Day 73: Kettle Corn (Popcorn with salt and sugar)

Something so simple, but something so amazing is popcorn. And we're not talking about microwaveable variety with plastic butter an a million carcinogens.

I like to use air popper at home ($12 at Walmart), which is nice because there's no clean up, and no need to monitor is as it goes. And it comes out nice and fluffy. And it's cheap. The same $1 bag of microwaveable popcorn is probably ~5 cents if you pop it on your own (I don't buy name brand popcorn - I generally try to avoid name brand anything for that matter). And if you don't feel like eating a whole bag, you can only pop a little bit. And you don't end up getting a burned by steaming air when you open it. So many reasons to pop it yourself.

I like to add butter, salt (ground up in a mortar and pestle), and some sugar. Why grind up the salt? Because it sticks better to the popcorn. The same technique can be used for fries or chips.

The best part is mopping up the butter on the bottom of the bowl with the last few remaining kernals so that it's little soggy bits on your fingers.

ON KETTLE CORN (FROM WIKIPEDIA)

Kettle corn was introduced to the United States in the 18th century. It is referenced in the diaries of Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania circa 1776. It was a treat sold at fairs or consumed at other festive occasions. The corn, oil, sugar and salt together is cooked in a cast iron kettle, or possibly a Dutch oven, this produces a noticeable sweet crust on the popcorn, however this method requires constant stirring or the sugar will burn, or a batch of plain popped corn can be sweetened with sugar or honey before adding salt. The combination was widely popular in the early 19th century but fell from wide usage during the 20th century.

In the early 21st century, kettle corn has made something of a comeback in America, especially at 19th-century living history events. As of the 21st century, it is cooked and sold at fairs and flea markets throughout the United States, especially art and craft shows.

Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn (maize) which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive "pop" results. Some strains of corn are now cultivated specifically as popping corns.

Popcorn was first discovered thousands of years ago by Native Americans. It is one of the oldest forms of corn: evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico and even earlier evidence dating to perhaps as early as 4700 BC was found in Peru.

Air-popped popcorn is naturally high in dietary fiber, low in calories and fat, contains no sodium, and is sugar free. This can make it an attractive snack to people with dietary restrictions on the intake of calories, fat, and/or sodium.