Popcorn Machine Supplies
Planning
for a backyard home theatre for your family and friends? Then this exciting
movie experience cannot be complete without those mouth savoring popcorns which
melt like butter in your mouth. So if you have just been donated a popcorn
machine and do not know what supplies to buy here is a quickie
to speed things up.
Popcorn is ideally a low calorie snack adored by young and old alike. But with
the seasonings, toppings and flavors it can well turn out to be a high calorie
one too. A 30 caloric value popcorn snack can turn in to 120 calories with
caramel toppings. So watch out while having fun.
The microwave popcorn does not give you the traditional popcorn taste. So if you
want to treat your kids and friends to a real popcorn taste then get a
machine and make your own popcorn. You can get a popper as cheap as $20 and if
you are ready to spend bucks then a good popper can come around $400 or so. The Whirley stovetop popper with warm cabinet comes to about $20 and one of the best
popcorn machines the Gold Medal can come in $400-$600 range. Check out the e-bay
or the Craig lists to get some excellent deals.
So what size popper should you buy? The size of the kettle is available in
various sizes like 4oz, 6oz, 8oz etc. Typically a 6oz machine can churn out 120
servings per hour where one serving is one ounce each. If there is a large
gathering a 4oz machine will not be sufficient. You may have to keep churning
the whole night and miss out on the movie fun. There are various models like vintage models, antique models, commercial popcorn
machines, special poppers etc. If you have a small business or a home theatre
then special poppers with space saving designs and stylish looks is ideal for
you. They are cheaper, can be easily accommodated on the counter top and provide
instant popcorn whenever you dream about popcorns.
So what are the essential popcorn supplies you should have?
The most important are the popcorn kernels. You can get them in popcorn packs,
in bulk or as starter kits with scoop and 1ounce popcorn bags in it. If you go
for pre packed popcorn bags then you have no headache of mixing oil and salt.
All is done for you in the proper ration. You can go for 4, 6, 8 oz packs or buy
in bulk too. Some of the good brands are Pop weaver and Gold Medal. Raw kernels
without any mixing can be brought in a local grocery shop too. At Sam’s you get
50lb bulk bags which will last you for a long time.
The next in line is the popcorn oil. You can use olive, canola or coconut oil.
The coconut oil is the best as it has a higher burning temperature, does not
stick on the popper and also does not leave smoke. You can get these in jugs,
packs and bars too.
For the yummy buttery popcorns you can go for butter topping too. Just heat the
topping and pour it on your popping popcorns. To make things easier you can get
those butter warmer kits too which warm it up and gives it to you.
If you are bored with butter and salt then you can try out different kernel
seasonings. There is apple cinnamon, cheddar flavors available. You can go for
sweet toppings such as caramel too. Or you can also go for savory flavors like
chilly cheese, Cajun, nacho cheese etc. The flavocol which is a butter flavored
salt is a popular ingredient for making popcorn. It comes in different flavors
like red chilly, garlic and nacho cheese.
Now what about those popcorn containers to hold the steaming popcorn? You get
economical packs from .75 oz to 130-170 oz 3D colorful packs that can tell the
whole world that you are gobbling on popcorns. Popcorn buckets with more than
170 oz capacity are available too. If you prefer to go green then you can buy
the environmental friendly butter bags made of natural fiber too.
Sometimes a scooper is necessary to measure oil, salt and corn. Such scoops are
available at Gold Medal’s website. You can get all the popcorn machine supplies
from Snappy, Sam or your local garden food service stores.
You can also purchase supplies online at online food services.
Now that you have got all the supplies get set to pop some popcorn.
So how do you make popcorn from raw kernels?
• Pre warm your kettle 4-5 minutes before starting your popcorn cycle.
• Add oil and wait for a minute or two.
• Now start stirring and add corn and flavocol.
• Once you get the pooping sound you are almost done and you can put any
toppings at this stage.
• For consistency do 2-3 batches, mix together and then serve.
• The taste of the popcorn comes from the flavocol salt which gives a yellow
color and buttery taste to the popcorn.
Follow 3:1 ratio between corn and oil. If you have a 6 oz kettle then for ¾ cup
corn you need to add ¼ th oil and one teaspoon flavocol. The ratio plays an
important role. If you add less oil the kettle will scorch and if you add more
you end up with wet and oily popcorn.
If you are interested in different variety popcorns check out some great recipes
at www.popcorn.org. It has different recipes like apple, cinnamon, and coco
popcorn. Popcorn balls which is made by making a sugar and corn syrup and poured
over popcorn to make balls is also a tasty recipe which can be tried out.