Kitchen Lab: Poppin’ Corn
When you crave popcorn, do you usually pick up a bag of popcorn from the store and pop it in your microwave?
That’s one quick way to get your fix. But, have you ever tried making homemade popcorn in the microwave? All it takes is a paper lunch bag and popcorn kernels.
It’s easy to do, costs less than microwave popcorn bags from the store, there’s no fancy equipment needed, and it gives you the opportunity to experiment with textures and flavors!
It’s amazing how your kitchen can turn into a science lab.
To take your popcorn experience even further, check out our family popcorn experiment. You can learn more
about what makes popcorn pop.
Click here for our Popcorn Kitchen Lab
Now let’s get poppin’!
Homemade Microwave Popcorn
Ingredients:
Popcorn kernels (1/3 cup of kernels makes two servings of popcorn)
Optional popcorn toppings:
1 tbsp oil or melted butter
Seasonings (start at 1/4 tsp)
See below for some fun suggestions
Tools:
1 paper lunch bag
1 set dry measuring cups
1 set measuring spoons
1 bowl
potholders
Steps:
Add popcorn kernels to your bag. Fold the top over two times (about 1 inch per fold) so popcorn won’t escape.
Place bag in your microwave and set it for 2-3 minutes. Listen for popping to slow to about two seconds between pops and stop the microwave.
Carefully remove the bag from the microwave using potholders and open it away from your face.
Gently pour your popcorn into a bowl and enjoy your snack with melted butter or oil, salt, or your favorite popcorn toppings.
Flavor Tips:
When you eat popcorn, do you like the taste of buttery, salty popcorn? Kettle corn? Plain popcorn? Maybe you haven’t found a favorite type yet. Here are some tips for different flavor combinations to add to your popcorn.
Salty: celery salt, seasoning salt, parmesan cheese, nuts
Savory (umami): dried herbs, nutritional yeast, curry powder
Sweet: cinnamon sugar, raisins, chocolate chips, honey
Spicy: cayenne powder, red or green chile powder, hot sauce, taco seasoning, Cajun seasoning
Sour/fruity: lemon or lime zest, dried cranberries
Sample the flavors by using a small amount of spice on a separate bowl of popped corn. That way, if you create a combination that isn’t your favorite, you’ll have other options to choose from.
Fun Combos:
Red chile powder + salt + lime zest (like Tajin)
Parmesan cheese + dried herbs
Nuts + raisins + chocolate chips
Whatever you come up with, we want to hear about. Let us know your creation in the comments!
Happy Popping!