Caramel Corn with Sea Salt

I think I gained four pounds this week.  The reason?  Caramel corn.

I'd been dreaming about making caramel corn.  Thinking about buttery-flavored sweet kernels... and how to create a caramel topping free of dairy, white sugar, and corn syrup.  

One of our friends is moving to Colorado for a cheese-making apprenticeship at a small dairy.  It wouldn't have been a proper good-bye without an amazing potluck dinner:  sausage for the non-veg folks, salad, roasted vegetables, hand made peanut butter cups, and some caramel corn.  Quite the way to say good-bye. 

This caramel corn isn't like the overly sweet stuff that you get from the tin at Christmas time.  This is a lighter version that is still sweet, but won't give you that crazy sugar rush.  If you like your popcorn sweeter, simply use less popcorn (2 batches instead of 3) and you'll get more caramel.

One of my favorite things about making this is that it made the entire apartment smell like sweet caramel.  It's also fun to snack on the gooey, warm kernels from the oven. And I'm not quite sure how this is possible, but three days later I'm still finding stray kernels on the floor.  Sure, it's a little messy.  But definitely worth it. 

Caramel Corn with Sea Salt

Yields: 36 cups (a little over 2 gallons)

Serves: 8 - 10 people

3 batches of plain, unsalted stove-top popcorn

1/2 cup olive oil

2/3 cup brown rice syrup

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup molasses (optional)

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Spray three large cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray.

Remove any unpopped kernels from your popped corn.

In a saucepan, combine the olive oil, brown rice syrup, maple syrup, and molasses.  Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Lower heat and gently boil for 5 minutes, continuing to stir.

Remove from heat, stir in 1 teaspoon of the sea salt, baking soda, and vanilla extract.  (The baking soda will cause the mixture to double in size and change to a light brown color.)

Mix the popcorn and caramel together.  (I found this easiest to do in several batches in a large bowl mixing with my hands.)  Make sure to mix them together while the caramel is still warm.  (As it cools it becomes harder to mix together.)

Spread the popcorn on the sheet pans.  Sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of sea salt.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 10 - 15 minutes.  (Due to a lack of oven space I had to use the top rack which browned the popcorn much quicker.  If you use your top rack, rotate the sheet pans so they are only on top for 15 - 20 minutes and keep an eye on it so it does not burn.)

Cool and break caramel corn apart before serving. 

Perfect Stove-Top Popcorn

Maybe because it's Saturday.  Maybe because you're hungry. Or maybe because you're tired of the microwave version.  Regardless of the reason I'm glad you're here.  Let's make popcorn. 

Popcorn is the perfect snack.  It's fun to eat, delicious, and unless you're avoiding eating corn, everyone can have some.  I find it fascinating that up until now I've been using prepackaged microwave bags to make my popcorn.  They may seem convenient, but they're pretty pricey and it's really hard to find ones without butter.  Once I realized how simple, cheap, and quick it is to make popcorn from scratch on the stove I knew I'd never go back to those microwave bags.  

 

The only supplies that you need are popcorn kernels, a large pot with a lid, and some cooking oil.  I thought it would be fun to use coconut oil and give my popcorn a light coconut flavor.  If you're not a coconut fan, you can use any other oil: olive, canola, grapeseed, safflower, avocado, etc.  I also really like using almond or peanut oil for a nice popcorn flavor.  

Perfect Stove-Top Popcorn

Yields: 12 cups of popcorn

Serves 2 - 4 people

Ingredients:

1/4 cup coconut oil (or any oil of your choice)

1/2 cup corn kernels

Sea Salt

Supplies:

1 large pot with lid (Note: it needs to be large enough for the popcorn to be in one layer.  If your pot is smaller, decrease the amount of oil and corn kernels.)

Place your pot on the stove, add your coconut oil, and turn to medium heat.  Let sit for 2 - 3 minutes until hot.  Add your popcorn kernels and cover with the lid.  Your corn should begin to pop within 1 - 2 minutes. The popping should become more rapid as the oil gets hotter.

When the popping begins to slow down, remove the pan from the heat and let sit (with the lid on) for several minutes.  Remove the lid (beware of steam) and transfer popcorn to a bowl.  Season with sea salt and/or other toppings as desired.