When you enjoy popcorn as a snack, it can get boring very quickly. The buttered or salted flavor usually sticks to the mouth and ears, leaving little taste in your throat. To make it more interesting, you will need to find ways to coat the popped corn with other flavors.
There are several easy recipes that do this. In fact, some of them even have salty toppings suchas salt or cheese mixed into the melted butter before adding the seasonings. These recipes work because the butter soaks up the additional ingredients and covers the individual tastes.
However, there is an easier way to add flavor to your popcorn. This article will talk about two types of liquids that people use to dip their hands in before eating the popcorn.
Use the right oil
When buying popcorn, you want to make sure you have a good source of fat for two reasons: flavor and stickiness. The type of oil you use makes a difference in which flavors come through when eating your popcorn.
Some oils like canola or olive may not taste very strong, but they will help give your movie night some depth. Also, lipids (fats) lower blood cholesterol so using an appropriate oil helps with that!
Most people agree that butter style oils are the best way to go if you just like plain old salted popcorn. These include melted solid vegetable oil, melted shortening, or even regular ol’ butter!
If you like chocolate or coconut flavored kernels then cocoa powder or coconut milk should work as a natural sugar coating. Just be careful not to over do it though as both will burn off during cooking time.
Add more oil
The easiest way to fix this is by adding more oil at the very beginning. When you pour in the olive or vegetable oil, that can sometimes run down the popped popcorn and coat some of it. Try using a spoon to add an additional couple tablespoons of oil before pouring in the salt and sugar!
This helps prevent some of the dry pieces of popcorn from sticking to each other or getting salty skin around each kernel. If your kernels are crispy and crunchy, then no, this isn’t needed- but for fluffy, buttery popcorn, we recommend giving this tip a try.
General tips: remember that thinner poppies mean faster cooked and warmer, thicker ones means taking longer to cook and warm up slightly extra golden.
Use baking soda
In fact, most people already have this tool in their arsenal! Baking soda is essential for making popcorn just right. It helps stabilize the air bubbles as they rise through the kernels, creating crispier and more evenly browned popped corn.
To use baking soda, simply take a pinch between your thumb and index finger and pour it into the popper or microwave container. Then, using a slotted spoon, remove the finished popcorn and toss it with the baking soda. Let it sit for a few seconds until the coating clings to the popcorn, then season to taste.
Baking soda also gives you some extra vitamins and minerals. However, too much can hurt your health so please do not overdo it.
Use lemon juice
One of our favorite tips for making sure your popcorn tastes better is using either butter or olive oil as a flavorizer. Adding salt then mixing it in with the popped corn will also help make the texture more crisp, which we love!
But what about those times when you just don’t have enough time to cook the whole batch of popcorn before taking it outside or buying a new color scheme for movie night?
You can still achieve great salty, sweet, and sour popcorn by adding another ingredient- lemons! The acidity of the lemon breaks down some of the starch in the kernels, creating thinner, crisper popcorn that taste good year round.
And while most people add dried fruit like raisins or cranberries to their snacks at this stage, throwing in a few squeezes of fresh lemon makes a much needed change.
Use vinegar
One of our favorite ways to get seasoning to stick to popcorn is by using acid as a coating. Acids such as white or rice wine, lemon, lime, tomato, or pepper vinegars are great additions to this trick.
Why it works: The acids in the vinegar lower the starch content of the popped corn, making it more likely to cling to the flavorings you’re trying to add onto it.
Tip: Make sure your vinegar is raw (not cooked) so that it will evaporate and not burn when you use it in the recipe!
General tip: If the vinegar is too strong, you can mix it with another liquid before using it in the recipe. For example, half water could be mixed into the vinegar before being added to the pan of popped corn.
Recipe: Our favorite way to make salted butter-style popcorn is 1 cup air poppable kernels, one tablespoon coconut oil, and two tablespoons salt per batch. To make twice as much popcorn, double all of the ingredients. Then, pour three cups of boiling water over the mixture and stir until the popping slows down.
Once done, drain off the water and either place in a large bowl or transfer to another container to prevent dry bits of popcorn from sticking to the pot.
Use sugar
Having a variety of toppings for your popcorn is very important since people can be different when it comes to taste. Some like butter-style, some have special seasonings that they like, and some don’t.
If you are in the first group then that is great! But if you are in the second or third group, trying using a little bit of salt and other flavorings may help.
A few tips about using flavors with popcorn: use a small amount and spread out all over the bag will help keep the cost down as well as save you time because you won’t need to do anything but shake the bag and pour into a bowl to enjoy your snack.
Most movie theaters supply salty snacks so why not take advantage of it?!? Then, if you really wanted to add something more substantial like dried fruits or nuts, go ahead. It would probably cost less than buying individual packets at the store anyway.
Use salt
When you make popcorn, it can sometimes get boring or taste bland. One of the most common ways to improve the flavor is by adding more ingredients into the pot.
The best way to do this is to use kosher salt as your main ingredient. This will coat the popped kernels evenly, and add some flavor yourself!
You can also stir in other dry ingredients like white sugar or coconut oil before popping.
Use something else
Having a box of plain, buttery popcorn is not very fun unless you have some kind of seasoning on it. While people seem to agree that salt is your best bet, there are several other ways to add flavor to your popcorn!
Toss one package (1 cup) of popped corn with two tablespoons of any of these seasonings.