Translated from English, popcorn is “puffed corn”, which is grains that burst inside during the heating process. The delicacy is served salty or sweet. Popcorn requires special varieties of corn. For large volumes there are special installations; small quantities can be prepared independently. How to make sweet popcorn at home?
General rules for making popcorn at home
Making popcorn was practiced by the ancient Indians from a type of maize that puffed up when heated. This occurs due to the structure of the grain, which contains a component - endosperm - containing water. If the grain is heated to a temperature of about 200°C, the water boils, the shell of the grain explodes, and it opens. In this case, the starch turns into a foamy structure, and after cooling it hardens.
The easiest way to make popcorn at home is to heat the grains of a special type of corn (exploding) in a convenient container (frying pan, saucepan). There is a dry method of preparing the product and with the addition of oil.
With the dry method, pour a thin layer of clean grains into a well-heated frying pan (preferably cast iron), heat over low heat, stirring constantly, and as the grains explode, remove them into the prepared container.
To cook popcorn in oil, heat a frying pan, pour in a little oil, bring it to a boil and place in a thin layer of kernels. Cover with a lid and shake the pan from time to time.
Making sweet popcorn at home
You can make healthy and tasty popcorn on your own in the oven, microwave or on the stove in a frying pan, which is most convenient. Sweet popcorn is best cooked with butter.
Sweet crispy popcorn cooked in a frying pan with butter
Delicious and crispy popcorn is best obtained by cooking it in a frying pan. This is due to the fact that the cooking process is visible and can be constantly monitored, which is more difficult to do in an oven, and completely impossible in a microwave oven.
It is advisable to have a large diameter frying pan for making homemade popcorn with a transparent lid. Pour a thin layer of oil into the bottom of the frying pan, cover with a lid and place on the stove over high heat.
After the oil is hot, place one layer of corn seeds in the dish, sprinkle with sugar on top. Approximate calculation rate: for 100 grams of grains, take 4 or 5 tbsp. l. granulated sugar or to your taste. Sugar must be distributed evenly over all grains.
Cover the pan with a lid and leave the heat the same. The pan with the contents should be shaken constantly to prevent the sugar from burning and to ensure that the corn is evenly glazed. After a few minutes, the seeds will begin to explode. During this period, the pan must also be shaken to prevent the settling of seeds that have not yet exploded. The popcorn is ready when the popping noise has completely stopped.
Place the cooked popcorn in a suitable container and cool for 5 minutes. Delicious, crunchy, homemade sweet popcorn is ready to eat. You can enjoy it.
Making popcorn at home is an exciting and fun activity. Great for lifting your spirits or just for fun.
Everything is so simple that you can make popcorn at home with small children, and older children can even make popcorn on their own.
Popcorn is a type of corn kernel that pops and turns inside out when exposed to heat. It is low in calories and contains gold. Therefore, he can rightfully be called both an adult and an adult. Popcorn is especially good quality for those who suffer from extra pounds, but only without the use of sugar.
Popcorn at home - Preparation:
1. Popcorn corn differs from regular corn in shape: the seeds are smaller and round in shape. They are sold in stores, but you can also grow them yourself in the open ground at your dacha. This year we planted some corn for popcorn; when we harvest it, I’ll share my experience with you.
2. Before frying, check to see if there are any bad grains: blackened or empty and dried out.
3. Pour some corn kernels into a well-heated frying pan.
4. Cover with a lid.
5. Corn kernels open when heated strongly and quickly (toasting). This process begins with a few pieces (in the photo you can see how the first corn turns into popcorn).
6. Then the process goes much faster and during this time the lid must not be opened under any circumstances! The grains “shoot” very high and all the popcorn may end up on the floor, on the stove, etc.
7. After a few minutes, all the grains turn into popcorn!
8. All that remains is to prepare the powdered sugar, if you don’t have it on hand at the moment: pour a little sugar into a coffee grinder and grind.
9. In a minute you already have powdered sugar for sprinkling the popped corn.
10. Sprinkle the popcorn with powdered sugar and don’t skimp on it – it will turn out sweet and very tasty!
Popcorn is a fairly popular food, and not only in the USA. They eat it in cinemas while watching interesting films, and maybe right on the go, on the road, they also enjoy eating it. Properly prepared delicacy is even healthy. The assortment of popcorns is quite diverse. How to make the right sweet popcorn at home? Delicious caramel for popcorn will be simply irreplaceable.
So, first you need to find the right variety of corn. The corn kernels should pop perfectly.
You can prepare the treat in the microwave or oven. On a baking sheet or just in a large frying pan. The last method is the most primitive and most convenient. There are various options for popcorn - with or without butter. Since the classic version with butter uses natural coconut oil, which practically does not go rancid for a long time, it is better to cook without oil. It will be more useful.
It is very important for cooking that the corn kernels are clean. It is necessary to heat a large thick-walled dry one over low heat. frying pan It should not contain newfangled coatings. Cast iron or aluminum will be best. Add grains. There shouldn't be too many of them. It is important that they lightly cover the bottom in one layer. Heat the grains over low heat. remembering to constantly stir them with a wooden spatula. You can also use metal for these purposes. As they explode, remove the grains and place them in a ceramic bowl.
There are various ways to make caramelization. It is worth dwelling in more detail on the most gentle one. Prepare a rich sugar syrup with one or one and a half parts granulated sugar to one part liquid - we are talking about water. Fresh juice will give the delicacy an additional unique taste - it can be successfully used instead of or together with water. Half of the portion will be enough. It could be orange or cherry juice, or maybe raspberry.
The syrup should be heated until the sugar is completely dissolved. Next, popcorn is immersed in it. Remove with a slotted spoon. Place loosely on a baking sheet, not forgetting to cover it with parchment. After the water evaporates from the syrup that coats the popped kernels, it produces sweet, caramel popcorn. You just need to pour it into a beautiful ceramic bowl or a glass container suitable for this delicacy. And now - enjoy the unique wonderful taste. It is appropriate to wash down this delicacy with hot and tasty, aromatic mate. Rooibos or another infusion will also work.
- a popular (and not only in America) food for consumption in movie theaters or, as they say, on the go. Properly prepared popcorn is even healthy. The same cannot be said about the wide variety of popcorn offered by retail chains and movie theaters. This product may contain additives that are not beneficial, including trans fats, preservatives, dyes, etc.
We'll tell you how to make sweet popcorn at home. Sugar, of course, is also unhealthy, especially in large doses, but sometimes you want something sweet, especially since we don’t normally eat popcorn every day.
Let's start looking for suitable corn varieties. Corn grains of these varieties explode well. It is best to choose corn for popcorn at food markets, after consulting with sellers (preferably with trusted ones).
At home, popcorn can be cooked in the microwave, in the oven on a baking sheet, or simply in a large frying pan. The last method is the most primitive and most convenient (in any case, the indigenous people of America before Columbus prepared it approximately this way). There are two options for popcorn: with or without butter. Since the classic version (with oil) uses natural coconut oil (it practically does not go rancid for a long time), there is an opinion that it is better to cook without oil. It will be more useful.
Sweet popcorn
Preparation
The grains must be clean. Heat a large thick-walled dry frying pan without any newfangled coatings (cast iron or aluminum) over low heat and add the grains. There shouldn’t be too many of them, just cover the bottom in one layer. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden or metal spatula. As they explode, remove the grains and place them in a ceramic bowl.
This is the healthiest popcorn we have. It is better to eat it without any further manipulation.
Let's think about how to make popcorn sweeter and healthier. You can, of course, fry the grains immediately with sugar in a frying pan. But we also want it to be useful. So?
There are different methods of caramelization, we use the most gentle one. Let's prepare a saturated sugar syrup: 1-1.5 parts sugar to 1 part water. To give popcorn additional flavor, you can use (0.5 parts) instead of or mixed with water. 
for example, orange cherry or raspberry.
Heat the syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved. We put popcorn in it. Remove it with a slotted spoon and place it loosely on a baking sheet lined with thick paper (preferably parchment) or foil. You can lay it out without a backing on a clean work board. Once the water has evaporated, the syrup coating the popped kernels will create sweet, caramel popcorn. Pour it into a ceramic bowl or suitable glass container and enjoy. Drink well with hot mate, rooibos or other infusions.
Each of us has bought caramel popcorn more than once in the park or cinema, and at the same time everyone tries to choose for themselves the corn that is maximally covered with a caramel crust. Sometimes there is a real struggle for them, because they are covered unevenly, some more, others less. And I’ve been preparing this delicacy at home for a long time, and I always have a lot of caramel, there’s no need to fight)). It turns out both tastier and much cheaper, since special corn kernels for popcorn are quite inexpensive. There is nothing complicated in the preparation process: a few minutes - and now the family is crunching caramel popcorn.
Note:
- both caramel and corn need to be cooked at the same time, it is important that both of these components are hot;
- when preparing caramel, stirring is allowed only by rotating the pan; you cannot use a spoon for this, otherwise the crystallization process may begin, which will be irreversible;
- You need very little soda, it should only make the caramel more “loose”, which will help it distribute evenly.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup popcorn corn
- sugar 1 cup.
- water 50 ml
- butter 50 g
- baking soda on the tip of a knife
How to make caramel popcorn
- I pour the corn into a frying pan, put it on medium heat and cover with a lid. I shake the pan periodically to turn the grains, but the lid must remain closed.
Soon, under the influence of temperature, the corn will begin to open, it will “shoot”. If you open the lid, the popcorn will fly all over the kitchen. When the first “shots” begin, I reduce the heat to minimum so that the grains do not burn. Over time, the popping will become less and less frequent, and after a few seconds it will stop altogether.
Pour sugar into a saucepan and add cold water.
I put it on the fire and cook until it has a light caramel color. Pay attention to the amount of sugar: if you don't like the classic sweet taste of popcorn, reduce the amount of sand to 3/4 or half a cup.
I spread the butter.
Then I add baking soda. Here you can mix with a spoon. The mixture will immediately begin to actively foam, as it should be.
I immediately pour the caramel over the popcorn.
Stir with a spatula to ensure even distribution. If the corn itself is still warm, the caramel will not harden too quickly.
I separate the cooled caramel popcorn with my hands.- Delicious homemade popcorn with caramel is ready.
