*****We’ve adapted this recipe to fit our Whole Foods lifestyle by using coconut oil and sucanat.***** I love fall! It means festivals…….festivals mean Kettle Corn! I might be a tad bit obsessed with Kettle Corn. Sure, I go to see the crafts and decorations, but if they weren’t there I’d still go just to get Kettle Corn. Whew! I don’t like to share it either. My husband might get a few bites there and there, but if he’s not careful I might just bite his hand off. There’s just something about the sweet/salty mixture and the crunch of the popcorn that just makes me wanna dance! You’re craving it right now because I said crunchy aren’t you? At the last festival I went to, I got the biggest bag available….yes, I ate it all myself. Over the course of a few days though because I learned in the past that if you eat too much at once you’ll get a tummy ache. Too much = entire bag. I thought to myself, “Self, YOU could make your own Kettle Corn!” Then I could have it all year long! This was something I was definitely going to try, so I came home and found the recipe on the internet. Verdict? There is DEFINITELY a learning curve. We burned some on our first batch, so we made another pot full while I ate the burned ones. Hey! They had sugar on them so they weren’t THAT bad. Hopefully I’ve made all the mistakes that can be made, so that you can make it without mishap. I’m just here to help. Let’s make a pot, shall we? |
 First you’ll need a good sized pot. The “tips” on the recipe said not to use a Dutch Oven. So, I used one of my thinner soup pots. In retrospect, it might have been better if I had used a thicker pot. I think this pot is pretty though, so I try to use it a lot. I like pretty pots and dishes. You’ll also need oil, popcorn kernels, sugar, and salt. Did you know there are like a billion kinds of popcorn kernels? My mom got some black looking ones that say Amish something on the bag…..they’re pretty tasty. But I had plain, so that’s what I used. I’ll have to raid mom’s stash later. |
 Ok people, you only want to use medium heat for this. Trust me. If it gets any hotter than that, it’ll be bad…..very bad. Think about hell. Hell is hot, very hot. You don’t want your Kettle Corn going to hell, so only use medium. Thank you. |
 With your pot on the medium stove-eye, add ¼ cup oil. I used Canola, but you can use whatever you have…..except I wouldn’t use motor oil. I like it best with coconut oil. |
 Now, drop in three kernels and put the lid on. Stand around and twiddle your thumbs. You’ll need to wait for those three to pop. When they’re done, you’ll know that your oil is hot enough. Make sure you’re paying attention and don’t get distracted by the peanuts in the cabinet or you might miss the three pops. Thankfully Barry was helping me, so he could keep me in line. |
See! Here they are all nice and blurry. I got a little excited and shook the camera. Sorry! |
 It’s time to add ½ cup of your popcorn kernels, 1/3 cup sugar, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir it up baby! I love to stir….but Barry stirred this so I could take a picture. I was jealous.
*We now use Sucanat instead of white sugar in this recipe and it’s VERY tasty!* |
 This is very important. PUT THE LID ON! Trust me. If you forget, you’ll have a very hot mess to clean up. At some point during making this, I accidentally let some popcorn pop out and Barry accidentally stepped on a piece and shouted. He did not curse. He’s better than me. I married a saint. |
 Here’s another part that we messed up the first time. The recipe says to shake every few seconds….so we did. Verdict? It burned about half of the corn. NOT COOL. I wanted to eat that, so I was bitter. I ate some anyway…..like I said, it had sugar on it so it wasn’t that bad. On our second batch we shook the pot constantly. It worked a lot better! So, you should shake it the entire time it’s popping. Aren’t you glad I made that mistake for you? |
 Shake it baby! Shake, baby, shake! OOOOOOO, I said shake, baby, shake! Whole lotta shaking going on. You’ll shake about 3-4 minutes or until popping starts slowing down. A few seconds between pops is good. See how pretty! Another mistake. I took a photo…..it burned some more. The recipe said to remove immediately and pour into a bowl. Well, I needed a picture. Oops. It burned. Gosh! Your pot is stinking hot folks……if you don’t pour it out immediately when it’s done, it will burn – I promise. So, don’t take any photos and don’t lolly gag. HURRY! |
 See my pretty popcorn bowl? Someone gave it to me, but I forget who. Thank you somebody! It has matching serving bowls. Pour your popcorn into something nice and let it sit a minute. Don’t put a lid on because it will get soft. Ew. You want it crunchy. It’s best to eat when it’s a little bit warm, but it’s equally good at room temperature. Store it in an airtight container or a Ziploc bag.
I had so much fun making this! I would have had a lot more fun if I hadn’t injured my saint husband. Sorry honey! I will definitely make this again! Be careful if you make it with your kids since it gets so hot…..but I think kids would love helping to make it. This recipe reminded me that my friend Angela sent me a Caramel Corn recipe too……so you’ll probably see it on here eventually. |
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I am like you I LOVE kettle corn and I have made many attempts to make it at home and it burns every time, I now know its because I was using high heat(thanks for the tip!) but in the step where you add the sugar, salt and popcorn and then stir, do you wait until the sugar is dissolved or just a few times around the pot?
We just dump it all in at the same time. 🙂
I’m sure there are lots of people who prefer a pot:) I’ve never tried anything other than white or yellow, i’m going to have to expand our popcorn experience:)
Well, don’t buy much red. It doesn’t seem to pop as well…and the kernels are small. 🙂
Hi Stacy:)
What a fun post:) We love kettle corn here as well. Have you ever tried a Whirly Popper? It’s basically a metal pot with a crank handle. It is fantastic and unless you aren’t cranking, popcorn doesnt burn even with sugar:) It’s the same concept as shaking a pot, except you don’t have to wear out your arms shaking, just turn the handle.
I find white popcorn makes the best popcorn with less shell.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Mary
We had a Whirly Pop…but we just didn’t use it. We seem to like a pot better – we’re odd. 🙂 LOVE white popcorn…not a huge fan of red popcorn. I like trying different kinds. 🙂