Do you love popcorn? How about SWEET popcorn? Some people think that it’s actually the best sort of popcorn around. However, you might be used to either popping down to a specialist store with a proper popcorn maker (like the cinema) or resorting to buying your own bagged popcorn from the supermarket. But did you know that’s not the only way?
You can actually MAKE your own popcorn. Best of all, you can make your own SWEET popcorn. And while a popcorn maker can help, we know that this isn’t an option for everyone. There are thankfully some ways to do a really good job without a popcorn maker. And in this article, we’re going to look at how. So if you want to know how to make your own sweet popcorn, then keep reading this useful article for all the info you need.
Benefits of making your own sweet popcorn
There are loads of reasons why you might want to make your own sweet popcorn at home. While taste is one of the important ones, it’s not the only reason. Let’s have a look at a few of them….
Fun
One reason to make your own popcorn at home is because it’s fun! Especially when it starts popping! While this might not be the most convenient way if you just want a quick popcorn fix, it can actually be an enjoyable way to spend a few minutes for your and the family. Not only could it teach your kids (and you!) a few skills it could also give you something fun to do that ends up with some great creative results.
Creativity
This kind of ties in with the last point, but making your own sweet popcorn at home can be both fun and really creative. You don’t have to just stop with standard flavours, you can actually be as creative as you want and make all sorts of different variants. That’s one of the cool things about making your own sweet or any other kind of popcorn at home, the world is your oyster! You can make and enjoy all sorts of different variants and really have a great time coming up with new and interesting inventions. Sometimes, the best flavours were made by accident. A little bit of trial and error can be fun, and while you might make a few mistakes, you could also come up with something wonderful!
Cost
Cost isn’t always the reason people choose to make their own popcorn at home, but with the right ingredients it really can be super affordable and cheap. While a bag at the store might not cost much, popcorn at the cinema can be really expensive. When all it is is a bit of popped corn! That’s why making it at home can be really affordable, especially if you do big batches. If you have the ingredients already, then it could be even cheaper. And if you GROW the ingredients, it’ll be even cheaper!
Convenience
Another reason people like making their own popcorn at home is because of how convenient it might be. If you’ve got a bit of practice and can rustle up some tasty homemade popcorn in no time, this can be a lot faster and easier than having to POP out to get it.
Taste
And now we come to the most important reason–taste. You simply don’t have the same control of ingredients and processes when buying popcorn. Some can be good, but some not so good. When you make your own, you’ll be able to make sure you put all the effort and the right ingredients to make the best tasting popcorn around. And it’s even better when it’s freshly popped.
Ingredient control
You can’t really tell what goes into everything you buy in the store. Even less so the cinema or local fayre. Well when you make your own popcorn at home, you’ll be able to know exactly what’s gone into it. That means you can stick to the best quality ingredients if that’s something that’s important to you.
Dietary requirements
In a similar point, if you have specific allergies or dietary requirements, you’ll be able to make sure only the right stuff goes into the popcorn that you actually make.
How to make sweet popcorn
Now you know WHY you might want to make your own homemade sweet popcorn, here’s HOW…
Start with the corn. You can’t make popcorn without corn. While there are ways to do this with normal corn, it gets complicated. Stick to popping corn which should be easy enough to find in the store.
There are a few different ways to pop the corn, but they’re really easy. You can actually buy sweet popping corn that’s already flavoured, but you can also add sugar or other flavours if you want to.
Corn can be popped easily in the microwave. You can also try popping it by cooking it in a pan on a hob, although some will pop out of the pan. Heat a bit of flavourless oil and add the corn when it’s hot enough.
There’s one important point to remember when making your own popcorn, no matter which method you choose. Don’t leave the corn unattended while it’s cooking. This can be dangerous but it could also lead to burnt popcorn.
To cook in the microwave you might want to use a special popcorn bowl or microwavable bag to prevent it going everywhere.
Keep it in the microwave until it starts to pop. This can take up to 3 minutes or more depending on the power. Keep them in until they have all popped, but not so long that they’ve burned.
Frying your corn works the same way, you could try removing the popped corn as you go.
A popcorn machine can make this process easier, but isn’t always necessary.
Now you’ve got your very own sweet popcorn! You can add more flavour and sweetener after if you want. Enjoy!
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