Poppin' some corn

I was over at a friend's house last night, and she told me she was going to make some popcorn. I got very excited, because popcorn is delicious and it's one of my favourite snacks.


To my surprise, instead of grabbing a bag of microwave popcorn, she pulled a bag of kernels from her cupboard. I didn't think she had an air popper, and it turns out I was right. She was going to use her stove top. What followed was a fun and really easy way to make popcorn at home, without having to worry about buying an extra machine like an air popper, and without all the fat and sodium content of your average bagged popcorn. In addition, it's ridiculously cheap! Everything but the kernels will likely be something you use in your house already, so all you'll need to buy will be the bag of kernels, which only cost me $2.19 for 1 kg. This will make you a lot of popcorn; at least 5 pots worth.

Prep time: Less than five minutes
Serves: 2-4 people
Cooking time: Less than five minutes
Difficulty: Super easy
Cost: Roughly $0.50 per serving!

Ingredients

- popcorn kernels
- cooking oil of your choice
- 1 tbsp. margarine/butter (optional)
- salt to taste (optional)
- other seasonings (I like my popcorn with ranch dressing. Shut up, it's good!)

Tools

- a medium pot with lid
- a large bowl

Start by adding just enough oil to the pot to coat the bottom. Add enough kernels to do the same--you shouldn't be able to see the bottom of the pot. It may not sound like much, but trust me, this much will make a lot of popcorn.

Put the pot on the stove, and the lid on the pot, with just enough of an opening for steam to escape. Turn on the heat to high, and wait by the stove to hear popping sounds. Once the corn starts popping rapidly, reduce the heat to medium. When popping has slowed considerably, remove pot from heat. Caution! When removing the lid from the pot, stray kernels could still pop. Keep the pot away from your face!

Put popped corn in a large bowl. You may then melt your butter or margarine in the same pot you used to pop the corn, over low heat. Once it is melted, pour over popcorn while shaking gently to ensure it is evenly spread. Add salt, and shake to even it out as well. Add other seasonings if desired. Enjoy!

If you're a parent, this is a great way to do some bonding with your kids before a movie. If you have a glass dome on your cooking pot, you can watch the popcorn as it's popping. Even if you don't have kids, watching the popcorn pop is interesting (in a rather silly way, if I might) as well.

Making this popcorn can give you a salty snack without spending the extra money on other junk foods. It's very cheap, and it's fun and easy to make. Since you can make it however you like, you don't need to worry about whether or not the ingredients are vegetarian or vegan. As an added bonus, you have no preservatives or additives. There's no reason to buy overpriced bagged popcorn anymore!