Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Best Popcorn Recipe

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 07-27-2002, 01:37 PM:

I wanted to get some info and a few people's opinion on Popcorn - ingredients and method of cooking. Here in Las Vegas I have witnessed a rather strange event - 9 out of 10 customers walking through my door say we have the BEST popcorn in town (compared to Century and Regal). The reason I call this strange is that we prepare our popcorn the same and use (practically) the same ingredients as everyone else. The ONLY difference is that we use Orville Redenbacher brand corn. We use canola oil and a Creators kettle. I have been to the other theatres in town - and at the Century locations I have had to throw my popcorn out (seriously). What methods do you use? What ingredients does your company use?

Thanks.

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"Running through life at 24 frames per second"

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 07-27-2002, 01:57 PM:

The oil gives the popcorn it's flavor. Chances are that you use a higher quality oil than your competition. The seed contributes more to size and texture than flavor.

Posted by Peter Dougherty (Member # 686) on 07-27-2002, 03:48 PM:

Before it became politically incorrect to use (thank you center for (junk) "science" in the public interest), coconut oil was by far and away the best tasting of all the popping oils out there. There are still some industry vendors from whom you can get it, but since most chains have gone to other oils, coconut has become a bit more expensive.

One place I found after a quick search is Odell's, at http://www.popntop.com/PM_PP.htm

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Cheers,
Peter, W2IRT

No xenon lamps were exploded in creating this message,
but several thousand electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

Posted by Peter Dougherty (Member # 686) on 07-27-2002, 03:51 PM:

quote:
Before it became politically correct to use, coconut oil was by far and away the best

Sorry, I meant to say before it became politically incorrect to use (thanks to the center for (junk) "science" in the public interest).

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-27-2002, 05:41 PM:

Peter, please use the EDIT button to correct typos. The FAQ has instructions.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-27-2002, 07:05 PM:

I doubt that this is applicable to theatres, but I've recently spent some time experimenting in an attempt to produce the best quality popcorn at home, at least without having a full size machine.

So far, I've had the best luck with Weaver corn, "Naks Pop 2" coconut oil, Flavacol, and a West Bend "Stir Crazy" popper. Cheap store-brand popcorn tastes the same, but the kernels are much smaller than Weaver corn. The amount of Flavacol seems to be important--too much makes the corn too salty, and not enough makes it too bland. I haven't seen much difference with respect to the amount of oil used. If anything, it seems better to use slightly less oil than too much. Real butter is, of course, a necessity.

I'm still not getting anything close to the best theatre corn that I have tasted, but this is definitely better than any popcorn I've had before at home.

Posted by Peter Dougherty (Member # 686) on 07-27-2002, 08:41 PM:

quote:
So far, I've had the best luck with Weaver corn, "Naks Pop 2" coconut oil, Flavacol, and a West Bend "Stir Crazy" popper. Cheap store-brand popcorn tastes the same, but the kernels are much smaller than Weaver corn.

Scott, I've had good luck using Flavacol and Naks Pop coconut oil, but I just use supermarket corn, and I do it in a 1 Qt. pot. I use slightly less than a tablespoon of melted oil and roughly a teaspoon of Flavacol, and I just barely cover the bottom of the pot with kernels and pop over a medium gas flame. I never measure the exact quantity of raw corn but I'm pretty sure it works out to about 3:1 or 4:1. From my days in the business, I seem to remember a 3:1 ratio was considered best. In any event, it get raves on movie nights

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 07-28-2002, 12:14 AM:

12 oz. Corn, 1 tsp Flavacol, Zastrow's Red Coconut Oil, in a Cretors Hollywood 48 (Made in 1948) Popper. We get VERY few complaints and many compliments.

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Adam Fraser www.pinestheatre.com

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 07-28-2002, 09:22 AM:

Weaver corn
Coconut oil
Savorol seasoning

The ratio is 2 parts corn to 1 part oil. The actual amounts will depend on the size of the kettle. Do some testing to figure out the right amount of Savorol and then always use that same amount.

Pre-heat the kettle (our particular kettle is preheated to about 350 degrees). It's helpful to have a kettle with a temperature gauge.

Add corn and Savoral, then add the oil.

No less than three batches are popped in a set. The first load is a "half-load" (it's not going to pop just right so don't go wasting corn). The last batch is popped with "latent heat" in the kettle (power to heater is switched off when popping begins).

This is a matter of personal taste, but I think that Savorol tastes better than Flavacol.

I also feel better about the Savorol product since it comes in resealable plastic containers as opposed to the cardboard "milk cartons" used by Flavacol.

Once you have your recipe sorted out, you should stick with it. Your customers will come to expect a certain flavor and they won't take too kindly to inconsistency in this area.

I want to add that the actual corn has flavor characteristics and so does the oil. I once worked for a theatre that got whatever brands the supplier was pushing and the brands tended to change from week to week. The popcorn NEVER tasted the same and, quite often, didn't taste very good.

It's also important that you tip the kettle when the popping slows down. If you can hear individual pops -- as opposed to a "rat-a-tat-tat" pattern -- then it's time to tip. Otherwise, you risk scorching or burning the popcorn.

Even if you don't scorch or burn the popcorn, you run the risk of having brittle, shrunken pieces. Customers don't like these (there's a potential choking hazard).

Smaller pieces will also have a negative impact on your yield (because you will have to use more pieces to fill each cup or bag). This is also a factor when selecting your brand of corn in the first place because some brands tend to pop larger than others.

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 07-28-2002, 10:09 AM:

Back in the day...

I would use a cretors presidential, PERFECTLY CLEAN... meaning that a large cup of water was dumped into the kettle after each batch, steaming out the crap that would be left behind from each batch... this had the effect of a fresh new batch as if first thing in the morning.. all the time..

we used Weaver corn, odells coconut oil, and flavacol... like this...

2 pounds corn
15 oz oil
2 tablespoons flavacol

We would sell 400 pounds of popcorn every saturday, and this was for a four screener. we sold about 1100 pounds per week. People loved the stuff. It just tasted.... oh so... sweeeeeet!!!!!

Dave