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Back in the Olden Dayes, we made popcorn on the stove. If we were good, then Sunday night before The Wonderful World of Disney, mom would heat some oil in a skillet and pop the corn. It was delicious. Then, of course, came the microwave, and with it came popcorn in a bag. It’s all so very convenient. But sometimes I miss the Olden Dayes.
Here’s an old AskMetafilter question (found via frykitty): “Is it really possible to make microwave popcorn?” The answer is a resounding YES — it’s possible to enjoy the convenience of today with the fun of the Olden Dayes!
None other than Alton Brown, food scientist extraordinaire, has documented this cheap and easy snack:
Popcorn’s freaky architecture makes it perfect fodder for the microwave. Quarter of a cup of quality popcorn into a brown paper bag, put a little oil, a pinch of kosher salt, shake on some hot stuff if you like, and, uh, seal up the bag with two staples to keep the steam in. Into the microwave on high for two to three minutes or until there’s five seconds between the pops.
Here are those instructions in recipe form:
Alton Brown’s Plain Brown Popper
- 1/4 cup good quality popcorn
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or popcorn salt
- Sprinkle jalapeno seasoning mix
- Paper lunch bag
- Stapler
Toss the popcorn with the olive oil, salt, and jalapeno seasoning mix in the paper bag. Fold the top of the bag over and staple the bag twice to close. Place the bag in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, or until there are about 5 seconds between pops.
(NOTE: Popcorn salt is a super-fine salt that is designed especially for sticking to food such as popcorn. It has the taste of regular table salt, but its granules are much finer.)
Apparently, there’s all sorts of stuff you can do with homemade microwave popcorn. Add parmesan and garlic! Add a tablespoon of sugar with the oil to make kettle corn! Also, many commenters in the AskMe thread noted that you don’t even need to use staples — simply fold the lip of the bag once or twice and you’re good to go. They also recommend placing a paper towel under your bag because the oil can get messy.
Enjoy!
[AskMetafilter: Is it really possible to make homemade microwave popcorn?]
This article is about DIY, Food, Frugality Thursday, 14th December 2006 (by J.D. Roth)
December 14th, 2006 at 10:06 am
Alton is a good source of a lot of ways to save money on food. Usually by telling you how to make it yourself, including: Granola Bars, Chocolate Syrup, Pot Stickers, even Protein Bars (that are actually edible).
And his fruit cake is fantastic!
Admittedly, if you don’t cook a lot some of the tools and ingredients can cost you extra, but once you have them they usual last for quite a while.
Not to mention that when you make it at home it’s better for you, less preservatives, and you can be sure of the quality.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:10 am
Extremely unlikely, but staples in a paper bag in a microwave oven could pose a fire hazard.
December 14th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
I read in some Hints From Heloise article or something, somewhere (can’t remember, sorry) that you can grind up regular table salt (or some other kind) in a coffee grinder (reserved for this purpose or herbs–don’t mix with coffee–eww) and presto, you have popcorn salt.
I am going to try this soon. I love popcorn but hate the in the bag stuff. You can do it with almost no fat if you do it yourself. I plan to use as little oil as possible.
I have an air popper but it is so noisy it scares my dog.
December 14th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Mmpf, after reading this I was so hungry for popcorn I had to go make some (in my air popper, though, not the microwave). For a delicious fat- and salt-free alternative, sprinkle your popcorn with lemon juice and nutritional yeast…I did that for a few years and didn’t miss butter or salt at all. But I couldn’t maintain my virtuous ways and am back to butter and salt.
December 14th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
Alton has revised this procedure and removed the oil, something about it being unnecessary and adding nothing to the flavor. So now its even cheaper.
December 14th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
I’ve made popcorn on the stove, but nothing is as good as real microwave popcorn. Sorry!! I guess we all have our vices.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
I’ve made this using just the popcorn inside the stapled bag. I add salt and a little butter spray after it’s popped.
Two small staples have never even caused sparking in my 1200 watt microwave, but stick around and watch in case you’re concerned.
December 14th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
No oil is great news! That’s cheaper and lower in fat.
“…nutritional yeast…”
YUM! What a great idea! I love this stuff and use it on pasta, hummus/pita/avocado sandwiches, etc. It bet its fabulous on popcorn.
December 14th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
When we do this at our house, I just put 1/3 cup of popcorn in a paper lunch sack, double-fold the bag shut, and stick it in the microwave for 2 minutes.
No oil or stapler needed. We dress it with salt and melted butter when it comes out popped!
December 14th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
I’m a little concerned about the staples in the bag as that could cause sparks which would be bad news, but otherwise this sounds like a good idea. I’d try it except we have no microwave here on account of being cheap!
Air popped all the way though. I think in the long run it will save you money over nuked popcorn and its about 100 times better and healthier. Plus you can always make it exactly the way you want!
December 15th, 2006 at 5:09 am
I second Angie:
No oil needed!
Alton Brown revised the instructions, noting that the kernel pops because of the moisture inside of it. The oil has nothing to do with it and adds nothing to the flavor.
Less messy, more healthy. YAY!
December 15th, 2006 at 4:22 pm
[...] Get Rich Slowly » DIY Microwave Popcorn (tags: recipe cooking) [...]
December 16th, 2006 at 6:49 am
[...] We go through a lot of popcorn in this house and because of it’s simplicity microwave popcorn has been the poison of choice. I jest but it is a poison of sorts, isn’t it? What exactly is “real butter flavor”? That’s why I’m delighted with this Alton Brown recipe passed along by J.D. at GetRichSlowly. Not only is making our own microwave popcorn frugal but now we will control the content. [...]
December 16th, 2006 at 11:15 am
I would really remove the staples suggestion. You cannot have the *slightest* bit of metal in your microwave or it will have a fit and possibly break it. Use tape if you have to.
December 17th, 2006 at 12:58 am
I thought I’d try this, only I had no paper bag handy. Suffice it to say that substituting a plastic freezer bag is a good idea only if you A) don’t want to eat your popcorn; and B) like cleaning melted plastic and fused popcorn kernels off the floor of your microwave. On the other hand, it is rather cool procedure to watch.
December 18th, 2006 at 9:09 am
WHY BOTHER WITH THE BAG AND STAPLES IF YOU CAN JUST POP IT STOVETOP?
December 19th, 2006 at 9:07 am
Has anyone tried using sugar to make kettle corn without using the oil? Just curious if it works and if it tasts good.
December 27th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Angela is 100% wrong. One or two staples in most microwaves is not enough metal, especially if it’s folded over, to cause a plasma fire.
February 2nd, 2007 at 12:23 am
I agree that alton brown has a lot of good money saving ways to cook. They also happen to generally be better than what you can get in any store. The granola recipe he gave out is absolutely out of this world, and is comparable (if not better, I can’t rmember) nutritionally to store bought bars. I forgot about his “plain popcorn in the bag” trick… will have to try that now that i eat more popcorn than I used to.
February 2nd, 2007 at 11:07 am
Does anyone actually have Alton Brown’ recipe for Avocado Compound Butter? The Foodtv recipe has expired!!! Please send to me at elliceblay@yahoo.com, thanks….
February 2nd, 2007 at 1:11 pm
The Good Eats Fan Page http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/GEFP/ has a transcript of the episode, including the recipe:
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season9/avocado/avocado_tran.htm
March 13th, 2007 at 10:56 am
Just got my first microwave.. This is cool that you can DIY popcorn completely.. Although i’m thinking how to get rid of the paper-bags .. Would those heat-food-in-microwave plastic boxes work? Do i need some holes in it for hot air to get out?
March 17th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I recently got into the kettle corn biz because I love the stuff so much. Here’s some tips that I would suggest if you’re doing at home. There’s a difference between using corn oil and vegetable/canola oil Corn oil somehow gives the kettle corn a little more “corny” taste. Before I bought a giant hot kettle to make the stuff, I tried doing it on a stove. It wasn’t the same as the festival stuff, just OK. The reason is you need a VERY HOT heat source to BROWN the white sugar. Just using brown sugar gives it a different taste. What I would suggest if you DO try to attempt it at home is melt and brown the white sugar somehow before you put it in a popper.
I’ve got a funny video on my website which shows how us pros make kettle corn:
Velma’s Wicked Delicious Kettle Corn
April 13th, 2007 at 11:05 am
oh yeah! i love this we3bsite
April 20th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Enough with the no-staples comments. A small amount of metal will not cause sparks, fire, nor damage to your microwave. Larger metal objects can reflect microwaves to the source, or discharge the absorbed electrical energy as sparks to the walls of the microwave. The sparks themselves do not hurt the microwave, they just scare people, and will not cause fire unless you are microwaving something highly flammable like 151 Rum. In the case of large metal objects (eg, a can of soup), they can reflect enough energy back to the magnetron that can sometimes damage it. Staples are nowhere close to this metal mass or surface area to be of any concern.
August 10th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Hi everyone,
I’m a fire officer. Not long ago I was called to a fire started by an attempt at homebrewed microwave popcorn. The microwave was destroyed, and the kitchen immediately endangered when we arrived.
In this case the householder used a shoebox instead of a paper bag, apparently on the advice of some magazine article… I’m not sure if this made it worse, but in this particular case it didn’t seem a good idea at all!
My advice would be to take care, follow the instructions given fairly precisely, and keep watch (only takes a couple of minutes).
Don’t underestimate the heat produced and (especially) the flammability and potential fire intensity created by oil-soaked paper. DON’T leave it cooking any longer than indicated.
I use this method myself actually and like it… but avoid the staples and go light on the oil.
August 13th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
One example of a dedicated solution:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DE2T7
On the other hand, just dump a cup of popcorn in the center of the microwave without any container. That would be a sight!
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Nutritional yeast with tamari sauce–not great for those on salt restriction–but truly yummo!
I just tried this method for the first time and the popcorn tastes better than the expensive bag kind. It’s especially good for me because I love Black Jewell popcorn and the prepackaged microwave kind is so expensive. Now I can just buy the big bags!
April 30th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
This is a great recipe and Alton is absolutely one of the best TV chefs around, he is one of the few who actually explain the “why” of a recipe so you can really learn about cooking and how to adapt the principles to your own style.
A side note re: the staples. This is not enough metal to cause any kind of problem. metal containers are a horrible idea as they reflect microwaves and prevent even heating. Not to mention an electrical buildup that is possible with conductive metals. that being said, small amounts of metal won’t do any harm, even if there are sparks, which is unlikely in this situation.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Popcorn lover that I am, my method is to use a Presto PowerPop microwave popcorn popper. It makes delicious, nutritious snacks with absolutely no oil and no greasy paper bags. Although one can use oil in the popper, I prefer not to. It extends the life of the inserts to pop the corn dry. Butter and other toppings can be added in the bowl, if preferred. I had been dubious about the inserts, but they have proven to not deteriorate easily. The only caution is not to put in a second batch until the popper has cooled. Great for people who believe in conservation and good nutrition. Alton’s bag idea would work fine if you were packing the popcorn for travel to a microwave away from home.
September 28th, 2008 at 1:40 am
I tried this with the oil, and it definately didn’t appear to even get on the popcorn at all, rather just soaked into the paper bag. As to popcorn salt I just used regular salt and used my mortar to grind it down finer. I just folded the bag down without stapling and it worked fine, just use a big enough bag. Addition of herbs in bag just stuck with the oil to the bag so I think those are definitely an after popping addition, also loved it with grated pecorino romano cheese as I’m allergic to cow milk. The cheese didn’t adhere well as I think post popping you need a light coat of oil to make it stick…or you can just press each handful of popcorn into some cheese (which is what I tried at the end of the bowl.
Seems like a glass casserole dish would work equally well and be more environmentally friendly.
November 3rd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Hey Popcorn lovers-
They now make staple free staplers!
February 13th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Will probably try the DIY version. For those of you who want the stovetop variety, I discovered that a wok makes a great conventional popper - for the same reason it is great for stir fry. A large volume container with a small, very hot center and cooler, sloped sides. As the corn pops, fluffy popped kernels tend to stay on top or to the outer side walls of the wok, while the dense kernels sift down to the heat.
OK, somewhere there’s a discussion list that’s covered this method forever, but I just discovered it a couple of years ago.
April 5th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
You don’t put staples or anything metallic in a microwave!
May 19th, 2009 at 10:52 am
AB hardly discovered this. This has been around for a decade. You can use a microwave safe glass bowl instead of paper bag, for even cheaper.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
WARNING! Don’t use a grocery sack; now that my microwave is fried I’m researching what went wrong, and apparently recycled paper may have bits of metal.
I just did this nice trick of DIY microwave popcorn.
The popcorn turned out GREAT, but my microwave is now dead.
I didn’t think there would be any difference between a paper lunch sack and a paper grocery bag. I wish I had known. No I’m out hundreds of dollars, have an upset husband, and feel horrible. maybe I’m the only one that doesn’t know any recycled paper in the microwave is a no-no?
very very bummed.
January 17th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Found this at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FactSheets/Microwave_Ovens_and_Food_Safety/index.asp
Is it safe to use aluminum foil in a microwave oven?
Always consult the owner’s manual of your microwave oven and heed the manufacturer’s recommendations for the use of aluminum foil. It can be safe to use small amounts of aluminum foil in a microwave oven.
Microwaves cannot pass through metal but are absorbed by food. No food completely covered by aluminum foil or in a covered metal pan should be put in a microwave oven because food wouldn’t be available to absorb the microwaves. Operating the oven empty or when the food is completely wrapped in aluminum foil can cause damage to the oven and the food won’t heat.
However, small pieces of aluminum foil can be used to “shield” areas of foods, such as poultry drumsticks and wings, to prevent overcooking.
Some food packaged in foil containers can be safe to microwave. Read the package heating instructions to see if the food manufacturer has specific recommendations for microwaving the product. Because food in these containers will only heat from the top, it’s best to microwave foods only 1-2 inches in depth so food near the bottom will be heated thoroughly before food on top dries and overcooks.
So yes, you can put small amounts of metal in your microwave. In fact some microwavable meals have foil in the packaging to help brown the food.