If you have ever
been to a state or county fair, or visited one on the many small
carnivals that travel the United States, then you have most
definitely had one of the oldest treats around...kettle corn. In
fact, it is even a staple at our world famous 'Canton First Monday
Trades Day.' Now, you do not have to wait until the fair comes to
town to get your kettle corn fix, because making kettle corn is so
easy that anyone can make their own delicious version of this
carnival treat.
In this article, I
will show you how to make kettle korn that is not only delicious, but
it won't cost you $5.00 a bag that many people fork over while out
shopping at 'First Monday.' Don;t get me wrong, I am not a 'First
Monday' hater, I just hate spending that kind of hard earned cash for
something that I can make for $0.40. So if you are like me, ad would
rather keep your money in your pocket then keep on reading, I
guarantee you will not be disappointed.
The Recipe
Kettle corn is so
simple, but so delicious, with only four ingredients, almost anyone
can make kettle corn. If you can operate a microwave oven then you
can make delicious kettle corn or stove top popcorn in less than 15
minutes. Yes I know it takes quite a bit longer when compared to
microwave versions that you could buy at your local supermarket, but
the taste and texture of homemade kettle corn is far superior and
quite a bit cheaper to make.
½ cup of popcorn
kernels
¼ cup of sugar
¼ cup of canola,
vegetable or corn oil
salt to taste
Combine the sugar
and popcorn kernels in a small bowl and set aside.
Add the oil to your
Dutch oven and place the heat on medium high. Add three popcorn
kernels from either the bag or container in which you keep your
popcorn or from the ½ cup of popcorn that you measured out and add
them to the Dutch oven making sure they are sitting in the oil (see
Three Kernel Test) do not forget to place the lid on your Dutch oven.
Chef's Note: The
Dutch oven I use for making kettle corn or stove top popcorn has a 5
quart or 4.7 liter capacity.
When the Dutch oven
is hot enough add the sugar and popcorn kernels and swirl them around
so that the sugar and popcorn kernels are thoroughly mixed in the
bottom of the Dutch oven.
Once the kernels of
popcorn begin to pop vigorously, pick up the Dutch oven from the
burner and shake it a few times and put it back on the burner. Do
this every 15 to 20 seconds while the popcorn is popping. This
shaking process not only keeps the popped popcorn from burning, it
also helps to evenly distribute the sugar over all the popped
kernels.
Chef's Note: Make
sure you have a good set of pot holders or oven mits as the handles
of your Dutch oven can get hot during the cooking process and you do
not want to burn your hands when making kettle corn or regular
popcorn.
Once the popping has
slowed considerably, remove the Dutch oven from the heat and begin
the salting or seasoning process (see below). If you leave the
popcorn in the Dutch oven without tossing it while you are seasoning
it, the residual heat could cause some of the popcorn to burn.
Once you have salted
or seasoned your kettle corn, dump it onto a cookie sheet and allow
it to cool. Initially it make stick together, but once the sugar has
cooled (2 to 3 minutes) it easily breaks apart. After it is cooled, I
dump the kettle corn in a brown paper bag (the kind you put ice cream
in at your local Walmart) and shake it to separate the kernels. Eat
it out of the bag, or dump it into a big bowl for sharing.
Chef's Note: If you
decide you do not want kettle corn, simply omit the sugar follow the
same process to make regular popcorn. If you like butter flavored
popcorn, after you have salted the popcorn pour 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons
of melted butter over the popcorn and shake to coat evenly.
Salting or Seasoning
Your Kettle Corn
Once the popping has
slowed down considerably, it is time to start adding the salt to the
kettle corn. There is no scientific way to do this, and everyone has
their own method and or tastes, but I will tell you how I salt my
kettle corn and you can determine what works best for you.
I remove the lid and
add 21 shakes of the salt shaker to the Dutch oven, replace the lid
and then shake the Dutch oven a few times, remove the lid and repeat
4 more times. And yes, I actually count from 1 to 21 each time I
shake the salt shaker, but that is how I maintain the consistency of
the flavor of the kettle corn.
Now, we have an old set of Rubbermaid
salt shakers and we have been using these for more than 15 years so I
am used to the amount of salt that it distributes when you shake it.
Your shaker may put out more or less salt per shake so you will have
to experiment to determine how many shakes you need to make sure the
flavor is the way that you and your family like it.
Three Kernel Test
One of the biggest
tips I can give you for making perfect kettle corn or regular stove
top popcorn is to use the three kernel test.
The three kernel test is
just that, after you add the oil to your Dutch oven and turn on the
burner to medium heat you take three kernels of popcorn and place
them in the oil.
Once all three of the kernels have popped, then it
is time to add the remaining kernels and sugar to the Dutch oven.
Seasoned Popcorn
Salts
Generally I do not
use seasoned popcorn salts, but many people do and enjoy them
immensely. To make a quick popcorn seasoning salt add 1 teaspoon of
your seasoning of choice to 4 to 5 teaspoons of table salt and mix
thoroughly. Place it in a old spice shaker and use in place of regular
salt on stove top popcorn, but not your kettle corn, unless you just
want to experiment.
Barbecue – 1
teaspoon barbecue rub seasoning, 4 to 5 teaspoons table salt.
Cajun – 1 teaspoon
Creole seasoning, 4 to 5 teaspoons table salt.
Creole – 1
teaspoon Creole seasoning, 4 to 5 teaspoons table salt.
Ranch – 1 teaspoon
dry ranch seasoning, 4 to 5 teaspoons table salt.
Taco – 1 teaspoon
taco seasoning, 4 to 5 teaspoons table salt.
These are just a few
of the more common seasoning choices, but any spice mixture can be
added to a salt to make a seasoned salt. Adjust the amounts of the
seasonings to suit you and your families personal preferences.
Cost Breakdown
While making kettle
corn on the stove top does take more time than simply throwing a bag
in the microwave, the cost savings are however quite significant. You
can use the popcorn of your choice, and I have included three brands
of yellow popcorn sold at my local Walmart, but I will be honest we
use the cheapest Great Value brand and it works great every time.
Great Value Yellow
Popcorn $1.88 for 32 ounces ($0.06 per ounce)
Jolly Time Yellow
Popcorn $3.10 for 30 ounces ($0.10 per ounce)
Orville
Redenbacher's Gourmet Yellow Popcorn $5.20 for 45 ounces ($0.12 per
oz.)
So let's look at
what it costs to make your own kettle corn using Great Value yellow
popcorn. Corn oil ¼ cup (2 ounces) $0.05 per ounce, sugar ¼ cup (2
ounces) $0.06 per ounce, popcorn ½ cup (4 ounces) $0.06 per ounce,
for a total cost of $0.46 per batch. So how much does a $0.46 batch
of popcorn yield? That's an interesting question as there is a lot on
conflicting information out here on the world wide web regarding the
yield of unpopped popcorn, but according to Utah State University you
should get the following yields with unpopped popcorn kernels:
2 tablespoons
unpopped kernals (1/8 cup) = 4 cups popped
¼ cup unpopped
kernals = 8 cups popped
½ cup unpopped
kernals = 16 cups popped
That's $0.028 (2.8
cents) per cup of home made kettle corn. On average a 3.5 ounce bag
of microwave kettle corn when popped is about 9 cups. Just for
comparison I have listed three of the more popular brands of
microwave kettle corn available at my local Walmart.
Microwave Popcorn
Act II Kettle Corn
6ct $2.80 ($0.47 per bag) or $0.052 per cup (5.2 cents)
Orville
Redenbacher's Kettle Corn 12ct $5.20 ($0.43 per bag) or $0.057 per
cup (5.7 cents)
Pop Weaver Kettle
Corn 6ct $2.10 ($0.35 per bag) or $0.038 per cup (3.8 cents)
So you see that even
the cheapest brand of microwave kettle corn 'Pop Weaver' is 27% more
expensive cup for cup than making kettle corn with Great Value
unpopped popcorn kernels.
Conclusion
Making your own
kettle corn at home is an inexpensive and delicious treat for you and
your family. In fact you can save 25 to 30% by making your own kettle
corn as opposed to buying the less flavorful microwave brands. So
skip the microwave and breakout your Dutch oven and make a big batch
of kettle corn and sit back and enjoy a movie or watch your favorite
sporting event and enjoy not only the fruits of your labor, but the
satisfaction of knowing you saved almost 30% off the price of
microwave kettle corn. As always if you have enjoyed this article,
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