This is a slightly sweet, slightly salty Butter Popcorn that has real butter flavour you will never be able to buy in bags! I’m also going to share the simple secret to prevent popcorn getting soggy and to keep popcorn crispy for days and days….
Butter Popcorn – slightly salty & lightly sweet
You know how popcorn goes soggy within 10 minutes when you douse with melted butter? That’s because butter contains 15% water. Yes, water is what is making your popcorn soggy!
So if you’re wondering how to keep popcorn from going soggy, the answer is clarified butter instead of normal butter.
How to keep popcorn crispy
Use clarified butter or ghee instead of normal butter. Clarified butter is simply normal butter that’s simmered to evaporate the water component that makes popcorn soggy. Ghee is a type of clarified butter (tastes the same).
Buy it or make it (it’s dead easy and keeps for months!). In Australia, you’ll find ghee in the Indian section of grocery stores. Clarified butter is common in Europe.
What you need
Here’s what you need: popcorn kernels, salt, icing sugar/powdered sugar and clarified butter (just simmered normal butter! Read on…).
Clarified butter (or ghee)
- Why you need it – for intense buttery flavour while keeping your popcorn crispy instead of going soggy like normal butter does
- How to make it (or buy it!) – melt butter then simmer for 10 minutes to evaporate the water content. See separate recipe for full directions – How to make Clarified Butter and Ghee.
Note: Ghee is a purer form of clarified butter that is used in Indian cooking. It tastes the same as Clarified Butter which is associated with European cooking (like Swiss Potato Rosti!)
Popcorn Salt
- Why you need it – because normal salt grains are too large to stick to popcorn. It all ends up at the bottom of the bowl!
- How to make it – just grind ordinary salt into a fine powder using your chosen method (mortar and pestle, spice grinder). It takes seconds.
- How much to use – I only use 1/2 teaspoon for 13 cups of popcorn (which is 2/3 cup of kernels). This does not sound like much, but it’s actually double in volume before being ground down into a fine powder and also this popcorn is deliberately made to be only slightly salty because it also gets flavour from a touch of sweet, If it was just salt, I’d probably add a touch more.
Icing sugar / powdered sugar
- Why you need it – for a light dusting of sweet on the popcorn. Normal sugar won’t stick to popcorn – unless you use lots and melt it, like with Caramel Popcorn!
- How to do it – use a small sieve to sprinkle it over the popcorn, for even coverage and to remove lumps.
- How much to use – I only use 2 tablespoons which makes it lightly sweet. Because the whole point of this popcorn is that it’s slightly sweet and slightly salt, an addictive can’t-stop-nibbling combination that won’t have you guzzling down a gallon of water!
Storing – keeping popcorn crispy for days!
Using clarified butter instead of normal butter means the popcorn will stay crispy – not just for the duration of your movie, but for days! Super handy snack stash, school lunches, and making ahead for big gatherings.
As soon as it’s fully cool, transfer to an airtight container then store it in the pantry. Here are a few tips:
- Goes stale! Popcorn does go stale quite quickly, being the fragile little things they are, so don’t leave them lying around for ages if you want to preserve freshness for another day;
- Fully cool – Make sure it’s fully cool before putting the lid on. Impatience will result in condensation inside the container which will make your popcorn soggy;
- Bake to perk – If your popcorn needs a perk up, just pour it into a baking pan (up to about 5cm/2″ deep is fine) then bake in a low 110°C/230°F oven for 30 minutes to dry it out. Note: there will be slight shrinkage.
So now you know the secret to stay-crispy ultra-buttery homemade popcorn! Well actually, those of you who are familiar with my Yellow Movie Popcorn recipe already know these tricks. We’re just bringing everyone else up to speed!
And in case you need a reason to get on the Popcorn Train, here’s 5 reasons why you should should try homemade popcorn:
- really butter flavour your can’t buy!
- easy to make in large volumes;
- healthier than most snacks – see my tips above for Diet Butter Popcorn;
- it’s versatile (eg sweet Caramel Corn or savoury Movie Popcorn);
- it’s cheap; and
- it has fun factor that appeals to kids and grown ups alike!
Movie night tonight?? – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Lightly Salted Slightly Sweet Butter Popcorn (crispy for days)
Ingredients
Popcorn:
- 2/3 cups popping corn
- 2 tbsp clarified butter or ghee , for stovetop (Note 1)
Popcorn Salt:
- 1 tbsp salt (you won't use it all, Note 2)
For Tossing:
- 3 tbsp clarified butter or ghee , melted (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp Popcorn Salt (per directions below)
- 2 tbsp icing sugar / powdered sugar
Instructions
Pop Popcorn:
-
Pop the kernels using your method of choice – popcorn maker or stove (steps below).
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Heat fat: Heat / melt clarified butter or oil in a large pot over medium high heat (medium for strong stoves). Add a few pieces of popcorn and wait until it pops – this means it is hot enough. Quickly remove popcorn.
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Add popcorn: Add remaining popcorn, elevate off stove to shake and spread corn out evenly. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts popping in earnest, shake the pot gently once.
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Done! Remove from heat when the popping stops (when you can count to 3 between pops) and transfer to a (very!) large bowl.
Popcorn Salt
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Place salt in a mortar and pestle then grind into a fine powder. You could also do this using a spice grinder. You won't use it all, but it's hard to work with less.
Sprinkle & toss!
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Drizzle butter all over the surace. Sprinkle with half the salt, then use small sieve to dust with half the icing sugar.
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Toss very well in large bowl. Then sprinkle with remaining salt and dust with remaining icing sugar. Toss well again. At this stage you can add more sugar or salt, to your taste – the above quantities make it slightly salty and lightly sweet which I love!
Notes
Nutrition
Life of Dozer
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