[donotprint] I know its not summer yet but I don’t care. We’re making homemade kettle corn at our house and its the perfect salty-sweet snack on a beautiful day like today. Several months ago I posted a caramel corn recipe (Crackerjack) and a company called JustPoppin.com left me a comment. Out of sheer curiosity I replied via email with a very simple question. “How come my popcorn doesn’t have huge balloon type qualities like the kettle corn I get at the fair?” I was told the variety of popcorn they use at the fair are called “mushroom” kernels. I had always believed the way to get those huge kernels was the kettle cooking method and was happy to learn I could buy the same mushroom kernels to make kettle corn at home! Truth be told, I love the balloon type variety of kettle corn and was excited to learn the secret behind my misconception.
The folks at JustPoppin were kind enough to send me a few small samples of different types of popcorn (tender pop, movie pop, and mushroom popcorn) to play around with. All I can say is this… Kettle corn made with mushroom popcorn is d’bomb. <— I realize no one says d’bomb anymore but once again, I don’t care. They are d’bomb.
So what I have for you dear friends is a simple, easy recipe for kettle corn. The outside coating is a clear thin sugary shell seasoned with a hint of salt. Eating it makes me happy, making it brings me joy, sharing with you is my pleasure. Enjoy! [/donotprint]
Easy Kettle Corn Recipe
Ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
*Special Equipment – A large pot with lid
Directions:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add popcorn and sugar giving it a quick stir and then cover with lid. Once popcorn starts popping, pick it up and give it a quick shake every few seconds until popping slows down, between 3-4 minutes. Remove immediately from heat and pour into a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and serve immediately. Do not make the mistake of removing the pot from heat without transferring to a bowl. Due to the high heat of the pot, if you don’t transfer the popcorn it will caramelize and perhaps burn. *Also, do not attempt to make a batch of this in a dutch oven. I made a second batch thinking it would work and it caramelized to quickly and burned.
<<Update>> Buck from JustPoppin just left a really informative comment with suggestions on popping kettle corn. This is what he had to say:
“I’d like to suggest adding a step (or clarification) at the beginning of the recipe to get the most out of the Mushroom Popcorn kernels…
3 kernels of corn should be added to the oil in the pan at the very start. Only after those kernels pop should the rest of the corn and other ingredients be added to the hot oil. Do this instead of adding the popcorn to cold oil and heating it together (which saps the popcorn of needed moisture).
More so than any other popcorn, Mushroom Popcorn kernels are very heat sensitive. They need higher heat (over 400F) to pop with the explosiveness necessary to get that big puffy ball shape, and to get it from the overwhelming majority of the kernels in the pan (which should be the result).
Popcorn will pop at temperatures as low as 250F but it’s more of a PFFFFT instead of a POP! Get over 400F and you’ll be getting bigger POPs. The step above is a great way to be sure the oil is plenty hot before adding most of your corn.”
If you have more questions about popcorn he says you can pop (get it? pop?.. never mind) on over to Justpoppin for more tips.
PS: If you are fanatical about this type of kernel like I am, you can order them online at justpoppin.com since grocery stores do not carry this type of kernel.
Just so you know – Disclaimer: JustPoppin.com did not sponsor this post. They merely provided me with a few samples because I was curious about mushroom kernels.
Judith Mitchelly says
We buy our mushroom popcorn from an Amish dry goods store in central Wisconsin. It comes in bulk.
Alice Currah says
I love the fact you used coconut oil!
Carla says
Thanks, I made it with coconut oil and it tastes just like the stuff from the county fair. 🙂
Kris says
Awesome! I just tried your recipe- halved it with less sugar and it was amazing!!!!!! Also glad I read the comments- I didn’t know there was such a thing as popcorn salt. We scarfed it down in 2 minutes.
Shel says
According to the directions you sprinkle it on right after you pour it out of the pot into a bowl. It seems clumpy and sticky at first, but I just used two wooden spoons and lifted it and mixed it which broke up the clumps. I measured out popcorn salt (super fine) to equal the total 3/4 tsp then just sprinkled it on alternating with tossing it so that it mixed well. It was the perfect balance of sweet and salty!
Shel says
Wow! Just…Wow! I used your recipe for Kettle Corn just a little while ago and it was fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing. It was worth it for the delicious taste and the smile that spread from ear to ear when I gave some to my daughter (and my cat). Just wanted to say, too, that cleaning up my popper (on the stove type with a crank) was a breeze: much easier than after making plan popcorn when I can never seem to get all of the grease out of the cracks in the lid. So. Yummy!
Sandra says
I did not see when to add the salt in your kettle corn recipe. Is it added with the sugar? Thanks for the help. I love kettle corn and am anxious to try your recipe. Sandra
Karen says
Thanks for your post – great information!
Alice Currah says
Glad you liked it!
Ike says
I had a hankering for some kettle corn, so I was looking around for a recipe and came across this one. It was simple and required few ingredients, so I figured I would try it out. I used normal, store-bought corn and preheated as advised. The popcorn was awesome! Just the way kettle-corn should taste with minimal effort. I had a few more un-popped kernels than expected but overall delicious!
Jenny B says
I have to admit, this stuff is AMAZING!! My 21 month old could not stop munching! The 1st batch came out a bit burnt at the bottom but the 2nd batch came out perfect as soon as I turned down the heat a bit 🙂 I also used Organic popcorn(non-GMO), turbinado sugar and organic coconut oil.
NOM NOM NOM!!!
My new favorite popcorn recipe!
THANKS!
Debbie Hamilton says
Super delicious!
Jim says
I used coconut oil and organic sugar (white). Just follow the directions and you’re in for the best kettle korn ever! Tips: On an electric stove, turn heat to 8 (on a 1-10 setting). KEEP SHAKING the pot to prevent burning. Remove from heat as the popping slows. Don’t wait untl it stops or you might burn the sugar. MMMMMMMM!!!!
Connie says
I’m thinking about getting whirley pop and start making my own popcorn! I have a couple questions:
1) Will a Whirley Pop be hard to clean, if I make kettle corn?
2) Can you make kettle corn with another sweetener, other than white sugar? (like brown sugar, turbinado, sucanat?)
Catherine Santana says
Made this today and it came out absolutely delicious. Even my husband who ordinarily hates popcorn loved it.
Patvetzal says
Don’t think maple syrup will work unless added after popping stops. The water in the syrup will boil off at about 210F leaving a burnt tasting carmellized remnant. By the time it’s hot enough to pop the corn the room will be awfully smoky….
Kathi says
My son was begging for kettle corn, so I began searching the web, and found your recipe…..we made it quickly and easily, and even though it turned a tad golden, it was delicious….reason for that was my son was too eager and turned the heat too high….lol…..thank you again for an awesome new recipe for my favorite recipes….:)
MomOf3 says
i’m still learning to make this perfect but even though i don’t have it perfect yet its still good n thank u for sharing my kids n i was disapointed when we found out the fun fair was consoled cuz of rain n we couldn’t get our kettle corn but then we found your page n we was happy again the bag i’m eating now as i’m writing this is r 2ed try r first try r sugar burned a little witch now thanks to post earlyer i may know why maybe heat was to high so i’ll try again n this one we eating now is good but to sugary couse we put the sugar on after but its still good oh n one more thing thank u for teaching me the trick of putting one corn in first before the rest it making popping the corn alote easyer 🙂 n we will be saving a lot more money now thank u so very much 🙂
JustPoppin Buck says
@Toni – I’m not the chef or food scientist here but I’ll venture a guess. Cooked sugar will always get hard and crystalline when cooked to the proper temperature. When this is in the form of a glaze, all is good. But if too much of the sugar is globbed together, it would be like little stones of sugar. My guess is that the sugar isn’t being distributed enough through mixing. The more it’s mixed, the more spread out the sugar will be, meaning smaller crystals and no “rocks”. Good luck!
Toni says
Made this recipe a couple times; it’s delicious except for some of the sugar turns to rocks.
Any suggestions why?
JustPoppin Buck says
@Jenny – without knowing everything that you did while trying to make the recipe, it’s hard to say what caused the burning. My best guess would be that you may have had the heat too high. In my experience, there’s nothing wrong with doing lots of experiments when it comes to making fun foods like popcorn! I hope you’ll try again. If you have burned sugar in your pot, an easy way to clean the pot (instead of trying to scrub it) is to fill it with enough water to cover the burned areas and put it on the stove to boil with a few drops of dish soap. Keep an eye on it so you don’t boil it dry. It may take a little while of boiling to re-melt the sugar.
@beth – would that be Pate corn?
beth says
Bacon fat sounded epic! Duck fat anyone?
Heather says
Just made in my Whirley Pop using 2 tbs of coconut oil. No more buying kettle corn at the farmers market!
Lisa says
Just made this with extra virgin olive oil! So yummy! And so easy!
nicolle says
hi there! I was just reading about rainbow popcorn online made from using different flavors of jello boxes 🙂