Homemade Microwave Popcorn

[fuzzybunny]

Kettle corn flavor is just sugar. If you like butter just melt a little bit into your butter and then toss the corn in it. That should do the trick. I would be a little wary about putting it in with the popcorn to pop. After all burned sugar makes carmel.

Christine

[itlw8]

only problem is those bags are not food grade and can catch fire if you are not very careful Better is a microwave popper I paid $7 for mine and we can use it with or without oil.

but somewhere I have a great carmel corn made in the microwave in a paper bag... except most people don't have paper grocery bags

[Pianolady]

Adapted from Alton Brown's Plain Brown Popper recipe, we've started making our own popcorn bags for the microwave.

Brown paper lunch bag
Good quality popcorn
A little more than 1 tsp. safflower oil (or oil of your choice)

Toss the popcorn in the paper bag lunch bag, and sprinkle with a little more than 1 tsp. oil. Shake bag lightly to distribute the oil. Fold the top of the bag over twice and tear a slit in the top of the bag. Fold each flap of the bag over in opposite directions. This will keep the bag closed during popping.

Place the bag in the microwave on popcorn setting, adding an extra 30 seconds onto the end of the popping time. Listen for the popping to slow down to turn off microwave.

If you don't have a popcorn setting, microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, until popping slows. Press stop when there is about 1-2 seconds between pops, any longer and it will burn.

Sprinkle with popcorn salt, and/or drizzle melted butter over popped popcorn. Do not add butter to before popping, it will burn.

[Cookiemom]

I just made some ...... Thanks to the Grocery Cart Challenge blog!

It came out great!!! http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot...les-house.html

[MRAHoffman]

I can't wait to try some

[Grainlady]

FYI --- In a Food Safety Class, we were taught never to use brown paper bags in a microwave or regular oven. Check your owner's manual for more information, or call the company's help line...

Brown paper bags are not food-safe for cooking/baking and can catch fire in a microwave or regular oven.

-You are never sure what conditions brown paper bags have been stored under - such as warehouses that are sprayed or treated for pests - including roaches and rodants.... So not only the pests, but also the chemicals used may have come in contact with brown paper bags.

-Most brown paper bags are made from recycled materials which can include ink, chemicals and metals, and they can migrate from the paper to your food, especially when you include a fat source in the bag.

Now that you have a little more information, I'll let you make the choice as to whether you think it's safe to use a brown paper bag for microwave popcorn. Personally, I use an air-popper.

[Cookiemom]

FYI --- In a Food Safety Class, we were taught never to use brown paper bags in a microwave or regular oven. Check your owner's manual for more information, or call the company's help line...

Brown paper bags are not food-safe for cooking/baking and can catch fire in a microwave or regular oven.

-You are never sure what conditions brown paper bags have been stored under - such as warehouses that are sprayed or treated for pests - including roaches and rodants.... So not only the pests, but also the chemicals used may have come in contact with brown paper bags.

-Most brown paper bags are made from recycled materials which can include ink, chemicals and metals, and they can migrate from the paper to your food, especially when you include a fat source in the bag.

Now that you have a little more information, I'll let you make the choice as to whether you think it's safe to use a brown paper bag for microwave popcorn. Personally, I use an air-popper.

Thank you so much for that information! I only made one batch and will not be making another. I used to make all my popcorn on the stove. I've gotten out of the habit and just use microwave now.

[gardening momma]

The paper bags in the instructions are lunch bags...they are made for putting food in (apples and some other items might not be wrapped and will come into contact with the bag).

But I do agree that you need to use caution--either don't use paper bags, or closely monitor your microwave.

We bought a Presto microwave popping bowl. It's a clear plastic bowl with lid that has a base that it sits on--a "concentrator base", and uses a reuseable paper/cardboard disk in the bottom of the bowl that also helps concentrate the heat. We really like it. Initially, of course, it costs more, but over time it will pay for itself. I didn't do any calculations, but all we need to buy is bagged popcorn kernels, butter or oil, and salt or popcorn salt. No microwave bags to put in the landfill anymore either.

[Spirit Deer]

We used to use one of the Presto micro poppers, too. I forget the name. We still have it, in fact about three of them in various places, but we haven't used them since discovering Whirley Pops for the stovetop. They have to be cranked manually, but they pop as fast as the microwave with no unpopped kernels. Oil is optional. They make great kettle corn, too.

[Kaos Kitty]

We have a microwavable popcorn bowl. It has 4 pointy divits in the bottom for the kernels and a lid with open grooves to let the steam out. Works great. No idea where we got it from! But if you do find a safe paper bag, here's a caramel corn recipe Dh makes all the time. You can use a bowl of already popped popcorn instead, it's just messier for the mixing part!

Carmel Corn

Put 3 1/2 L popped corn in a large paper bag (no unpopped kernels)

Take
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 cup brown sugar (white sugar burns too easily -voice of experience )
1/2 t salt
1/4 cup cornsyrup
Microwave 2 min, stir and repeat. (Can eat it at this point for soft caramel)

Add 1/2 t baking powder, stir it in the mixture, and pour
over popcorn in the bag.

Close and shake, Microwave 2 min, shake and repeat. (check first if it's good - microwaves differ and it can burn if too much on the "repeat" - this makes a crunchier/hard caramel).

[Katybird]

I will have too search for a microwave popcorn bowl. I love microwave popcorn but I hate the price.