How to make perfect homemade popcorn on the stove top.
Love popcorn? I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t get excited by popcorn. For me there really is nothing better than a cosy night in watching a movie or catching up on my favourite box set with a big bowl of popcorn in my hand!
This popcorn recipe is inspired by a trip to Disneyland Paris with my sister. If you’ve ever been to Disneyland you will know how much confectionery and food there is on offer. There are popcorn stalls literally everywhere and as you walk around each corner you are met with the most amazing smell of fresh popcorn. Words cannot describe the tantalising aroma!
When we visited back in February, as you can imagine it was absolutely freezing. I remember always wanting to buy some hot, fresh popcorn to warm up with, but as much as I love popcorn I didn’t want to pay the extortionate price. I’ve been planning to make my own popcorn since that trip and now I know how easy it is to make, I’m never going back to buying ready popped or microwave popcorn again!
This popcorn recipe brought back some good memories for my mum. Whenever they had to go home after a day at the family beach hut my mum and her brother were allowed one treat each from the kiosk at the pier, the choice of two treats was either candy floss or popcorn. My mum’s brother would pick candy floss, but mum would always pick popcorn. My mum told me this popcorn reminded her of her favourite seaside treat when she was little.
For the rest of the taste testers, this popcorn reminded us of cinema-style sweet popcorn. It’s pretty amazing, so much so I would’ve devoured the entire bowl alone. I didn’t really want to share it, but next time I will definitely be doubling the recipe to make more! 🙂
Now I have this easy popcorn recipe I know this will be a fantastic, inexpensive treat to make on a Friday evening or during the weekend. Ditch the microwave popcorn for this homemade version, you won’t be disappointed.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
75g (1/3 cup) popcorn kernels
45g (3 tablespoons) caster or granulated sugar
Salt, to taste
Method:
- Set a large stock pot over a medium to medium-high heat (you’ll need to use a large pot for this recipe). Add the oil to the pot along with 3 kernels of the popcorn. Cover with a lid and wait until the 3 kernels of popcorn have popped. At this point the oil will be at the correct temperature and this will be your cue to add the remaining kernels to the pot.
- While you wait for those first 3 kernels to pop, mix together the remaining kernels with the sugar in a small bowl. Once the first 3 kernels have popped add this mixture to the pot. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, immediately stir scraping the sugar from the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t burn. Cover the pot.
- Use tea towels/dish cloths or the pot holders to shake the pot every 10-15 seconds. Start shaking the pot as soon as you have added the kernels to the pan, don’t wait until they start popping. This ensures that the oil and sugar is evenly distributed over the kernels.
- Continue shaking the pot until the kernels have stopped popping. Remove the lid and season sparingly with salt.
- Serve the popcorn warm or at room temperature. This is best eaten on the day you’ve made it.
Recipe inspired by Tracey’s Culinary Adventures
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I love homemade popcorn, my sister and I always used to make it at home (we had no microwave so that wasn’t an option), we just used to chuck the popcorn kernels and some oil in a pan and then add sugar to it once it was ready. My sister also experimented with adding syrups (like those added to coffee) to the kernels/oil mixture and said that worked well 🙂
Hi Rosie! Homemade popcorn is the best and it definitely tastes just as good, if not better than anything you could buy. I really loved microwave popcorn when I was younger, I think I liked it so much because I thought it was the easiest way to make popcorn. I much prefer the method of making the popcorn on the stove top nowadays – it takes just about the same amount of time and it’s a little bit healthier for you. Love the idea of adding different syrups to the popcorn! Now I have this base recipe I’m going to experiment with some different flavourings. 🙂
So nice, and it is always such happy moments to recollect stories associated with the food.
This is how I too make popcorn :), with butter instead of the oil and I do not add the sugar. Thanks for sharing :).ashu
Thanks Ashu! I love food that provokes memories. Everybody has their favourite way of making popcorn, I might try this recipe with butter instead of oil next time. We love the sugary coating, it’s delicious but not overpoweringly sweet like some popcorns tend to be.
Disneyland Paris, ahhhh! My only visit there was over 10 years ago and we went in for 2 hours. ARGH. I can only imagine how tantalized my younger self felt! I do love the smell of popcorn wafting around Main Street in Disneyland Resort though, it gets me every time. Can’t wait to make my own with this!!
Hey Ala! I can’t wait to plan my next visit to Disney. It’s such an amazingly fun place, maybe next time I will venture further afield and head to America! The popcorn at Disneyland is pretty incredible, but I think this version is just as good. Let me know if you give it a try!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! My boyfriend loves popcorn. He eats it all the time. I’m totally trying this out on him!
Hope you and your boyfriend both enjoy this. Let me know what you both think of the recipe! 🙂
I love the sugar in this recipe – will definitely be giving this a whirl!
Thanks Kate! Enjoy the recipe!