GNOWFGLINS™

Red Palm Oil Popcorn (General Instructions)

No specific measurements, I’m afraid, but these general guidelines should help you in making this delicious and healthy popcorn! (See my original post on Red Palm Oil Popcorn.)

Have you ever popped popcorn in a pot on the stove? If so, you’d use the same amount of palm oil as you do your other cooking oil. The amount of popcorn will be the same, too.

If you haven’t done this before, you’ll have to figure out the amount of red palm oil that works for you — and it depends on your size of pot. I use my 11 quart stainless steel pot, but sometimes a smaller 9 quart pot.

I eyeball how much oil to use. I turn the heat on a bit and scoop the oil into the bottom of the pot. Since red palm oil is semi-solid at room temp, you’ll have to let it melt to see if you have enough. But what you want to aim for is about 1/2 centimeter layer of oil covering the entire base of the pot. This is really flexible. You can’t go wrong, really.

In my 11 quart pot, I use about 1 cup of popcorn kernels. In a smaller pot, I use about 3/4 of a cup. Add your kernels to the pot with the oil. Turn the heat up to medium-high or higher. I set my dial between 8 and 9 on my electric range, on one of the larger elements.

Cover the pot and get potholders ready because escaping steam can burn your hands. While the oil and the kernels are heating, they’ll be sizzling, and you should swish it all around intermittently, with the lid on and potholders shielding your hands.

When the kernels start popping, you’ll want to be hands on all the time, shaking and swishing the pot so the heat reaches all the kernels. To avoid scratching the pot, move it around just over the heating element so the contents feels the heat but the pot isn’t touching the element.

When the popping slows way down, it is time to dump the popcorn into a paper bag or bowl. Don’t wait too long or the popcorn will burn. If you don’t wait long enough, you’ll have unpopped kernels.

In the bag or bowl, add all your seasonings, such as salt or nutritional yeast or cumin. Experiment by taste. There’s no right or wrong. You might wish to keep certain garnishes, such as nutritional yeast, separate. People can flavor their own bowls as they desire.

You’ll have to experiment, but these are general guidelines that can get you started to figuring out what works best for you.

© Copyright 2008 by Wardeh Harmon