My husband makes really good stove-top popcorn. He started with the recipe from Joy of Cooking and adapted until he found the measurements and methods that work perfectly for him. Could a bag from the microwave rival it? We set out to test the two and here are our results.
The Recipe
Stove-Popped Kettle Corn*
Yields 6 servings
3/4 c. popcorn kernels ($.36)
1 T oil ($.03)
1 T butter ($.06)
2 T sugar ($.01)
1/4 t salt
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in an even layer on the bottom of a large stock pot with a lid. Add 3 kernels as testers; when they pop, pull them out and add the rest of the popcorn.
Put on the lid, shake the kernels around to get an even layer on the bottom of the pan, and leave them alone until the popping slows to about 2 seconds between pops. Any more than 3 seconds between pops and you could have burnt popcorn.
Pull the pot off the heat and add the butter. Stir to melt and coat the popped corn. Sprinkle sugar and salt over the top and stir well to combine. Serve.
*The sugar won’t crisp onto the popcorn like in a big kettle, but there is a nice sweetness.
The Cost Breakdown:
Microwave Kettle Corn was on sale for $2.00 for 3 bags, with about three 2 Tbsp servings per bag. That works out to $.26 per serving; however, we lost 1 Tbsp to unpopped kernels in one bag, bringing the servings down to 2.5 and cost up to $.32 per serving.
Our home made version is just $.08 per serving, using real butter. (Mmm, butter…) We lost 7 kernels out of a 6 serving batch.
The Taste Test:
Side A is home made. Side B is from a microwave bag. Which looks more appealing to you?
We are biased testers, I’ll tell you upfront! Home made won in a landslide. It has a real butter flavor (mmm, butter…) and a nice balance of sweet and salty. The kernels have a fresh flavor that is lacking in the microwave counterpart, and a fully popped kernel that has a toothsome quality we enjoy.
Taste tester 1 gave it an A-. Taste tester 2 gave it a B+. Taste tester 3 gave it a thumbs up, as he doesn’t quite understand grades yet. (He is 4.)
The microwave popcorn had a strange chemical after taste, like the artificial sweetener aftertaste of diet soda, and lacked the real butter flavor. It was crisp at the outset, but didn’t have quite as hearty a crunch and got a little mushy while chewing it. That may have to do with corn variety.
Taste tester 1 gave it a C+. Taste tester 2 gave it a D. Taste tester 3 gave it a thumbs in the middle, saying, “It needs butter.” (Taste tester 3 is clearly my child!)
The Time Factor:
The microwave popcorn took 3 1/2 minutes in our microwave. Our home made version took about 12 minutes, with most of that time waiting for the pot to come up to temperature.
Nutrition:
I’ve heard rumors that microwave popcorn can lead to cancer, but my Googling leads me to ingredients not present in my popcorn. Apparently, though, the butter flavor will kill you. (So will real butter, according to different experts, so it’s a give and take. I’m taking real butter, thankyouverymuch.)
Microwave Kettle Corn: Popcorn, Palm Oil, Salt, Natural and Artificial Flavor (Milk), Sucralose, Vitamin E (D-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate) to Preserve Freshness.
Calories: 130
Fat: 5 g
Sodium: 180 mg
Carbohydrates: 18 g
Fiber: 4 g
Protein: 3 g
Home made: Popcorn, sugar, oil, butter, salt
Calories: 159
Fat: 5 g
Sodium: 112 mg
Carbohydrates: 25 g
Fiber: 5 g
Protein: 3 g
Other Considerations:
Lost corn – side A is home made, and side B is microwave.
Keep in mind that we did a double batch of side A.
Scratch vs. Storebought winner:
If it’s not obvious, we love the home made popcorn! I don’t usually buy microwave stuff and I’m not about to start.
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Next time on Scratch vs. Store Bought: Refried beans. I’m open to suggestions of what to test after that!
I’m sharing this post with the folks over at Frugal Friday.
An added benefit of homemade…..if it burns, it won’t let off yellow smoke that can stain the microwave a vibrant yellow-orange.
Ewww.
We love our homemade popcorn here. I haven’t bought microwave popcorn in atleast a year or two.
We go through tons of popcorn. I can’t wait to put an order in through our localish organic grains dealer to get a 25lbs bag of organic popcorn! DH makes some every night, alternating between air pop and stove pop. I personally don’t eat much because it bothers my stomach. We haven’t even bought microwave popcorn since we had the kids. Funny because when I was single, I lived on the stuff! It was all I ever brought to work as my lunch (which I’m sure drove everyone crazy, but I always shared). Now I just think it’s gross.
Hilarious! I just made my own Kettle corn for the first time two weeks ago, keeping the picture in my archives for a future post! I LOVE your comparison! Great post!
Ick! We used to rely on microwave popcorn out of sheer laziness, but recently switched to stovetop and it is SO much better. Real butter, freshly ground salt…yum! And the variations are endless. So far we’ve only tried it with caramel sauce (aside from butter and salt), but I have plans for chocolate fudge, nuts, chipotle lime, cinnamon sugar…it’s so nice to not be limited to whatever flavors are available in the store!
I was really surprised to see the side by side comparisons. I did notice that we didn’t have nearly as many unpopped kernels making it on the stovetop, and it didn’t burn, either. Usually when I made microwave popcorn, a few kernels would burn no matter what.
I’d like to see scratch vs. storebought flour tortillas. I always buy them (choosing the ones with fewer ingredients) just to simplify my cooking a bit, but I know Jason would like to start making them.
There’s just no comparison! (Well, there is, as you have shown–but the winner is clear.) I love homemade popcorn. Really, it doesn’t take that long. I admit to using the microwave stuff a while back, but now I don’t. All it took was remembering how good the real stuff was when mom made it. I only wish I could make it in a big batch and keep it all week long. Hmmm…I wonder if you can freeze popped popcorn? (I do freeze the kernels!)
As far as things that will kill you: these days, everything seems deadly depending on who you talk to. But if I die from eating, I’d rather die from eating real food like butter than from some chemical fake-out I can’t pronounce. (In other words, I’d rather die happy!)
I have always prefered home popped to microwave. The flavor and texture always win out!
Since I learned to make popcorn while shaking the pan the whole time; do you leave the burner on while waiting for the popcorn to pop? And it doesn’t burn? I’ll have to try that tonight.
My favorite snack is popcorn with a tall glass of icey orange juice (I prefer concentrate to fresh squeezed; there you go, test concentrate to fresh squeezed. Of course, you would have to find juicing oranges since navels aren’t technically juicers.)
Susan
http://susan-chicdaisy.blogspot.com
I love the idea of buying bulk from a grains dealer!
I used to be part of a grain CSA and that was so awesome – fresh, locally grown, organic grains every month. They stopped delivering to our area, sadly.
I’ve never made flour tortillas. I’ll add that to the list!
My husband does leave it on the burner waiting for the popcorn to pop. He shakes it once vigorously at the beginning so the kernels are in an even layer, and it doesn’t burn.