I have always loved popcorn. When I was little, my mother made it in a heavy saucepan. After heating up some oil, she would drop two kernels in. After they popped, the oil was hot enough to add more kernels, put on the lid and begin shaking the pan back and forth to pop but not burn the corn. Then they invented Jiffy Pop and my brother and I were old enough to use it by ourselves. We held the pan over the burner and shook it back and forth until the package expanded to reveal a foil wrapped bowl of popped corn.
As a young mother I bought an air corn popper which shot the popped corn out into a bowl and beyond! This proved an endless amusement to my young daughter and her friends and supplied lots of pop corn for very little money. Some years later I fell victim to the newly available microwave popcorn bags. These little bags went straight into the microwave where they proceeded to pop into a large serving of flavored popcorn. I learned that not only were these toxic to the user but also were causing illness in the factory workers producing the product.
That left the movies as the only really convenient fail safe way to get popcorn. Of course the small box is only slightly less expensive than the huge box, so we had to get the huge box. A very expensive addition to already expensive movie tickets.
Then one lunch time I caught Rachel Ray demonstrating making popcorn in the microwave. Using just a brown paper lunch bag and 1/4 cup of popping kernels, she made a heaping bowl of fresh popcorn to be flavored afterward to her heart content. It didn’t even use oil. And it was inexpensive. And it worked.(I admit I thought it was not going to work!)
How is it done? In a small paper bag with the top rolled down or in a large bowl covered with a paper plate, microwave 1/4 cup kernels on high until the popping slows, about 1 minute 30 seconds in the bag or 1 minute 45 seconds in the bowl. Makes 6 cups.
Enjoy.
Saved By Words 
I have a can of popcorn that is sixty years old. It is 3 minute brand. I always wondered how much of it will pop.
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Now is the time to see. Let us know.
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I will.
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I love popcorn and can remember when I was young making it in a pan on the stove. I didn’t like how the scraping of the pan against the burner felt and sounded. We also had a long handled popper you could use in the fireplace, but that was awkward as there was no surface to shake against. Then of course came Jiffy Pop which was a bit easier. Now I’ve been making microwave popcorn but also worry about its safety. So thanks for the paper bag method! I will try it! 🙂
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Hope it works for you too.
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That sound was awful now that you mention it. Worse than fingernails on the chalk board.
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Aha! Perhaps your post will ruin the microwave popcorn industry and make Americans healthier!
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That is a great idea.
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Know what, sometimes I wonder why popcorn is still the best to munch on when you are busy watching a movie. I no longer buy microwavable popcorn since I read that news too and it’s been a while since I tasted some.
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I think it is because you can make it last a long time.
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That kind that you never stop eating until the pack is empty….haha!
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Exactly. Even though you were just going to have a few bites.
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We used to microwave popcorn when the kids were at home. I like butter and salt with a touch of sugar (I didn’t say we made it healthy). Sadly nowadays it sticks in my teeth so I pass.
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My dental hygienist introduced me to these little miniature picks that look like trees that go between my teeth. Popcorn problems solved.
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I know the ones you mean. Sadly I need something that looks more like a bottle brush!
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That is hilarious.
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My favorite is salted caramel popcorn…deeeelicious! 😀
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Another untried taste treat. Thanks.
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I was never a huge fan of popcorn, unless it was sweet. We had ‘Butterkist’ toffee popcorn, and I never even saw ‘real’ popcorn until I was in my 30s. I got fed up with bits of it getting stuck in my teeth, so stopped eating it. 🙂 It is still sold today.
http://www.butterkist.co.uk/products/toffee-popcorn/
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh my word. Toffee and popcorn two of my absolute favorites together. I wonder if they sell it here.
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