How to make delicious popcorn at home. How to make popcorn at home: in the microwave

The origins of popcorn are still debated to this day. This product is over 4000 years old. There is a version that corn kernels discovered by the ancient American Indians. Another one is its origin in Mexico.

Popcorn is low in fat and high in fiber, and is also rich in vitamins B1 and B2. Per 100 grams of product – 400 kcal. Eating a cup of plain popcorn every day gives a person a boost of energy.

Popcorn is sold semi-finished in bags or in the form of special corn. For production, an exploding variety of corn is used. It's easy to prepare it at home. And in a frying pan, in the oven, in the microwave. It can be sweet or salty.

Any housewife can make this recipe if she has a frying pan with a lid on hand. Cooking time – 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

corn grains - 3 tbsp;
vegetable oil– 2 tbsp;
salt – 1 tsp;
pepper – 1/2 tsp.

Cooking method:

Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and cover with a lid.
When the popcorn is ready, turn off the heat and let sit.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir well.

Caramel popcorn

This favorite dish kids. Making caramel popcorn in the oven is easy, but you need to practice making caramel. But you will find a great smell and delicious popcorn.

Cooking time – 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

vegetable oil - to taste;
corn grains – 1/2 cup;
sugar – 5 tbsp;
water – 5 tbsp cold water.

Cooking method:

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
Place popcorn in a large bowl and drizzle with a little vegetable oil. Grease a baking sheet with oil.
Heat water in a saucepan and add sugar until it boils. Stirring constantly, bring the caramel to an amber color, then cool.
Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir well.
Spread the popcorn in an even layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Colored sweet popcorn

This recipe is suitable for any birthday, and will simply lift your spirits. It's easy to make and contains few ingredients.

Cooking time – 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

butter – 2 tbsp;
corn grains - 4 tbsp;
powdered sugar – 4 tbsp;
red food coloring- taste.

Cooking method:

Mix melted butter and a few drops of coloring.
Add powdered sugar.
Then pour the popcorn into a deep bowl.
Add the mixture to the popcorn and stir.

This is the simplest and quick way cooking when there is no time, but you want to eat. Popcorn is prepared without a bag and without oil, so it turns out to be a dietary dish.

Cooking time – 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup corn kernels;
spices to your taste.

Cooking method:

In a flat dish for microwave oven place the corn in a row.
Cover the container with corn and microwave for about 2-3 minutes.
Once the popcorn is ready, cool it and add spices to taste.

Bon appetit!

Popcorn- a favorite treat for movie theater goers. It is crispy flakes with different tastes, sweet, salty, caramel, cheese and others. You can enjoy popcorn not only at the movies, but also at home by making it yourself. Today we will tell you the most delicious recipes.

The main thing in the article

How to make popcorn at home: basic rules

It is necessary to pour out the grains in a thin layer so that they heat evenly.
Before cooking, place the dry grains in the refrigerator for 1.5-3 hours.
The dishes must be heat-resistant and large in volume, since after opening the grains will exceed their original size by 3 times.
The best option for popcorn is corn oil, but you can also use extra virgin olive oil. If you have neither one nor the other, then sunflower is also suitable.
Seasonings should be used to taste, but too much a large number of may overpower the taste of the grains themselves, so you need to add it carefully.
“Correct” grains burst evenly and are 98% fully opened.
The grains must be completely covered with oil; for this, oil is added to the poured grains and quickly mixed.

What kind of corn is used to make popcorn?

Not every variety of corn is suitable for making popcorn. Corn kernels must have a tight shell so that they open evenly. For this purpose, special uncultivated varieties are grown, such as:

Baby;
Zeya;
Gobble-gobble;
Carousel;
Rice;
Summer night;
Hot Summer;
Volcano;
Hotel;
Granddaughter's joy;
Ping pong.

Regular corn kernels for cooking will not justify the result, since not all will open.

How to make popcorn from corn kernels?

Required:

Special corn grains - a couple of handfuls;
Corn oil - 1.5 tbsp. l.;
Large frying pan.

Procedure:

A few hours before cooking, place the grains in the refrigerator.
Heat the pan.
Place the cooled grains in a single layer.
Pour in oil and stir.
Cover tightly.
After 1 minute, turn off the heat.
When the cereal stops popping, transfer the popcorn to a convenient container.

How to make popcorn kernels?

A distinctive feature of popcorn varieties is their elastic shell, which bursts at high temperatures and releases the pulp. These varieties contain less starch in their composition, which promotes good opening.
To obtain cobs specifically for making puffed popcorn, specially bred varieties of corn are used. It is planted in mid-May and cared for accordingly. The cobs are collected after they have dried well and left in the leaves in a cool and dry place for further storage.
After all the steps, the grains on the cobs dry out, which allows them to be used in making popcorn. At correct processing 98% of the beans in the container will be opened, and only a few will remain in their original condition.

How to make popcorn from regular, fresh corn?

To create popcorn from regular fresh corn, you must first leave it in a cold place for several hours.
Before sending the grains to the frying pan, it needs to be heated thoroughly.
The grains are poured into a hot frying pan in a thin layer and lubricated a small amount oils
After that, the frying pan is covered with a lid, and after a minute the fire is turned off.
The cover must be removed after the popping sound stops being heard.

Can you make popcorn from boiled corn?

You can't make popcorn from boiled corn. The reason for this is the softened shell, and it should be dense, but elastic. In boiled grains, the starch inside the shell has already been transformed. Therefore, when they are on a hot surface, the starch will not be able to hatch and transform into an air shell.

The same thing will happen with corn intended for making popcorn, since the inside will not cook well enough.

How to make popcorn from a cob?

To make air flakes from the cob, you need to dry it thoroughly. Drying takes 1 to 3 months in a cool and dry place. It is necessary to dry it on the cob in dried leaves, that is, its “clothing”.
After drying, the grains are separated from the main cob and laid out in a cold place for some more time.
Before use, the grains are placed in the refrigerator for several hours. And after time, they are used in making delicious and fluffy popcorn.

You can also place the cob in a container greased with oil and secure with a lid. The kernels will open but remain on the cob.

How to cook fluffy popcorn in a skillet?

Prepare:

Corn grains;
Corn oil.

Process:

A few hours before cooking, place the grains in the refrigerator.
Heat the frying pan very well.
Sprinkle the grains evenly onto the hot surface in one layer.
Add a spoonful of oil evenly and stir everything around so that every grain is coated.
Secure with lid.
Turn off the heat after half the pan is filled with air flakes or after 1 minute.
The cover should be removed once the popping sound is no longer heard.

Is it possible to make popcorn in a slow cooker?

Prepare:

Corn grains;
Corn oil.

Process:

Place the grains in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
Before placing in the bowl, brush the grains with a small amount of oil.
Cover the bottom of the bowl with the greased grains so that it is completely covered, but in one even layer.
Close the lid and click on the “Soup” mode.
As soon as the popping sounds stop, open the multicooker.

How to make popcorn in a pan?

The method of cooking in a saucepan is similar to the method in a frying pan.

To do this you need to heat the pan.
Place the oiled grains in an even layer on the bottom.
To cover with a lid.
Turn off the heat after a minute.
Transfer the popped popcorn to a platter once it stops popping.

How to make microwave popcorn from corn?

Modern popcorn manufacturers create special packaging suitable for cooking cereals in microwave ovens. If they can do it, then why not try it themselves? For this prepare:

Corn grains;
Corn oil;
Container for microwave ovens.

Process progress:

Before putting into the oven, you can place the grains in a cold place for several hours.
Spread the grains in the container in an even layer.
Add a spoonful of butter and coat all the grains.
Secure the container tightly with the lid.
Click on maximum power on 1,5-2 minutes.
After the popping noise stops, open the lid.

How to make popcorn in the oven?

Prepare:

Corn grains;
Corn oil.
Baking tray;
Sleeve or foil.

Actions:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Grease the grains thoroughly with oil.
Place evenly on a baking sheet or in a cooking sleeve.
If using a baking sheet, cover with foil, but not tightly.
Place in the cupboard for a few minutes.
As soon as the popping noise stops, turn off the oven.
After a few minutes, place in a container convenient for eating.

How to make sweet caramel popcorn at home?

In order for your popcorn to taste like sweet caramel, you need to drizzle it while it's done.

Prepare the popcorn.
While the beans are exploding, create caramel for them.
Pour a glass of granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons of water and a few drops of lemon juice into a saucepan with a thick bottom.
Cook over low heat until the entire mass becomes homogeneous and viscous.
You need to use a spoon carefully; it’s better to take the pan by the handles and tilt it so that the whole mass becomes uniformly transparent.
Next, you need to add a pinch of soda to the prepared caramel so that it doubles in volume and foams.
Pour the resulting mass into the popcorn immediately. If you wait too long, the caramel may harden.
Gently stir the cereal so that the caramel is evenly distributed.

How to make syrup, caramel for popcorn?

You will need:

Granulated sugar - 200 g;
Water - 100 ml;
Lemon juice - 5 ml;
Soda - 5 g;
Butter - 5 g.

Process progress:

Pour sugar, water and lemon juice into a thick-bottomed container.
Watch the sugar melt.
Use the handles on the container to roll the liquid.
As soon as it forms homogeneous mass, add oil.
Add baking soda before adding to popcorn.
Afterwards, quickly pour it over the popcorn.

How to make salted popcorn?

Prepare the popcorn.
Add a few tablespoons of finely ground salt to the hot flakes.
Wait a few minutes for the salt to be absorbed.

How to make delicious popcorn: chicken, cheese, bacon?

For the chicken popcorn required:

Chicken fillet - 1 kg;
Vegetable oil;
Flour - 300 g;
Powdered sugar - 15 g;
Salt - 15 g;
Seasonings;
Egg white - 6 pcs;
Milk - 30 ml;
Breadcrumbs - 500 g.

Process:

Prepare 3 vessels suitable for deboning. Combine flour with salt and powdered sugar.
Beat the fillet and chop into even small squares, approximately 2x2 cm.
Roll in the flour mixture, then in the egg mixture, and then in breadcrumbs.
Pour oil into a hot frying pan and add the boned pieces, the oil should completely cover them.
Fry for about 3 minutes and remove to a waffle towel.
Dip to remove excess oil.
Serve with the movie for an enjoyable viewing experience.

With cheese:

Ready popcorn;
Cheese - 100 g.

Process progress:

Grate the cheese on a fine grater.
Place hot cereal on a baking sheet.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Place in a preheated oven.
Let sit for a few minutes until the cheese melts.

With bacon:

Bacon - 150 g;
Corn grains;
Oil.

Actions:

Fry the bacon.
Chop finely.
Place the grains in an even layer on the cooking surface.
Sprinkle with bacon bits.
Cover with a lid and cook.

How to make colored popcorn?

In order to make the flakes colored, you need to add a little food coloring to the liquid caramel.
And if you want cereal of different colors, then stock up on several dyes. Heat several containers of sugar at the same time and add dyes.
It is necessary to paint each color in turn. To do this, it is most convenient to place the popcorn on a baking sheet and pour colored caramel over it.

How to make popcorn from buckwheat, from wheat at home?

Need to:

Buckwheat - 200 g;
Oil - 5 ml.

Process:

Boil the buckwheat grains.
Make a bed parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread the boiled buckwheat.
Place the contents in an oven heated to 100°C for 3 hours.
Grease the surface of a hot frying pan with oil and place the buckwheat grains.
Cover with a lid and turn off the heat after 5 minutes.

To create popcorn from wheat, the principle of operation is similar to the “corn” method. Grease the cooking surface, place the grains on it, cover and wait for the popping to stop.

How to make popcorn without butter?

Adding butter is necessary to make the popcorn more tender and creamy, and it is also added to prevent burning. But if you are a supporter of food without extra calories, then you can cook without oil. Simply distribute the grains evenly in the heated container and cover with a lid.

How to make popcorn like in a movie theater: video, useful tips

Some tips:

Approach any preparation creatively;
Don't be afraid to experiment;
To make cooking more fun, turn on your favorite music.

Today the most sociable delicacy turns 385 years old! On January 22, 1630, English colonists in South America accepted a bag of popcorn as a gift from an Indian chief. Only two centuries later, Charlie Kritoz invented the “Popper” - a popcorn machine. What about making popcorn at home and can you get better from it? Let's find out.

Having only once tried to make popcorn on his own, the portal’s correspondent I couldn't stop anymore. I cooked and cooked until I finally learned all the possible ways to make popcorn at home.

Not all corn can become popcorn

The first revelation was the fact that popcorn cannot be made from corn, which is grown and sold in Belarus. It turns out that you need a special variety that has good “openability” (the ability to explode).

Why do corn kernels explode? The starchy tissue of corn contains bound water, which at temperatures above 200°C turns into steam - the shell expands, foams and bursts.

Where can I get popcorn seeds?

On the shelves of Minsk stores you can find three types of popcorn grains: those intended for the microwave, packaged in small bags and loose.

Microwave grains- the most expensive of all listed. But they already have certain flavors (honey, condensed milk, etc.) and special packaging for preparation.

Packaged in 150 g bags unflavored grains cost half as much. The package says to cook it in a frying pan.

The third type of grains is hanging. They are sold in dried fruit shops. This is the cheapest option.

Master class from a correspondent

Microwave grains packed in a paper bag. It cannot be opened. You need to put this very package directly in the center of the microwave. Make sure the package fits right side down: the packaging will tell you which side is down. The manufacturer specifies the cooking time: 3 minutes at 800 W in microwave mode. We set the necessary parameters, turn on the microwave and watch: first the package swells menacingly, like a bubble, then micro-explosions are heard, which are heard more and more often, and then fade away. After three minutes, there are still a lot of unopened grains left in the bag - you can leave it for another half a minute or a minute.

Of course, you are wondering what will happen if you put the bag in the microwave a second time and try to finish frying the unopened grains? Manufacturers do not write anything about this on the packaging. It has been established experimentally: nothing bad will happen - the grains will be finished off safely. In any case, we succeeded.

Here's an attempt to pop popcorn for the microwave on regular frying pan was not successful. The grains opened, but due to the presence of sweet syrup, they burned, and the whole room was filled with the smell of burnt corn. The grains themselves began to taste bitter. In general, don't try to repeat it.

Attention! Since you may encounter products from different manufacturers, when preparing popcorn, carefully read the manufacturer's recommendations and carefully follow the instructions on the package.

Cooking popcorn in a frying pan took longer. First you need to add a little vegetable oil (you can use melted butter). Pour the popcorn into the pan in a thin layer so that each kernel is heated evenly. Cover with a lid and place on medium heat. Your next task is to observe. The grains will explode gradually; When the pops become very rare, you can remove them from the stove.

You can salt popcorn before and after cooking, but you only need to add various seasonings and flavorings to the finished popcorn. Otherwise, they will lose or change their taste and aroma.

From my personal impression: microwave popcorn turned out fluffier than packaged popcorn. Even in the photo you can see the difference in the size of the flakes. Here's proof: the type of corn is very important.

The large flakes come from Bulgaria (according to the information on the packaging), the small ones from Argentina.

Cooking bulk popcorn in the microwave

You can also cook completely ordinary grains in a microwave oven. As we wrote above, they can be bought pre-packaged and by weight.

Take a small handful of beans and place them in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Do not try to cook the whole bag at once: the grains will increase in volume very much. Add oil (vegetable or melted butter), mix and cover with a lid. Set to full power and cook for about 4 minutes.

If you see that there are a lot of unopened grains left, then add another half a minute (do not open the container lid).

How to make caramel popcorn

You can make a wide variety of delicacies from ready-made popcorn. For example, on the Internet we came across the following recipe:

“Take half a cup of brown sugar, half a cup butter and 100 grams of ready-made unsalted popcorn. Beat the sugar with the melted butter until the mixture lightens in color and increases in size. Then pour the popcorn into the baking dish and mix into the whipped mixture. Bake at 180 degrees for about 8 minutes (until crispy).”

Can you get better from popcorn?

Whether popcorn is healthy or harmful is still being debated. One thing is true: if you eat tons of it every day, then you shouldn’t expect anything good. But still, this option is better than all sorts of chips and snacks; after all, popcorn is a whole grain.

Popcorn is criticized for its high calorie content. But this applies to popcorn prepared in special machines. A homemade popcorn Not high in calories at all.

We look at the package of microwave popcorn with condensed milk flavor and are horrified: energy value 500 Kcal(proteins 8 g, fats 27 g, carbohydrates 60 g). Apparently, the reason for this calorie content is sweet syrup.

We take a package with regular popcorn: energy value is only 99.6 kcal(proteins – 3.2 g, fats 1.2, carbohydrates 19).

Conclusion: if you want to get dietary product, make popcorn from pure kernels (unflavored) and do not add to finished product sugar or syrup.

100 g of grains is enough for a large deep bowl of popcorn.

P.S. Popcorn is best to eat big company for an interesting spectacle. Gather your friends to watch a football match, prepare a huge bowl of popcorn and enjoy watching.

Olga Artishevskaya

Delicious, golden and crispy, popcorn is a great snack for watching your favorite movies and TV shows. Both adults and children love him. But those who watch their figure need to be careful and not get carried away with such delicious snack, because pokorn is very high in calories!

You can make it salty or sweet, caramelized, or flavored with cheese, bacon, etc., as long as you like the taste of those popped corn kernels! Popcorn is created from special type corn, its name translates as “popping corn.” Popcorn was first discovered by the Indians, who even predicted the future of the person who approached them by the popped grain.

Nowadays, popcorn can be easily made at home.

Ingredients

2 handfuls or 0.5 tbsp. corn kernels for popcorn of the required variety
2-3 pinches of salt
50 ml vegetable oil

How to cook popcorn in a frying pan

1. To prepare popcorn, you need to choose a container with a non-stick bottom: a casserole, a saucepan, etc. Immediately pour salt into the container and pour in vegetable oil - the grains will be fried in it. Some popcorn makers prefer to salt it after cooking, but the oil envelops the grains in a greasy film and the salt only gets on it, and not on the product itself, so add salt directly to the cauldron or saucepan itself.

2. Place the container on the stove and heat it until the oil begins to bubble. Just then pour the corn kernels into it and immediately cover with a lid.

3. Over high heat, simmer the grains in oil for about 1 minute so that they warm up and, if your container has a glass lid, you can see how one by one the corn grains open when heated, increasing three to four times. This is real culinary magic!

4. Keep an eye on the time - 2-3 minutes is enough for all the grains to open. Remove the container from the heat immediately as soon as the interval between “shots” becomes as long as possible, since your popped popcorn may burn in a second. It is better to remove the container from the heat in advance than to taste a burnt dish. Immediately pour the finished popcorn into the prepared dish and serve hot.

However, it is delicious cold too!

Note to the hostess

1. How long the grains will crackle after being removed from the burner depends on the pan. Teflon frying pans with marble chips take a very long time to cool down. In terms of the duration of maintaining a high temperature, cast iron shares second place with stone (with the addition of granite in the material). Thin stainless steel pans are not able to accumulate heat and give it away quickly. Based on the above data, you need to calculate when to remove popcorn from the heat.

2. When preparing this delicacy, the cook should be at the stove, so let him be more than just a passive observer: it is advisable to shake the pan while holding the lid. Then there will be no unpopped or burnt grains in the popcorn. A flame divider will also contribute to high-quality roasting, but not the one designed for Turkish coffee - a small square one, but a large, round one, dotted with holes.

3. How you want to grab at least one grain of corn from the hot mass, blow on it a little and swallow it right away! This is a harmful desire. Any starch-containing foods in the heat are extremely harmful to all organs of the digestive tract. The optimal temperature for popcorn consumption is 35–38 degrees. And you should chew it thoroughly.

Each of us has bought more than once caramel popcorn in the park or cinema, and at the same time everyone tries to choose for themselves the cornflakes that are maximally covered with a caramel crust. Sometimes there is a real struggle for them, because they are covered unevenly, some more, others less. And I’ve been preparing this delicacy at home for a long time, and I always have a lot of caramel, there’s no need to fight)). It turns out both tastier and much cheaper, since special corn kernels for popcorn are quite inexpensive. There is nothing complicated in the preparation process: a few minutes - and now the family is crunching caramel popcorn.

On a note:

both caramel and corn need to be cooked at the same time, it is important that both of these components are hot;
when preparing caramel, stirring is allowed only by rotating the pan; you cannot use a spoon for this, otherwise the crystallization process may begin, which will be irreversible;
You need very little soda, it should only make the caramel more “loose”, which will help it distribute evenly.

Ingredients

1/2 cup popcorn corn
sugar 1 cup.
water 50 ml
butter 50 g
baking soda on the tip of a knife

How to make caramel popcorn

I pour the corn into a frying pan, put it on medium heat and cover with a lid. I shake the pan periodically to turn the grains, but the lid must remain closed.
Soon, under the influence of temperature, the corn will begin to open, it will “shoot”. If you open the lid, the popcorn will fly all over the kitchen. When the first “shots” begin, I reduce the heat to minimum so that the grains do not burn. Over time, the popping will become less and less frequent, and after a few seconds it will stop altogether.
Pour sugar into a saucepan and add cold water.
I put it on the fire and cook until it has a light caramel color. Pay attention to the amount of sugar: if you don't like the classic sweet taste of popcorn, reduce the amount of sand to 3/4 or half a cup.
I spread the butter.
Then I add baking soda. Here you can mix with a spoon. The mixture will immediately begin to actively foam, as it should be.
I immediately pour the caramel over the popcorn.
Stir with a spatula to ensure even distribution. If the corn itself is still warm, the caramel will not harden too quickly.
I separate the cooled caramel popcorn with my hands.
Delicious homemade popcorn with caramel is ready.