Popcorn was first discovered by the Native Americans, who traditionally flavored popcorn with spices and herbs. Popcorn became very popular during the great depression especially in theaters. The popcorn business thrived and became a source of income for struggling farmers.

Today you can find popcorn kernels or microwavable popcorn bags in any grocery store or convenience store in many flavors.

Health or Junk Food

Popcorn is not as healthy as it once was. Popcorn has a great source of fiber, but can be over seasoned with oil, salt and butter. You commonly will find popcorn in theaters as a preferred movie snack. Do you like your popcorn extra-buttery? A bag of popcorn at the movies could be between 400 to 1,200 calories, with one to three days’ worth of saturated fat and up to 1,500 milligrams of sodium.
The lowest calories are found in plain homemade popcorn. And if desired you could make your own toppings.

At Your own risk

Could our favorite movie snack be dangerous? Yes. Young children should be supervised when eating popcorn, because it could cause choking if popcorn gets caught in the throat and blocks the airway. Remember popcorn originates from corn, so if you are allergic to corn stay away from popcorn aswell.
A popcorn kernel logged into the gums could cause infection. Un-poped kernels are known to unexpectedly chip or break teeth

How to Make

Traditionally, popcorn was made over the fire. You can now make popcorn in the microwave for a quick and easy 1 min and 30 seconds. If you do not have a microwave you can make it in a pot or pan, but careful it gets a bit messy. Here is how you do it:

Ingredients:
3-quart sauce pan with lid.
Popcorn, not much.
1 stick of butter
Vegetable oil
Table salt

1. Turn on stove and adjust to somewhere between medium and high heat.
2. Poor oil in the pan to cover bottom.
3. Place pan on stove and let heat for a minute or so.
4. In the mean time, put a stick of butter in another pan and start it melting at medium heat.
5. Put three popcorn kernels in the pan.
6. When one or two of them pop, cover the bottom of the pan with popcorn and then some, but not a whole lot. You should not be able to see the bottom of the pan.
7. Place the top on the pan. The popcorn should start popping in a minute or so.
8. Continuously shake the pan across the burner until popping reaches a crescendo.
9. Move to a unheated burner and back to the heated burner once or twice
10. Move to an unheated burner when the popcorn reaches the lid and wait while it finishes popping.
11. Pour popcorn in a large bowl, pour on butter, and salt to taste.

If that sounds complicated…why not try a popcorn machine?

Popcorn Machine

What is a popcorn machine? It is quite simply a plug-in machine that turns kernels into delicious popcorn! In 1885, Charles Cretors invented the popcorn machine. Today, a popcorn machine can be found in all shapes and sizes and at a number of price levels.

How To Use A Popcorn Machine:

1.Fill the hopper of the machine with popcorn.

2.Determine where the hot popcorn comes out of the machine and place a large bowl beneath this opening. For machines that are self contained this step is not necessary.

3.Plug the machine into an electrical outlet and turn the switch on. If the machine requires the popcorn to be manually released from the hopper, do this when the green light on the front of the popper comes on.

4.Allow the popcorn to fully pop before turning the machine off. You can determine when it is done when you don’t hear any kernels pop for 10 seconds or longer.

5.Unplug or turn off the machine when you are finished.

The very first machine expressly for making popcorn with hot air was created by Charles Cretors in Chicago.  He came up with the idea, obtained a special peddler’s license to sell popcorn on the streets, and sold tons of it.  Pretty soon people copied his idea and popcorn machine vendors sprung up all over the place.  The popcorn makers were than moves to fairs, parks, expos, and of course movie theaters.

During the second world war when sugar was being rationed popcorn became even more popular.  Eating popcorn became a duty to one’s country or was promoted that way.  After the war it remained a popular snack embedding its way into our way of life.

It was ingenious how this machine actually works.  The device uses oil heated by a small steam engine inside to pop the kernels.  What most people do not know is that there is a little bit of moisture in each kernel.  When the moisture, or water, becomes hot it expands and bursts the kernel open.  This machine was the preferred way of popping popcorn until the microwave came into the marketplace is the late 70s/ early 80s.  With this machine popcorn became even more accessible though the taste is not nearly as good.

The associatation with popcorn makers and theaters cannot be overexagerated.  That positive feeling from being in your seat and taking a handful of buttered popcorn is complete euphoria.

Some of the features with this one is a 6 quart capacity which is not too bad considering the application.  You can easily pop enough popcorn in one batch to serve two people.  Anymore than that and you will have to make two batches. It has a motorized stir rod that stirs the seeds while they are being popped to keep them from sticking to one another.  Nice feature

There is a butter-well at the top to add a stick of butter that melts and oozing out all over the popcorn.  Yum!

The base fits inside the cover and the whole popcorn machine is made from a non stick popping surface.  Not bad….

When the popcorn is finished popping, and you have added your butter, all you have to do is flip the bowl over and its ready to be served.  They also come with cool handles for carrying the bowl to your favorite seat on the couch.

Did I mentioned, its heat resistant so you could technically warm the popcorn back up in the microwave if you wanted to reheat it or put more butter on it.

Overall I thought that this particular popcorn maker for the price is not bad at all. You can get it in red or black.  It pretty much takes all the guesswork from popping popcorn.  If you do not have the extra money to get a fancy antique machine then I would definitely recommend this.  This is a little lower than the Cuisinart EasyPop model discussed several weeks back.

I was looking at this retro kettle style popcorn maker and thought it was great.  It the kind of machine that you would normally see at a carnival.  This kettle popcorn machine makes fresh, hot, delicious popcorn just like at the movies.  It had a large stainless steel kettle with a built in stirring system and pops close to 1 gallon of crispy popcorn per batch you make.  It comes with a measuring spoon for oil and measuring your kernels to make every batch more uniform.  Its was truly an older fashioned cart and it would taste and look good in any one’s home.  You can usually buy these from $95 to $140 depending on quantities and time.

I was looking for more antique popcorn makers and came this Street Vendor Popcorn Machine.  It looks awesome.  I was so envious of anyone who could put their hands on this beauty.  It had all the looks of those popcorn makers you would have seen if you were living in the 1930s going to a “Gone with the Wind” movie.  I was totally impressed by what I saw.

Its made from Benchmark USA.  Its a commercial quality “antique looking” popcorn maker that can be used by itself on a kitchen counter top or put on top of a matching red trolley that you can purchase separately as an add on.  They can make a whopping 85 quarts of fresh popcorn per hour and only weigh 57 pounds.

Benchmark makes some other models as well but I thought that this one in particular was worth mentioning right now.  I just think that these popcorn makers are a perfect home gift for anyone you are thinking of buying a present for or if you are looking for a really nice addition to your kitchen to give it a new look.

The next popcorn maker that I saw caught my attention because of the color of it.  If you have a intricate home movie theater system this poporn machine is an excellent way to complete it.  It has such an antique feel its unbelievable!  I love it.  This is one of the only popcorn makers that I have seen that come with a “brass finish” with cool etched glass.  Nice!  It can hold 6 oz of popcorn and will give any house that old fashioned feel.   This popcorn maker looks  totally cool and I love it.  It would only work with the right color but if you could swing it I would say go with it.  All of your neighbors would be highly jealous.