging.
Take popcorn, vegetable oil, butter, sugar, a pinch of salt and soda.
Combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves. If necessary, shake the pan to help the sugar dissolve faster.
Add butter, a pinch of salt and 0.25 teaspoon of soda.
Cook over low heat for a few more minutes until the mixture turns dark golden brown.
Prepare the corn in any convenient way, adding a small amount of vegetable oil. Add caramel to popcorn and stir quickly.
At this point, the popcorn is ready to serve, but to make it incredibly crispy, pop the popcorn in the oven or microwave for a few more minutes.
Homemade caramel popcorn is ready!
Popcorn "Christmas". An unusual, sweet-salty, spice-rich version of popcorn according to Nigella Lawson's recipe - for connoisseurs of complex flavor combinations.
Combine vegetable oil and butter. Add spices, salt and sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer over low heat until it thickens and caramelizes. Usually about 8–15 minutes.
Cook the corn. Add the spice mixture and mix well.
Christmas popcorn is ready!
Choose an option to suit your taste and enjoy the crunch!
Making popcorn at home is an exciting and fun activity. Great for lifting your spirits or just for fun.
Everything is so simple that you can make popcorn at home with small children, and older children can even make popcorn on their own.
Popcorn is a type of corn kernel that explodes and turns inside out when exposed to heat. It is low in calories and contains gold. Therefore, he can rightfully be called both an adult and an adult. Popcorn is especially good quality for those who suffer from extra pounds, but only without the use of sugar.
Popcorn at home - Preparation:
1. Popcorn corn differs from regular corn in shape: the seeds are smaller and round in shape. They are sold in stores, but you can also grow them yourself in the open ground at your dacha. This year we planted some corn for popcorn; when we harvest it, I’ll share my experience with you.
2. Before frying, check to see if there are any bad grains: blackened or empty and dried out.
3. Pour some corn kernels into a well-heated frying pan.
4. Cover with a lid.
5. Corn kernels open when heated strongly and quickly (toasting). This process begins with several pieces (in the photo you can see how the first corn turns into popcorn).
6. Then the process goes much faster and during this time the lid must not be opened under any circumstances! The grains “shoot” very high and all the popcorn may end up on the floor, on the stove, etc.
7. After a few minutes, all the grains turn into popcorn!
8. All that remains is to prepare the powdered sugar, if you don’t have it on hand at the moment: pour a little sugar into a coffee grinder and grind.
9. In a minute you already have powdered sugar for sprinkling the popped corn.
10. Sprinkle the popcorn with powdered sugar and don’t skimp – it will turn out sweet and very tasty!
Photo by Shutterstock
– an ideal snack and delicious dessert. In addition, it is indispensable when watching TV shows with your family. Prepare several options for all tastes at once, then each member of the household will be able to choose their favorite delicacy. It's best to start with the most popular popcorn options - caramel and chocolate.
How to Fry Popcorn
You will need:
- 150 g corn for popcorn;
- 2 tablespoons of refined vegetable oil.
Homemade popcorn can be popped in the oven or popped in the microwave. It's easy to cook popcorn on a regular stove. Scatter the corn kernels in a frying pan with heated vegetable oil, cover with a lid and fry until they “shoot”. Remove unopened grains. Popcorn is ready for further processing.
Sweet surprise: caramel popcorn
Try making caramel popcorn. It turns out much more delicious than a store-bought treat, and you can also vary the amount of caramel in the dessert as you wish.
You will need:
- 3 liters of toasted popcorn;
- 0.5 cups chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts or cashews);
- 110 ml water;
- 300 g brown sugar;
- 110 g butter;
- 0.25 teaspoon of soda;
- 0.5 teaspoon vanilla;
- 0.5 teaspoon of salt.
Make caramel syrup. Heat the butter in a saucepan, add brown sugar, water and salt. Stirring, bring the mixture to a boil and cook until slightly thickened - this will take about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add baking soda and vanilla, mix well.
Sugar in this recipe can be replaced with liquid honey, the popcorn will acquire an additional flavor nuance.
Place nuts and freshly popped popcorn in a greased pan. Pour the syrup into it and shake the pan so that the caramel is evenly distributed. Then put the popcorn in the oven, preheated to 150°C, for a quarter of an hour. Take out the finished delicacy, cool and break into pieces.
Chocolate popcorn
You will need:
- 3 liters of ready-made popcorn;
- 300 g dark chocolate;
- 50 g white chocolate.
Melt both types of chocolate in different containers. Place freshly popped popcorn in a bowl with dark chocolate and stir well. Line a baking tray with baking paper and spread popcorn on it. Drizzle milk chocolate over top. Let the glaze set and transfer the treat to a large bowl. Chocolate popcorn is ready.
Sometimes you crave something sweet and crunchy, especially when watching movies at home with the whole family! The idea of popcorn will come to the rescue, but don’t go to the cinema or park for it. I wouldn’t want to overpay for ready-made popcorn in the supermarket, which, by the way, does not guarantee natural ingredients, a large amount of grains or caramel. That's why it's a good idea to make it yourself at home. What do you need to make caramel popcorn?
Where to begin
First you need to prepare the caramel grains and cook the caramel. The closer in time the preparation of these two ingredients is, the better the final result will be. When making caramel from sugar at home, you should follow certain safety rules. Liquid caramel is always very hot, so you need to work with it very carefully, preferably without involving children in the process.
The recipe is based on water and sugar, which must be taken in a 3:1 ratio. To prepare the dish you will need baking soda, salt, sugar, water and butter. You need to use the same amount of butter as sugar, then the caramel will not be too liquid and not too viscous to evenly cover the popcorn.
Select popcorn
Special grains for cooking corn have long been common. In all supermarkets and markets, in the nuts and dried fruits departments, you can always find a pack of special corn grains. They differ from others in their dryness and small grain size. They have a special structure and burst evenly when heated. Why is this happening? Where did popcorn come from?
For thousands of years, special maize was used as food by the ancient peoples who inhabited America. In time immemorial, they discovered that when heated, this type of corn swells and the shell bursts. This feature is due to the fact that each grain of maize contains an insignificant amount of starch and water. It is a drop of water that is part of this type of corn that, when heated, begins to boil and explodes the shell of the grain, increasing its volume several times.
How to make popcorn
It is worth choosing a deep, non-enamelled dish, pour in sunflower oil and wait until it is hot enough. You can check this very simply by dropping a drop of water onto the bottom of the pan.
Distribute the corn kernels evenly over the bottom of the pan and swirl each one in the oil. After this, it is very important to cover the pan with a lid and do not open it until the popcorn is completely cooked.
Soon the grains will begin to burst - you will hear quick pops and the characteristic blows of the opened grains on the lid. Quite often, about every five seconds, shake the pan with the same rotational movements so that the unopened grains sink to the bottom of the pan and also burst.
When ready, the corn kernels should be placed in a separate vessel or on a baking sheet for mixing with specially prepared caramel.
How to cook caramel
- Pour sugar into a deep saucepan, add water, add salt and butter one by one. As it heats, mix all ingredients until the sugar is completely dissolved. It is important to ensure that there are no sugar crystals left on the walls of the vessel, this can lead to clouding (crystallization of the finished product).
- The whole process takes on average about 15 minutes. During this time, the caramel for the popcorn should boil. It is important to observe the color change of the substance without stirring it. At the moment when you notice a change in color to a rich amber-brown already at the edges of the pan, you can remove it from the heat so that the caramel does not burn or overcook.
- When the popcorn caramel is ready, turn off the heat and immediately add the prepared baking soda. This is optional, but will help distribute it better throughout the popcorn kernels.
- So, that same caramel for popcorn is ready. Pour it over the popcorn, poured onto a baking sheet greased or lined with oiled paper. After pouring the caramel over the popcorn, mix the future snack thoroughly with two spatulas, pre-greased with oil or sprayed with non-stick spray. This will help prevent the caramel from sticking to the tools you are using.
- Leave the caramel treat on the counter until the caramel has completely set and hardened on the popcorn. When done, the corn has cooled and the caramel is firm and crispy, separate the kernels with your hands.
Try to prepare everything at the same time. It is recommended to pour caramel for popcorn over still hot corn kernels in order to distribute the sweet mass evenly throughout the treat.
It is best to separate stuck together grains when they have cooled and hardened.
To avoid additional difficulties, spread butter or line with oiled parchment all objects that will come into contact with the caramel.
Many people associate eating popcorn, or popcorn, exclusively with movie theaters. It's so nice to crunch while listening to a good movie. However, you can also please yourself and your loved ones with this dish at home. Popcorn can be found in different types - salted, cheese, caramel. The latter is the most popular. How to make sweet popcorn at home? Simple enough! In addition, this dish is much cheaper than store-bought.
Delicious popcorn in a frying pan: what do you need?
How to make sweet popcorn in a frying pan? First you need to prepare the following ingredients:
- a quarter cup of corn for popcorn;
- a glass of sugar;
- three tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- a couple of tablespoons of water;
- a couple of drops of lemon juice;
- half a teaspoon of soda.
These ingredients allow you to prepare the popcorn itself and caramel for it.
Cooking corn
How to make sweet popcorn? First, prepare the corn itself. You need to choose the right cookware. A frying pan with thick walls and high sides is ideal. It’s also worth pairing it with a heavy lid. The lung can bounce from the impacts of exploding corn kernels. You can also use a saucepan with a thick bottom.
Pour the entire portion of oil into the frying pan and heat it slightly over medium heat. Shake out the grains and immediately cover with a lid. Soon the grains will begin to open and characteristic pops will be heard. At this time, the frying pan with the lid is shaken a little so that the corn is heated evenly, which means that all of it is opened. When the interval between claps becomes more than twenty seconds, you can turn off the corn. Leave it covered while starting to prepare the caramel.
How to make caramel?
How to make sweet popcorn? Add caramel to it! According to the basic recipe, you can prepare both a salty and a sweet product. For sweetness you need to add caramel. It is also easy to prepare.
Pour water, all the sugar and lemon juice into a small saucepan. They put everything on low gas and just watch the pan. There is no need to stir the caramel; you can only occasionally turn the pan, slightly lifting the sides so that all the sugar is covered with water.
Now you need to act as quickly as possible. The finished caramel has a pleasant color and a characteristic smell. Quickly open the lid of the pan with popcorn, pour soda into the caramel, the result is foam from the sweet ingredient, it is poured into the corn. Mix the grains thoroughly so that they are all saturated with the sweet ingredient.
Then the grains are laid out on a baking sheet, preferably in one layer. Cool for ten minutes.
Sweet popcorn with granulated sugar: ingredients
You can make popcorn right away without having to split the process between cooking corn and caramel. To do this take:
- corn;
- four tablespoons of sugar for every hundred grams of grains;
- vegetable oil.
Basically, these are all the necessary ingredients. Next, let's look at how to make sweet popcorn at home. This recipe is quite budget-friendly, and you don’t need to waste time making caramel. The finished grains are sweet and fatty due to vegetable oil. Sweetness can be adjusted to taste, for example, by adding more sugar or reducing its amount.
Cooking a sweet dish
To begin with, opt for a frying pan with a glass lid. This will allow you to monitor the cooking process so that the grains do not burn, but open.
Odorless vegetable oil is poured into the bottom of the dish. It should cover the entire bottom. Pour in the grains and place the frying pan over high heat. It is better to pour out the grains in portions so that they are laid out in one row. Then there will be fewer burnt and closed grains.
Corn kernels are sprinkled with granulated sugar on top. Scatter carefully so that the sweet ingredient gets all over the corn. Then cover everything with a lid and wait. After a couple of minutes, the grains will begin to open and popping sounds will be heard. Now you need to shake the pan, and quite often. Then the grains will mix with sugar and butter and will not burn. When the interval between claps becomes three seconds, you can remove this batch, transfer it to a dry bowl and let it cool. You can add a new portion of grains. This is a simple recipe that shows you how to make sweet popcorn with minimal ingredients.
Who doesn't know about such a delicacy as popcorn? Probably there are no such people. It is often purchased at the cinema hall to enjoy the film while watching it. However, preparing such a delicacy yourself is simple and quite cheap. You need to purchase special grains for popcorn; they can be found in large chain stores or ordered online. Then you should try making sweet popcorn with granulated sugar and vegetable oil. It's quite simple. How to make sweet popcorn that is as good as store-bought popcorn? You need to spend a little more time and make a special caramel filling. This is not only tasty, but also aromatic.
