We’re making the most of the sunshine with this great recipe for a Popcorn Ice Cream Sundae – it’s the perfect sweet summer treat for kids and adults alike!

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 bottle caramel sundae sauce
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 pint chocolate ice cream
2 cups caramel popcorn
1 can whipped cream topping
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preparation

Start by swirling some of the caramel sauce around the inside of each sundae glass.

Add a scoop of each flavor of ice cream in the bottom of each glass, and then sprinkle over a layer of the crunchy, sweet popcorn.

Repeat the layers until your glasses are full/your desired serving size has been reached.

Squirt a generous swirl of whipped cream topping over the top of each sundae.

Sprinkle a handful of remaining popcorn and a spoonful of your chocolate chips, and drizzle with caramel sauce to finish.

Variations

Just Poppin Caramel Corn

The great thing about this recipe is its flexibility – you could use other flavors of ice cream or popcorn, such as our rich, creamy French Vanilla, and add other elements such as your favorite nuts, fruits or sauces. Mix it up, leave us a comment and let us know what works – we’d love to give your versions a try!

                          

Kate Baker, Cheaper by the Dozen

This hilarious comedy is a great choice for your Mother’s Day celebrations – we’ve got nothing but respect for any woman who can give birth to and raise a staggering twelve children! The Baker brood may have their naughty moments when career woman Kate leaves for her book tour, but overall they’re a fun-loving family and she does a great job of teaching them what’s really important in life.

Helen Parr, The Incredibles

Helen’s about as busy as a mom can possibly be, juggling the care of her three children, Violet, Dash and Jack Jack with some pretty serious superhero duties. However, whether she’s cooking dinner, doing the school run or saving the world from peril, Helen proves what we already knew – that every mom is a hero in their own way!

Leigh Anne Tuohy, The Blind Side

Based on a true story, The Blind Side is the inspirational tale of Michael Oher, who is welcomed into Leigh Anne’s family when he is left homeless after a series of traumatic life events. This incredible story proves that you don’t have to be a blood relative to be a mom – just a caring woman with plenty of love to give.

                          

Pop your own

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Remember when you used to paste macaroni onto a sheet of craft paper and your Mom would love it, just because you made it? Preparing a gift for your Mom nowadays still works on the same principle – it means a lot because you’ve taken the time to prepare it for her! Invest in a bag of mushroom popcorn kernels and pop up some delicious Caramel Corn (click here for a quick and easy recipe) – add a cellophane bag and a ribbon to tie the top, and you’ll have a thoughtful and tasty gift that she’s bound to love.

Outfit her kitchen

Alternatively, if your Mom is a keen home cook, you can treat her to some popcorn tools for her kitchen so she can make popcorn for herself anytime. Fill a gift basket with some kernels (we’d recommend our Tender Pop Hulless), a selection of seasonings and a popcorn oil sprayer for a gift that just keeps on giving.  Every time she makes popcorn she will think of you!

Make it personal

Create your own work of art with our Pop-a-Doodle Popcorn Canister filled with yummy popcorn!

Our Pop-a-Doodle Customizable Popcorn Canister is perfect as a Mother’s Day gift, because you can really make it your own. Whether you want to hand-write a personal message yourself or let the kids go mad with Magic Markers, it’s a fun customizable canister that’s filled with your Mom’s favorite flavor of popcorn. With four delicious varieties (Caramel, Cheddar Cheese,  French Vanilla and English Toffee), you’ll be spoiled for choice and your Mom will feel totally spoiled too!

                          

My popcorn is tough and chewy

Wait a minute or two before eating for crunchier popcorn!

Number one – make sure your pot or popper is well vented to let maximum steam escape whilst popping, and number two – wait a minute or two before eating! We know that waiting is not easy, but allowing the excess moisture to evaporate yields a crunchier, more satisfying result and the payoff is worth it. We’ve also found that serving your popcorn in a paper bag (as paper absorbs moisture) or spreading the popped popcorn on a cookie sheet and placing in a low oven for 3-5 minutes helps improve crunchiness too.

Also, make sure you’re not using too much oil.  You can figure this out using a 3:1 kernels to oil ratio (approx example would be 1/3 cup kernels to 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil)

My popcorn is burning!

Remove old maids with the Kernel Katcher Popcorn Bowl!

Burnt popcorn can happen for a number of reasons, but a major reason is that there are too many kernels in the pan. Having too many kernels in the pan encourages you to leave the pot on the stove for longer to get every single kernel to explode – which burns the popped ones! Try using fewer kernels (like 1/4 – 1/3 cup and make two or three batches if necessary) and take your popper off of the stove once most of the kernels have popped – you’ll always get a few ‘old maids’, but our Kernel Katcher can help you with those!

For Microwave Popping, don’t use the “popcorn” button. Instead set it for 5 minutes on “high” but stand and watch and listen to your popcorn. Once popping slows, it’s done. A handy tip is if you can count to “two” in between pops, then it’s ready. Check out our video for perfect microwave popcorn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynQSPbmgDlU

My mushroom popcorn isn’t ball shaped

Mushroom Popcorn pops into round ball shapes.

Mushroom popcorn is ideal for making caramel corn because of its big, fluffy, ball shaped nuggets – but it can be tricky to achieve this shape. Our popcorn averages at least 65% ball shapes, compared to the 35-45% from other mushroom popcorn suppliers – meaning not every kernel will become a ball. This is just the nature of a natural product. However, if your percentage is lower than this, it’s time to revise your cooking method. To make mushroom popcorn on the stove, your oil has to be extremely hot – ideally, at a temperature above 450F. Different poppers can also affect the result of your popcorn. For fastest, easiest, and cleanest popping, we recommend the the Presto Poplite Hot Air Popper for mushroom popcorn.

Good luck and happy popping!

PS. If you have any popcorn popping questions please let us know. We may feature your question in a future blog post!

                          

How is popcorn made?

On a basic level, popcorn is a type of corn or maize that pops when heated. There are, of course, many different ways of preparing popcorn nowadays, but when popcorn was first discovered, its only form was simple ears of corn with kernels ready for bursting!

Take 3 minutes and check out this clip from Discovery’s “How It’s Made”. You’ll learn just what it takes to get popcorn from the field and to your mouth!

Where did it come from?

The oldest popcorn ever discovered was estimated to be around 5,600 years old! It was found in the “Bat Cave” in New Mexico in the late 1940s, but researchers have also found equally old kernels in tombs in Peru – many of which are so well preserved that they can still be popped today.

Image courtesy of Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Native Americans introduced popcorn to Europeans – when Columbus arrived in the West Indies, it is said that he saw natives eating popcorn by holding an ear over the fire, popping the kernels and chewing them off. Colonists then began eating popcorn as a breakfast cereal with either cream or milk.

What made it so popular?

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Popcorn became increasingly popular in the US over the years thanks to its filling structure, easy preparation and cheap price, but it really hit the big time during World War II. Sugar rations at this time meant that candy production was limited, and Americans began consuming three times as much popcorn as they did before the war.

When televisions became popular in the 1950s, popcorn’s popularity dipped slightly as it was commonly known as a movie snack. However, it wasn’t long before popcorn worked its way back into the hearts of the people, and now the US produces an incredible 498,000 tons of popcorn a year!

                          

Air popped popcorn

Light, delicious air popped popcorn (or microwave-popped without oil) has just 30.5 calories per cup. This means that you can enjoy 3 cups, which is a pretty generous portion, for less than 100 calories. Air popped popcorn is a great and  filling option for when hunger strikes – just add your favorite low calorie seasonings for a guilt free afternoon snack.

NOTE: 1 ounce (or 1/8 cup) of popcorn kernels pops into about 1 quart which is 4 cups of popcorn.  If you want the healthy, “3 cup” portion of popcorn, then use a little less than 1 ounce of kernels.

A quick tip to get those seasonings to stick: lightly spray your popped popcorn with olive oil using an oil mister. Then sprinkle, and toss to evenly coat. In most cases, a few sprays from an oil mister adds too few calories to count.

Oil popped popcorn

Oil popped popcorn has around 64 calories per cup – more than double the number from air popped popcorn. However, if you really prefer the taste of popcorn with a little oil, you can scale down your portion to 2 cups and still only consume 120 calories. Considering that an average serving of Lays potato chips packs 147 calories and much higher levels of fat, you’re still making a relatively healthy choice.

Seasonings

To keep the health quota of your popcorn high, steer clear of high fat seasonings like butter, cheese or caramel. This may seem limiting to begin with, but low calorie popcorn doesn’t have to be dull. Here at Just Poppin, we offer a great range of popcorn seasonings, including Jalapeno, Chili Lime and Apple Pie, which are virtually calorie free!

If you’ve got a great low calorie popcorn tip, we’d love to hear about it – why not pop on over to our Facebook page and share the recipe?

                          

It’s Caramel Popcorn Day!

 
Make it at home

The Quick Way:

Whipping up a quick batch of caramel popcorn at home is a breeze thanks to our Caramel Redi Glaze™ Popcorn Coating. This clever formula makes a kettle corn style caramel popcorn and can be used directly in your whirley popcorn popper for quick, easy, delicious tasting results every time.

Try popping it with our Buttery Flavored Coconut Oil for added flavor dimension.

The Traditional Way:

We have a great recipe for Caramel Corn that is easy and delicious. Best of all, it’s customizable depending on what ingredients you want to use. Try it and let us know how you customized it and made it your own!

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup of popcorn kernels, (if using our Mushroom Popcorn; pop using the instructions provided with your order)
1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil
1 cup of sugar (you can also use palm sugar, coconut sugar, or raw sugar)
1/4 cup of honey (or other sweetener like coconut syrup, brown rice syrup etc)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 250F

METHOD:
Set aside your popped popcorn. It might be helpful to put the popped popcorn into a very large bowl so you’re ready when it’s time to pour on the caramel.

Slowly heat up the butter, sugar and honey in a pot that seems larger than is necessary, and stir often. When butter is melted, turn up the heat and once it boils, let it bubble away for 5 full minutes without stirring.

Remove from heat and add the baking soda and vanilla (be careful as vanilla sometimes sputters when added to the hot mixture and the baking soda will foam). Make sure the baking soda is well combined with the caramel and stir until it gets very light and foamy (this is why you need a larger than expected pot).

Quickly pour over already popped popcorn and stir well until it looks like every kernel has some caramel on it. This is best done in a very large bowl using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula with a long handle. Be careful not to get any of the caramel on you as it will cause very bad burns.

Pour the caramel popcorn into two large roasting pans (or one giant one could be used). Place the pans into the oven which has been preheated to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. One pan goes on the top rack and the other on the bottom. When taking the pans out to stir the mixture, rotate and switch them each time.

Bake for one hour and stir every 15 minutes.

When the hour is up, remove the pans from the oven and stir until caramel corn is cool enough for each piece to be separated (don’t wait otherwise you’ll end up with a giant blob of caramel corn!).

When cooled, transfer immediately to airtight containers. Enjoy!

Caramel Redi Glaze Coating

Order it in

If you’re not too handy in the kitchen, you can still celebrate Caramel Popcorn Day by ordering some ready-made caramel popcorn for you and your family to enjoy. Our Caramel Gourmet Popcorn comes in two different sizes, so whether you’re treating yourself or feeding a crowd there’s an option to suit you. You can even order it in one of our festive tins to mark the occasion in real style!

Do you have a favorite caramel popcorn recipe? Leave us a comment and let us know – we’d love to try it out.

From all of us here at Just Poppin™, have a great Caramel Popcorn Day!

                          

Pop up a present

Popcorn makes a great gift for any occasion; it’s simple, fun, and everybody loves it!

For a quick and easy Easter holiday gift, pick up a bag of our French Vanilla Gourmet popcorn (or other candy coated popcorn) and mix in an assortment of Easter candy – Hershey’s candy coated eggs or Reese’s peanut butter eggs are a great option. Fill bags with your mixture and tie them up with colourful pastel ribbons – you’ll have a great Easter gift in a matter of minutes.

Beautiful bags of Easter popcorn candy from http://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2012/03/30/easter-candy-popcorn/

Or, instead of giving an Easter egg, why not make a festive popcorn ball? Follow this easy recipe for Mallow Popcorn Balls and use our Popcorn Ball Maker to easily shape your treat.  To up the cuteness quota, reserve a little marshmallow and use it to stick Easter themed marshmallow Peeps to your ball. Wrap the finished product in cellophane and you’ve got a great alternative to candy that you can hand out to the kids, the neighbors or even your dinner guests.

Craft your kernels

Another great Easter craft for you and your kids this holiday season is the popcorn lamb! You’ll need three simple ingredients; popcorn, cardstock or construction paper, and white school glue.

Gorgeous popcorn lamb example from http://www.freefuneaster.com/easter-crafts/popcorn-lamb/

Get the little ones to draw a cloud shape on the paper and then fill it in by sticking popcorn to the card. Once they’re done, add four legs and a head for a fun Easter lamb image that will sit in a place of pride on your refrigerator.  Bonus points for adding grass, sunshine or other farm animals in the background!

What are you and your family doing to celebrate Easter? Pop on over to our Facebook page and share your holiday stories!

                          

Is popcorn kosher for Passover?

Well, the answer to the first question is “yes”. JustPoppin.com popcorn kernels are kosher. While the cost of kosher certification is prohibitive for us at this time, we’ve talked with a number of certifying organizations who have told us that without a doubt, because our popcorn kernels are raw and not cooked or heated in any fashion, they are kosher by default. They are kosher in the same way they’d be if you grew the corn in your own back yard. In fact, our popcorn is processed on equipment that ONLY processes popcorn, so there is no chance of it coming into contact with any other product.

Now, answering the second question (and yes, only two questions and not four, even though it’s Passover), “is our popcorn kosher for Passover?”, is a bit more complicated because the answer is both “yes” AND “no”. It really depends on how you roll, rabbinically speaking. You see, Jewish law specifically prohibits the eating of what’s known as chametz, which is food based on one of the “five grains” – wheat, spelt, barley, oats, and rye. Folks of the Sephardic persuasion keep to this prohibition and for them it stops there. So things like corn, popcorn, rice, beans, lentils and such are acceptable to Sephardic Jews at Passover. So if you’re Sephardic and want to pop in a DVD after seder and pop up some JustPoppin.com popcorn to snack on (if you have any room left after dinner!) then go right ahead. We have it on good authority that you are not in violation of Passover kosher rites.

On the other hand…if you are of traditional Ashkenazi descent, then your custom is to avoid other grains and legumes in addition to those spelled out as chametz. The other grains and legumes have been called “kitniyot” (pronounced kit-neeh-oat) and include corn, popcorn, rice, millet, beans, lentils, etc. The belief behind this prohibition is that these other grains are too similar to the “five grains” and so eating them gives an impression of trying to get around the law. And so the Ashkenazi decided not to split hairs and just banned everything even remotely similar to chametz. So if you live in the Ashkenazi tradition, sorry but popcorn is not kosher for Passover for you.

We hope this clears things up for our Jewish customers and for those who aren’t Jewish but are interested in learning new and interesting things about the traditions of other people. Regardless of whether or not popcorn is kosher for you at this time of year, we wish you the best for the holiday.

P.S. JustPoppin.com Popping Sorghum is kosher and like our popcorn, falls into the category of kitniyot with respect to Passover.

                          

Rihanna

Megastar singer Rihanna is a girl after our own hearts, sort of. “My favorite food right now is microwave butter popcorn”, the singer revealed in a 2012 interview, and we couldn’t agree more – buttered popcorn is one of our all-time favorites too! But we’re not big fans of prepackaged microwave popcorn. To recreate Rihanna’s snack at home, pop up a batch of JustPoppin’s Movie-PopTM Popcorn using Butter Flavored Coconut Oil and Flavacol for that delicious movie theater popcorn taste. Check out our video on YouTube for step-by-step instructions.

Finally, for that “five star” movie popcorn experience, drizzle Odells Real Butter Topping over the top.

Britney Spears

British magazine Stylist asked Britney about her favorite food, and her response was “Chocolate. Definitely chocolate. A lot of chocolate!” Clearly Britney has a sweet tooth! If she loves popcorn as much as she loves candy, we definitely recommend popping some Mushroom or Tender PopTM Hulless Kernels with our Chocolate Redi Glaze.

Jennifer Aniston

If Jennifer Aniston could choose her last meal, “It’d be chips and guacamole, quesadillas, enchiladas, a big tostada salad and nachos” – clearly this actress can’t get enough Mexican food! If, like Jen, you like a bit of spice in your cuisine, why not try our Jalapeno Popcorn Seasoning?

Mariah Carey

“My favorite food is pizza, but I’m not allowed to eat it,” Mariah once told an interviewer, implying that the high calorie count prevented her from indulging in the cheesy treat. Luckily, there’s a low-cal way to get a cheese fix: whip up a bowl of popcorn and sprinkle on some of our Gourmet White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn Seasoning!

If you’ve got a favourite snack food that you just can’t get enough of, why not pop on over to our store and see if we have a popcorn flavour to match?