Friday, 31 July 2015

Salted caramel popcorn

Ansonmills.com,. 'Appalachian Heirloom Sweet Flint Popping Corn | Anson Mills - Artisan Mill Goods From Organic Heirloom Grains'. N.p., 2015. Web. 31 July 2015.


Feature Ingredient: Popping corn

Popping corn is a kernel from a type of corn/maize that was first domesticated thousands of years ago in Mexico. Cooking methods for popcorn vary, however, what generally happens is that the kernels puff up or "pops" when heated, as pressure builds up inside the kernel and causes the starchy interior to pop over the hard outer hull. They can be cooked in the microwave, on the stove or by using special machines just for popcorn making (e.g. an air popper). Popcorn is commonly consumed as a snack at movie theatres and can be considered a healthy food, given that they are high in dietary fibre, however, the flavoured coating of popcorn can turn them into more indulgent treats (e.g. buttered popcorn). 

Today we'll be following a recipe from "CupcakeJemma" on YouTube - it's fabulous and I've written down her general instructions below for those who prefer reading. If not, watch the video!

Recipe: Salted caramel popcorn
Serves 3+ (This is assuming you are willing to share...)

Ingredients:
For the popcorn
90g popcorn
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

For the caramel
100ml water
210g sugar
1 tbsp butter

Method
  1. Heat up the butter and oil in a saucepan on medium heat. 
  2. Add the popcorn and mix into the melted mixture; ensure each kernel is well coated. Pop on the lid and turn the heat to medium to low heat and wait for the popcorn to start popping.
  3. Mix the kernels around the saucepan by tossing to make sure the kernels don't burn. 
  4. Once the popping noise decreases to about 1-2 pops per 5-10 secs, turn off the heat and transfer the popcorn into a bowl. Season with salt.
  5. To make the caramel, add the water with the sugar in a different saucepan and simmer on medium heat. When the sugar starts to caramelise with a yellow tint, keep a your eye on it. Turn off the heat when it has developed an amber colour.
  6. Stir in the butter until the mixture become smooth.
  7. Drizzle over the popcorn and then mix roughly to ensure that the popcorn is coated evenly. 
  8. Spread the popcorn onto some parchment paper and let it cool.
  9. Once the popcorn has become cool and the caramel, hardened, break up into smaller pieces using your hands.
  10. Munch away!
Most of my photos had terrible lighting, but here is what I ended up with:


Ratings/Comments:

Price: 5/5
Difficulty: 2/5 (Quite hard for me at least - be super careful when caramelising the sugar!)
Taste: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
(1 being low/bad - 5 being high/good)

Super delicious snack thats sweet and salty all at the same time! This would make a great movie night treat to share with friends; Much cheaper than the regular popcorn at the theatres and fun to make too - although it was a bit of a struggle getting the caramel to spread evenly seeing that the caramel dried in seconds! (well maybe not seconds) You can also use the caramel popcorn to make more things such as, rocky road, toppings for cupcakes and cakes, among many other uses. I also suggest using this caramel recipe to make many other goodies - swirls in ice cream, drizzled over cake, caramel toffee...the recipes are limitless!

Happy popping,
- C

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