The popcorn preparation primer on every package of popcorn

November 22, 2023 2:52 AM

Okay, maybe use the popcorn button. (Technology Connections, 14 minutes. Previously.)
posted by JHarris (47 comments total)

And here I thought the good popcorn buttons all relied on a microphone.
posted by wierdo at 3:02 AM on November 22, 2023

On mine the button works great. It does ask for the bag size, and it switches to a countdown far before the bag has puffed out any steam so it must just be well calibrated. It definitely does have a humidity sensor for reheat though, so it's confusing.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:43 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Per-package popcorn preparation primers: practical? Perverse? Passé? Perspicacious presenter provides pointers.
posted by flabdablet at 3:47 AM on November 22, 2023 [27 favorites]

I don't really eat popcorn or put it in the microwave but 14 minutes seems a bit much.
posted by polytope subirb enby-of-piano-dice at 3:49 AM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

(1) Popcorn
(2) Olive oil
(3) Fine salt or flavocol
(4) Whirlypop

Mr. Alec is right about lots of things and interesting about even more things but that boy is not into cooking
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 4:13 AM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

(1) Popcorn
(2) Olive oil
(3) Fine salt or flavocol
(4) Whirlypop

This is the way. ....Maybe not the olive oil necessarily, but the Whirlypop and the Flavocol for certain.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:33 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

My only disappointment is that he didn't disassemble the KitchenAid to look for its microphone. Checking the website seems like cheating!
posted by mittens at 4:40 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

That's good for sure, but consider, if you will, this recipe from Julia Childs' "Mastering the Art of French Cooking":
(1) Popcorn bag
(2) Microwave
posted by phooky at 5:02 AM on November 22, 2023 [11 favorites]

Yeah, and I think the humidity sensor is why our current silicone bowl with vented lid arrangement doesn't work so well with the popcorn button - it vents steam a lot sooner than a bag would. So I set the microwave for 3 minutes, tell my faceless assistant to warn me after 2 minutes, and I count time between pops like a caveman.
posted by Kyol at 5:11 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

That's good for sure, but consider, if you will, this recipe from Julia Childs' "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"

I get you, but just for me I find that, personally, flavocol is just about my limit on artificiality when it comes to popcorms.

That, and if you're willing to consider decadent French recipes like that you might also consider the proud teutonic efficiency of

(1) Bag of boom chicka pop or smarrrrtfood
(2) Mouth
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 5:43 AM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]

Olive oil, sea salt, and pepper or coconut oil and Flavacol, or whatever you prefer, but the Whirly-Pop is a must!
posted by TedW at 5:44 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

This man is out there giving people (me) opinions

I watched this video last night and now have opinions about the popcorn button. I also watched "The Antique Toaster That's Better Than Yours" and I don't even have a toaster but if I did it likely would've been a modern one and it SUCKS and I look down upon my imaginary toaster with disgust. From previous Tech Connect bingewatching I have dishwasher detergent preferences, thoughts about the location of thermometers in fridges, and honestly I still don't really understand heat pumps without a cheat sheet but there's definitely some vague opinions lurking about in here

I really hope he does a video on air frying. I've heard of it but don't know what to think about it and would like to be told in a soothing, rather idiosyncratic way
posted by Baethan at 6:14 AM on November 22, 2023 [11 favorites]

Love all of the Whirly-Pop love in this thread. It really is the secret to great popcorn at home.

My variation: I use peanut oil, which provides a wonderfully crisp pop, and fine Redmond Real Salt, which is fine enough to coat popcorn well and provides a wonderful natural flavor that doesn't need the extra artificial oomph of Flavacol.
posted by eschatfische at 6:36 AM on November 22, 2023

that boy is not into cooking

Oh no, but he really likes microwaves.

He's wrong though, lots of presets is good, but you need a moisture sensor microwave with a flat bottom and an inverter for continuously variable microwave power.
posted by ambrosen at 6:46 AM on November 22, 2023

(1) Bag of boom chicka pop or smarrrrtfood
(2) Mouth

The French consider this meal so decadent that it is traditionally eaten with a napkin draped over one's head, so that god can't see.
posted by phooky at 7:02 AM on November 22, 2023 [5 favorites]

I still don't really understand heat pumps without a cheat sheet

Magic, basically. Our air source heat pump water heater is providing hot water for a fourplex and costs like $30/mo in electricity to run. When the heating boiler dies I'm hoping its replacement will also be similarly magical.
posted by nathan_teske at 7:20 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

MetaFilter: I look down upon my imaginary toaster with disgust
posted by Western Infidels at 7:30 AM on November 22, 2023 [9 favorites]

We always use a big slab of salted butter in our whirly pop. Turns out perfectly buttery every time.

Way back in the days of yore when I was on my high school student council for a couple years, one of our weekly fundraisers was running a popcorn machine. Popcorn kernels, weird earwax-coloured and textured blocks of popcorn popper grease, and cartons of Flavacol powder. Ugh. No thanks to Flavacol or weird popcorn popper earwax grease.
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:35 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

No love for air poppers? I mean, I have nothing against the Whirlypop* but air poppers are so labor-free and fast!

* I used mine to roast coffee, until I found an air popper that did the same job with less effort.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:10 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

I always have mixed emotions about a Technology Connections video, as I have mentioned before.
Mostly through no fault of his own, I can't stand to listen to the guy, because he reminds me of someone I knew decades ago. The content is usually good, usually interesting and informative.
(The non-'Mostly' part refers to his so-called sense of humor)

I actually didn't know if my microwave, which I use every day, has a Popcorn button, until I just now looked. When I push it, the oven starts immediately and the display says "POP 3.5". I guess no moisture sensor.
I'm not going to actually test popcorn in it, because I think microwave popcorn is an abomination.
One nice thing about not working in an office any more is that I don't have to smell whatever chemical is put into those bags drifting through the entire office.
posted by MtDewd at 8:19 AM on November 22, 2023

the finest form of popcorn is a Jiffy Pop made over a campfire.

anyway i always enjoy Technology Connections but food is that guy's blindspot. don't even get me started on his coffee videos.
posted by ZaphodB at 8:34 AM on November 22, 2023

Heh. We always bring Jiffy Pop camping. Everyone wants to eat it, but no-one wants to pop it. Takes forever on a campfire and those little wire handles are too short. As a result we often bring the same package of Jiffy Pop every time we go camping for a number of trips until someone finally forgets how annoying it is and pops it.
posted by fimbulvetr at 8:43 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

oh you foodies. Microwave popcorn is delicious probably because it's full of chemicals. I don't buy it often because my diet instantly becomes 100% popcorn until it's all gone, so I pop kernels (wok method). But it's always a little disappointing because I can't quite nail that taste. Yes I've got flavacol. It's not the same!

I don't think actual movie theater popcorn is the same either, not like it used to be. What happened to those giant jugs of disgustingly good not-butter butter?

(My dad would make popcorn in a sort of automatic whirlipop thing, then would put it in a paper grocery bag with some melted butter & shake to coat. A used paper grocery bag. Adds a certain je ne sais quoi. Popcorn without a teeny bit of contamination just isn't as good.)
posted by Baethan at 9:05 AM on November 22, 2023

fimbulvetr, so sorry to hear that and i hope you get better!

for the hot wire handle, just build up scar tissue until your hands are oven mitts of flesh. or you can stick-poke some embers to one side and set the jiffypop on em, which is a simpler but less authentic method.
posted by ZaphodB at 9:08 AM on November 22, 2023

You guys and your perfect recipes for everything. We put a little oil and popcorn in a pot, put a lid on it, turn up the heat, and wait for it to stop making noise.
posted by pracowity at 9:19 AM on November 22, 2023

No love for air poppers?

I said good day, sir.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 9:23 AM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

fans of Brian David Gilbert will recall PEPCORN: a cooking video

non-fans: it's a 12+ min video and it's BDG so proceed accordingly

my method is just silly: the same old ancient little black pot, stovetop, and multiple batches. The pot is too small, it takes 4-5 batches to make 2 bowls. For my finished bowl, I add melted butter, salt, vinegar powder, and a truly disgusting amount of ketchup popcorn seasoning. If I die prematurely I know the culprit.

Has anyone tried BDG's pepcorn? It looks good, I just haven't tried making it yet.
posted by elkevelvet at 9:30 AM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Oh good, the insufferable metafilter food snobs have shown up to make people feel bad about liking things. You guys got like a phone tree or email list, or you just wing it?

I watched my microwave pop a bag and noticed the motor noise changes when it first puffs the steam out of the bag, so instead of modulating the time remaining it might be doing it by modulating the microwave power, since it's an inverter model. That might explain how it gets it right even though the countdown starts nearly immediately. On the other hand a change in fan noise might not mean a power change, as sometimes it seems to change sounds even when using the basic constant power cook mode too. I should try it connected to a Kill-a-Watt.
posted by Rhomboid at 9:52 AM on November 22, 2023

I love Technology Connections.

air frying. I've heard of it

They're mini convection ovens. The drawer style has them so close to the heating element and fan that you get the 'frying' results that are hard to achieve in even a toaster oven (though a convection toaster oven is pretty close). There's not much more to say about them. The 'smart' ones have a temperature probe, and maybe a steam feature (to approximate commercial steam ovens).
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:07 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

And yeah, we mostly use pre-made utterly ridiculous kernels in our poppers. Is it the most cost effective way to make popcorn? Hell no. Does it mean my wife gets weird dill pickle and cheddar jalepeño popcorn when she wants it? You betcha.

And for what it's worth, it's been pretty good popcorn, even compared to either raw kernels in the poppers or kernels and oil, or kernels and oil and flavacol - it's consistent and not full of loose shells or half-popped filling busters. It's not like I'm eating a bowl of popcorn a day, it's a special treat on movie nights.

I wish I liked our whirleypop more, but the amount of blow-past heating from our stove means you need to wear an oven mitt to keep it whirling which is a bridge too far most of the time.
posted by Kyol at 10:16 AM on November 22, 2023

Saucepan. Some oil. Turn the heat on high. Put one kernel in the oil. When it pops, pour enough kernels to cover the bottom. Cover. Shake up the pan every few seconds. Popping will start shortly. When it's slowed to a couple of seconds between pops, remove from heat and immediately pour into bowl and enjoy.
posted by azpenguin at 10:51 AM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

You can definitely pop everyday popcorn in a microwave; you don't need prepackaged microwave popcorn, and then you can add whatever seasoning you like. It's not as fun as doing it on a stove top, and it probably doesn't taste the same, but it's faster and easier. The method I use involves a brown paper lunch bag and some staples, which means there's probably not the same sudden moisture change as the prepackaged bags, so a moisture sensor might not work as well. A microphone still would, though, because you are listening for the same 2 seconds between pops.
posted by surlyben at 11:09 AM on November 22, 2023

Popcorn-popping method comparisons:
The Kitchn
Serious Eats
Wirecutter

There's also a whole popcorn subreddit.

Spoilers: they all like the whirleypop. Technology Connections hasn't explained why I should like it yet, so I'll stick with the wok/whatever random pot happens to be clean
posted by Baethan at 11:28 AM on November 22, 2023

Just going to pop this in here for any S.F. Bay Area residents: Wright's Pink Popcorn (ghost site), once available at local tourist spots, now defunct.

And I've personally checked at the San Francisco address listed on the ghost site, with multiple phone calls and an in-person visit. Professionally-packaged pink popcorn phases into the past.
posted by JDC8 at 11:48 AM on November 22, 2023

FYI: If you like microwaving your popcorn, you can just put plain old popcorn kernels into a brown paper bag with a little oil and butter, and it's probably safer than pre-made microwaveable popcorn since those have all kinds of chemicals, preservatives and plastic-lined bags and all that nonsense, and you can do all kinds of fun flavors.

https://www.seriouseats.com/microwave-brown-bag-popcorn-recipe-7099271

Note that there is a fire risk to this but that's true of pre-made microwave popcorn, too.

Me? I like to make my popcorn on the stove.

My only issue with making it on the stove is that somehow I always over-estimate how many kernels I actually need even when I'm using a huge kettle to try to contain it all, and the next thing I know it's like the ending scene in Real Genius and there's popcorn everywhere.

Granted this isn't really a problem. It just means I have a huge tub of popcorn sitting out on the counter for a few days and I need help eating it before it really goes stale. It's probably one of the healthiest snack foods you can eat as long as it's not totally drowning in butter.

I've even made small batches on a camp stove and pot when camping. I have a set of small-ish nesting steel mixing bowls that's part of my camping gear mess kit, and when I make popcorn in my small 16 oz Esbit branded pot I can make a huge volume of popcorn in a small pot with a lid and sort of just catch all the overflow and volume in the bowl until it's done.

If you like popcorn while camping, skip the Jiffy Pop tin and holding it over the fire and just use a camping stove or burner. The high temps of a small isobutane or propane backpacking or car camping stove and the relatively thin metal of a small cooking/boiling pot are pretty ideal for making popcorn.

And dang, I think I know what I'm going to do on the next bike group ride as a nice treat for people. That would be really easy and lightweight to pack and there's just enough time on the beers-and-socializing stops that we do to fire off a couple of quarts of warm, fresh popcorn for people to snack on.
posted by loquacious at 1:54 PM on November 22, 2023

[Popcorn is] probably one of the healthiest snack foods you can eat as long as it's not totally drowning in butter.

You can improve the flavor and healthiness by using less butter (or none if you're vegetarian) and generously sprinkling it with nutritional yeast. It's not butter-flavored, but it adds umami and the flavor is butter-adjacent enough to be satisfying.
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:28 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

I do want to know what Alec thinks of those mini pressure poppers.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:30 PM on November 22, 2023

Chance of explosive scalding oily steam and shrapnel? Pass, thanks.
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:16 PM on November 22, 2023

I am an air popper! I cant be bothered to actually cook popcorn (I only heat things, not cook them).

And ewwwww olive oil on my popcorn? No thank you, give me that artery clogging butter every time. The more, the merrier.

1) Air popper
2) popcorn
3) butter
4) garlic
5) salt
6) hiding in a room to eat so I dont have to share*

(*I specifically asked you if you wanted any popcorn because I DONT WANT TO SHARE. I would have made you your own bowl. You said no, you get no popcorn!)
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:42 PM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]

From a review of Flavocol on Amazon: "The Flavacol package is made for larger machines. It is the size of a quart of milk."

Great, now I have to waste an evening trying to figure out how big a quart of milk is.
posted by neuron at 7:28 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

1 quart = ~.004 hogshead or .023 firkin, hope this helps.
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:22 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

...pretty close to a liter actually (1 quart of milk is 0.95L)
posted by LizBoBiz at 9:02 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Spoilsport!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:06 PM on November 22, 2023

Tried it tonight. Was a little scared but it did work.
posted by Selena777 at 1:16 AM on November 23, 2023

No love for air poppers?

This was my go-to until I got a hot oil popper. Air popped popcorn now tastes kind flavourless and has the texture of styrofoam (it always kinda did, but enough butter would cancel it out).
posted by asnider at 9:08 AM on November 23, 2023

Has anyone tried BDG's pepcorn? It looks good, I just haven't tried making it yet.

It's very good! The only thing is if you like a chili crisp with bigger bits in it (douchi, big pieces of fried shallot, etc) it might be worth chopping or mortar and pestling it a bit before use or else the bits fall to the bottom.

The wok + vigorous shaking method for popcorn from his video really is the way to go! Unpopped kernels fall to the bottom, popped kernels stay up out of the highest heat, and it's big enough to use it to mix in any flavor additions after popping.
posted by jason_steakums at 9:50 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

coconut oil in a pot (shake regularly once popping) with light salt. melted butter to taste. Wok is arguably better for this, if you have a proper lid and technique.

But honestly, I came here to see if I should post the recent video about LED Christmas lights and found there's no need. I'd be interested to examine the obvious and apperent mefite technology connections fandom. Just a match made in blue and gold.
posted by es_de_bah at 4:26 PM on November 30, 2023 [1 favorite]