Flavoured Stovetop Popcorn

[gtrekker2003]

Hi!

Does anybody have any interesting flavours that you like to put in popcorn? I just learned you can make popcorn on the stove. I thought it could only be made in a microwave or a popper.
So, apart from melted butter and salt, are there any other interesting and fun flavours worth trying?

Cheers,

gtrekker2003

[wendy8869]

I just saw on another website, forgive me I don't remember what it was, that suggested frying up a piece of bacon or two, take out the crisp bacon and pop the corn in the bacon fat, then crumble up the bacon on the popcorn when it's done. Sounds yummy.

[caffeinejunkie]

My husband (who thinks Bacon is a condiment) is going to love that!

[caffeinejunkie]

I received some "gourmet" popcorn as a gift and found the chipotle/cheddar and peanutbutter/white chocolate combinations heavenly. I haven't figured them out yet, but I don't imagine they'd be too tough to replicate.

[lodgegirl]

I've been popping my corn on the stove with coconut oil. It makes for a nice subtle hard-to-define difference in the end result. when i make caramel corn with the coconut-oil-popped corn, as i do way too much, people often speak in superlatives. I honestly can't stop eating it when i make it-- bad, bad, bad. See http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec... for a good basic caramel corn recipe, with or without nuts-- I like chopped pecans or almonds rather than peanuts, and add a bit more salt to the caramel.
p.s. i can't wait to try some of the spicy suggestions above!!

[themirthmobile]

tapatio/cholula and lime! or shaved parmesan or hot wing sauce or fresh ground pepper.

[maillard]

Both have already been mentioned, but my favorites are Old Bay or celery salt and black pepper. Or, sometimes, sichuan peppersalt.

[chicgail]

Sweet Smoked Paprika and Parmasean Cheese (in addition to butter and a bit of salt, of course)

[Den]

BBQ popcorn. Get the dry rub stuff and sprinkle it on.

[Emme]

Butter and maple syrup or brown sugar
Grated parmesan and salt
Mix in candied ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
Dry mustard, thyme and white pepper
Ranch or italian dressing mix
Butter, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, and lemon juice (like Simon and Garfunkel)
Pop it in a mix of corn and olive oil with chopped garlic, then mix in provolone, basil and sundried tomato slivers
good mixed with m & m's as they get all melty :)
one of my high school friends loves vanilla ice cream with buttered popcorn

[Diana]

Me, I like to toss it in cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves with a little butter and sugar.

I like it sweet.

Actually, I use Splenda, but some people here pooh-pooh Sucralose.

I've heard salt, and chinese five spice powder is nice, too.

I was also thinking of ground dried lemon zest, tumeric, garlic and mustard powder.

[Fleur]

Do you put everything in with the corn and then pop? I have been making it that way with success in the Whirley-Pop.

Nothing wrong with Sucralose IMO. I have made the Kettle Corn with both, and there is very little difference in taste.

[2m8ohed]

My fave: Pop it in a pan, and while it's still hot, grate aged cheddar over it with a Microplane grater, sprinkle "Lake Shore Seasoning" from the Spice House in Chicago (http://www.thespicehouse.com) over it, and toss. Doesn't work as well with air-popped corn, unfortunately, so I use butter and Lake Shore Seasoning. Delicious, too.

[Jambalaya]

Frank and Theresa's Hot Sauce and melted butter, the same stuff you'd use for wings.

[MeowMixx]

garlic, cayenne and parmesan

[Seldomsated]

Dill weed with sea salt is another alternative I stumbled upon one night - the dill gives it a fresh, green flavor that is quite satisfying.

[rosielucchesini]

I love me some popcorn and never have it just plain. Some of my favorite add-ins have been tabasco, sesame oil, and truffle oil (just not all at the same time of course).

[Chowpatty]

My standby is melted butter with a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, topped with popcorn salt and lemon pepper (not the fancy Trader Joe's kind, has to be the cheap supermarket variety.)
My boyfriend, not usually given to kitchen experimentation, recently threw some cheese powder from the Trader Joe's natural mac 'n cheese on top, and it was yummy.

[lunchbox]

I've mentioned this one before:

I pop my corn in duck fat, often with a dash of chili oil, then season with truffle butter and parmesan.

When I'm feeling a bit more declassé, I usually just pop in olive oil and season with celery salt and black pepper.

[sunshinedrop]

Cook in olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. If you want more flavor, also add the powdered Parmesan cheese.

[pamd]

I like it with Old Bay (but I love it on lots of stuff as originally from Maryland)

Do a search on here- this topic has been brought up a bunch of times.

[Jill]

Old Bay on popcorn is TO DIE FOR!

[CDouglas]

Old Bay is the gold standard in my house.

Malt vinegar and salt makes a nice change of pace.

I once had popcorn with ginger/garlic butter and powdered nori - very tasty.

[Katie Nell]

Michael Chiarello has done several flavored popcorns on his show, the basil and parmesan sounds the best to me, although I do like the idea of using browned butter. http://web.foodnetwork.com/food/web/s...

[Youffraita]

"Pizza" popcorn: Saute minced garlic in butter; add dried oregano and paprika, and mix with the popped corn, then toss with freshly grated parmesan. I don't add salt because the cheese is salty enough for me. It's great!

[Fleur]

I always make mine in the Whirley-Pop. The last batch was made in a mix of EVOO and butter, with some salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence in the oil. When it was popped, I added Parmesan.

I also make Kettle Corn in the Whirley-Pop. Sugar, salt, and butter, add the corn, and pop.

[Grubbjunkie]

Lately I've been using melted butter with parmesan and truffle salt. Fantastic!

[dietfoodie]

I've been making it in the microwave in a paper bag ala Alton Brown since I heard about the technique. I get the seasonings to stick with a little water, not oil, and it seems to work pretty well. I've been enjoying Penzey's Northwoods Fire lately, but Salad Elegant and Sandwich Sprinkle are both good too. I use about 1/4 tsp. per 3 tbls of popcorn.

[La Dolce Vita]

Okay, this is going to sound weird. I pop the corn in some oil (preferably peanut oil), in a big cast-iron pot. Then, I toss with kosher salt. I pour some maple syrup on it, and dust with a sprinkling of smoked ancho chili powder. The smoky-spicy-maple-salt combination is, to my palate, exciting.

[another_adam]

I second the sumac idea, it's great.
Lots of different Japanese furikake ("sprinkle") flavors work well (just watch out for one without lots of MSG). Even just some salt and ao nori (green seaweed) flakes are pretty good.
Also, I like to toss with a little bit of sauce made from korean chili powder (not flakes!), gojuchang, sesame oil and a dash of malt syrup (sugar or corn syrup might work too). Spicy! (Baking briefly on a bake sheet helps dry it out, if it's too wet for you)

[pescatarian]

I pop my popcorn on the stovetop with coconut oil.
I have a number of favourite toppings:
White sugar mixed with dabs of siracha (sounds strange but it's great)
Vinegar by itself
Vinegar mixed with ketchup and mustard as a dip
Butter with tabasco
Butter with garam masala and a squeeze of lime

[lanamonster]

It's kind of an acquired taste, but I've acquired it...nutritional yeast (what vegans eat all the time from the health food store) and a little oil. Plus salt, of course.

[MikeLM]

I've been putting garlic butter on my popcorn for years. With a squirt of L & P and Tabasco into the melted butter, then grate some parm on top and toss

[gtrekker2003]

Good ideas, so far. Thanks!

Have you tried the different coloured popcorns? I.e. yellow, red, blue, etc. Which is the best one to use?

[Jill]

I've tried regular yellow, which of course is great, but also white, red and black. The black has a nice nutty flavor and I really like the white, but the red doesn't seem to pop very well. Or maybe that's just my lack of skill...

[brownie]

Where have you found other-than-white/yellow kernels? Is there somewhere online you recommend? I've not had any luck at the grocery store, nor at Whole Foods.
Thanks!
Brownie

[Jill]

Hi Brownie:

Sorry...just saw your question. Unfortunately, the different colored kernels were a gift. I got big jars of each of the colors I mentioned, so I don't know where to find them. I'd check the gourmet grocery stores around the city though or places that carry unusual products like Trader Joe's maybe.

[lodgegirl]

I remember getting a bag of Black Cat Corn-- black kernels, obviously-- from my mother-in-law years ago. It was delicious as I recall. not sure where/if it's still available.

[Ali]

I'm a fan of the cayenne & ground coriander. Also good is some chili powder - yes, even the non-chowish store-bought variety.

I like a sprinkling of sugar over popcorn as well.

[King of Northern Blvd]

Yes, Popcorn was around a lot longer than microwaves. I like to put curry powder on mine or any of the bbq rubs I have sitting in my cupboard.

[venera]

My current favorite combo of spices atop popcorn:

--Ground coriander
--Salt
--Cayenne
--Sumac

I just sprinkle them on immediately after popping and toss.

Drizzling sesame oil on popcorn also is yum. :) A little salt is all you need there, the sesame oil does the rest.