Movie theater popcorn is better tasting for a reason. They use a large amount of oil. They also often add Flavacol Seasoning Popcorn Salt. And then the “butter” is coconut oil, which is 90% fat. Consequently, a large bucket of movie theater popcorn has a whole day’s worth of calories, while air popped popcorn has almost none.
When I started developing a recipe for replicating this, I was just aiming to cover the surface of a Dutch oven before adding the kernels. Once measured, this proved to me a lot more oil than I thought. The oil imparts the kernels with a crunch and some richness, which then requires less butter (for as you know butter is expensive, and they don’t give you that at the theater, they just give you more oil to top it with and the oil is butter flavored, which is gross to think about but tastes great).
I use a half-cup oil to one-third cup popcorn kernels.
Top with one-third cup real melted butter and your favorite seasonings, be they cheesey salt, Flavacol, and coconut oil.
AIR POPPED POPCORN
Or skip the whole thing for air popped Orville Redenbacher Yellow which is our favorite, topped with a little butter and then truffle flavored olive oil and finely ground sea salt and pepper.
STOVE TOP POPCORN FROM AMERICA’S TEST KITCHEN-BEST FOR OUR FAVORITE AMISH LADY FINGER POPCORN
This Stovetop Popcorn Technique Leaves No Unpopped Kernels Behind
This method produces perfect popcorn, every time.
When I think of stovetop popcorn, one of the first things I think of is Jiffy Pop. It’s fun and nostalgic to watch the popcorn pop and expand under that classic foil cover as you shake it over the burner.
However, Jiffy Pop—and other stovetop popcorn methods—are often more fun to make than to eat. Either the popcorn tastes slightly stale and has an underwhelming flavor or you end up with a mixture of half-popped, unpopped, and barely edible burnt kernels.
Fortunately, the test kitchen’s stovetop popcorn recipe avoids all those pitfalls. It requires no shaking at all, and every kernel pops (but doesn’t burn). It’s perfect. Here’s how to do it.
The first step is to add 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and three popcorn kernels to the saucepan and then wait for all three to pop. This is so that you know when the oil is hot enough to add the rest of the kernels.
Next, remove the saucepan from the heat, add ½ cup of popcorn kernels, cover the saucepan, and let the kernels sit for 30 seconds. This step is essential because it heats up the kernels evenly. Since all the kernels are now evenly heated, there’s no shaking required. So no burnt pieces and no unpopped kernels.
Finally, return the saucepan to medium-high heat, leave the lid slightly ajar, and do not shake the saucepan. This lid position allows for the steam to escape as the corn pops and ensures that no pieces of popcorn start flying around your kitchen. You’ll know your popcorn is done once there’s 2 seconds between pops.
Boom. Perfect popcorn. Next, you can add the classic melted butter or any other seasoning you want. Some of our favorites include buttermilk ranch, Parmesan-pepper, sriracha-lime, or even cinnamon-malt for a sweet twist.