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I’ll get right to the point. Popcorn is an important element of the Home Theater experience. But whereas much has been written about subtle differences in the performance of audio cables or other AV components, my impression is that in many homes, the differences between various popcorns, their flavors and textures, is not only not fully appreciated, but people have no clue what I am even talking about. (Most people seem to understand yellow hulled popcorn (hulls can get under your gums) vs. white hull-less popcorn, but that is about as far as it goes.)
When I have tried to discuss popcorn flavors with various other HT enthusiasts, the typical response is, “You mean that you are using flavored popcorn salt”? “Absolutely not”, I answer, “that would be a terrible thing to do to good popcorn”, although I have to say that “popcorn salt” is an important part of the whole popcorn thing, but “popcorn salt” is really nothing more that super fine ground normal salt, or sodium chloride. No extra flavor added or needed.
So what defines high-end popcorn? Some would suggest that the number of “old maids”, or un-popped kernels left in the popper defines the quality of popcorn, but for me this is irrelevant compared to the differences in flavor and texture.
Others would define quality popcorn as one that produces a high volume of popped corn per (half) cup of kernels. Again I think that this is irrelevant. Some of the best popcorns, the ones that have more texture, yield relatively low volumes per cup of kernels.
The point is that popcorn comes in many flavors and textures, and that is what counts. All popcorn I use seems to pop to a white or yellowish white popped corn, but the kernels themselves can be white, yellow, red, or purple in color, or a mixture of the above.
Pictured above are the bottles of popcorn that were currently open in our cupboard. You can see some of the colors of the kernels, and I can see that I am almost out of Red River Valley and need to reorder soon. (I have more Sunset Fire in the pantry.) Missing from this picture is Wisconsin White Birch and Black Hills, both of which we commonly use but of which we are currently out. Definitely need to reorder today!
For those interested in trying high-end popcorn, I highly recommend the www.popcornlovers.com, site where one can buy all of the popcorns pictured above as well as a quite a few more. They have lovely descriptions of the taste and texture of each popcorn that are fun to read if nothing else, but are to my taste, quite indicative of the experience.
In general, the darker colored kernels produce a smaller, denser, crunchier, more flavorful popped corn, and the lighter colored kernels, a fluffier lighter more delicate popped corn. Also, some popcorn is sweeter than others.
Tasting order for popcorn is perhaps one of the more controversial area of this blog. We often have two are three varieties of popcorn in an evening of movie or TV viewing. I generally prefer to start with the more flavorful crunchier popcorns such as High Mountain Midnight (wild, robust flavor, with a creamy texture) and move to lighter fluffier popcorns such as Wisconsin White Birch (light and crispy, with a sweet, mild flavor) for “desert”. You may prefer the opposite order. I did say this was controversial.
In popcorn, vintage also seems to matter. For instance I generally prefer the 2006 High Mountain Midnight to the 2007 vintage, as that year does not seem to pop or taste quite as well. On the other hand the 2007 Starshell Red is preferred to the 2006 vintage. Since only can’t really buy vintage popcorn, perhaps one simply needs to continually reassess the various flavors every so often to find out what is currently good.
Perhaps the last topic is popping the corn. What works best for me is a light aluminum stir-type popper as pictured above. These designs allow the popcorn to be rapidly brought to popping temperature over a very hot burner while the kernels are stirred in a bit of oil to avoid burning. Bringing the kernels to popping temperature quickly is essential in getting the best texture. Once popping slows down, it is essential to open the lid quickly and let the steam escape. or the popcorn can lose its crispness. I quickly then pore into an a large bowl, sprinkle with a bit of popcorn salt while shaking the bowl, dress with melted margarine (optional), top with more popcorn salt, carry to the table in the Home Theater, and resume the movie. Life would be tough without the pause button.
I am not going to take time today to talking about popcorn parings, but let’s just say the beverage of choice with the various popcorns is typically not wine.
I obviously really like popcorn. If you do as well, you will likely enjoy expanding your popcorn tasting horizons with a few new flavors and textures. Try it, you will like it!