Once You Pop!

In honor of National Popcorn Day, I thought I would share a few of Monday's Nugget Rules for the Best Popcorn Ever:


1.  If you truly want exceptional popcorn, close the door to the microwave and put down the bag of chemical coated crud.
That yellow goop that you scrape off the sides of the bag and chew out from underneath your finger nails is not butter.  It might be yellow and salty and good, but it is NOT butter.
2.  Now, turn around and get reacquainted with your stove. Stove-popped popcorn is the best, no question about it, so let the stove do it's glorious job.
3.  When making stove-popped popcorn, use an oil that has a fairly high smoke point.  Corn, vegetable and canola oils are all good choices.  Olive oil?  Not so much.  It will work, though, if that is all you have on hand.
4. Choose a large pot with a sturdy lid for cooking popcorn in.  After all, no one wants to lose an eye from trajectory kernels!
5. Heat about a quarter cup of oil in the pan over medium high heat and then add enough kernels to cover the bottom of the pot in a single layer.
6.  And my very last tip is this: salt the oil and the unpopped kernels, not the finished product. Most people wait until after the popcorn is done popping to salt it, but all that leaves you with is bland popcorn and a pile of salt at the bottom of your bowl.  Salting before the kernels pop allows the salt to adhere to the kernel and flavor each beautiful, fluffy, white piece. I have no scientific proof of this, but I swear it's true.


Warning: Using the stove-top method will result in massive consumption of popcorn.
Be warned, that if you choose to drizzle the popcorn with real melted butter, oregano, garlic salt, and fresh grated Parmesan, you will become an addict.
And so far, I have not been able to find a Popcorn Eater's Anonymous.