How to Make Kettle Corn

Kettle corn is a slightly sweet, slightly salty popcorn snack. For those of you that know and love kettle corn, this recipe will ensure that you don't have to wait until the next Apple Festival / Craft Fair / Maple Festival or whatever to enjoy it. Please note that this is nothing like the microwave kettle corn they sell in the stores (ugh - Sucralose - ewww).

Step 1: Here's what your going to need.

Ingredients:

1/4 Cup unpopped popcorn
1/4 Cup olive or corn oil (Olive oil will give it a lighter, cleaner taste)
2 Tablespoons sugar ( I prefer cane sugar)
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Utensils needed:

One or two quart sauce pan
Large bowl
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons

You may also want to have some safety glasses and an oven mitt handy because it can get pretty wild when things get popping.

Comments

[Roman2]

I often make kettle corn and to avoid having the popcorn harden into large clumps, I simply stir it while it cools. This also helps to distibute the salt I add. I have found that a chopstick is ideal for stirring, as it tends to push through the popped kernals, rather than pushing them around.

[goyo81]

I just made this using your recipe and an electric wok and it was amazing! This is the best popcorn I've ever had, and with the wok it is super portable and easy to clean up. My students are going to love it!

[GRitter]

The wok sounds like a brilliant idea! With the rounded bottom, it is more like the kettle they cook the stuff in at the festivals. Great idea!

[emmieg]

looks great we are going to try it tonight here in Maine

[pumpernickel_babe]

Absolutely delicious, tastes exactly like the kettle corn at Disneyland but it's made with real sugar instead of nasty corn syrup! Cleanup was a breeze, as well. Definitely filing this away in my mental recipe book. =)

[calicos]

I am so excited! We love kettle corn! We are both out of work so treats are pretty small for us - popcorn is it right now. I've always popped my own popcorn (thanks, mom!) but never, ever thought kettle corn would be just one more step! Thank you for this instructible -it was clear and -funny! Love that combo! Can't wait to make this tonight and surprise the SO!.

[kill-a-watt]

I had no idea that kettle corn was this easy to make. I ended up with the last bit a bit burnt, but that was my fault. I'll take it off the heat a bit sooner.

[cowscankill]

small pot? xD I must try this the next time I pop my pop corn :D

[GRitter]

Oddly enough, that little pot is the only pot that I have in the house that I can use and not burn the whole batch. I don't know why it is, but that's the only one that will work for me.

[OldDaddy]

Right on my friend. An old wearever aluminum pot is what I use it for candy and kettle corn. Glad we kept it when we quit aluminum. Pops just shy of 1/2 cup of corn at a time.  Picked up on the tip of pouring from a height, that will work. I offer one tip to make it more fun. I use my " turkey fryer burner" in the back yard. easy to control heat and our guests love to be part of it. Although that was a challenge at -47 C this winter. I retreated to the garage.

[JerryMopar]

The trick I have found to cooking p'corn in a big kettle is when your getting to last 2/3rds of the popping, is to pick the whole kettle off the burner and shake it around with the lid on every 30 seconds until the popping finally stops, it will get some of the still loose and un-popped kernals down to the bottom, and will shift the already-cooked kernals so they dont burn! hope this helps

[cowscankill]

Heh, cool! Think it's possible for a microwave version?

[GRitter]

It seems to me that using the microwave would only complicate the process. I mean with the stove top version you have a pot and a bowl and about 3 minutes. I can't imagine you could save any time in the cooking and certainly not in the cleanup if you were to try to do this in the microwave. Besides, the microwave always messes with the metal plate in my head :)

[cowscankill]

Oh! Ok then, I guess there isn't a way to do it... Unless you popped plain kernals in the microwave, then melted the sugar and instantly poured and mixed with the popcorn?

[GRitter]

That's kind of my point. My process is so short and simple, as soon as you start doing things with the microwave, it just complicates it for no reason. I'm sure there are a thousand different ways you could use the microwave to make this recipe, but I can't figure out even one that makes it any quicker and easier. But if you figure something out, let me know. Thanks

[cowscankill]

Well, kettle corn seems hard, but I FOUND THE WAY OF POPCORN CARAMEL MICROWAVE!!! It is sooo AWESOME! The kernals are completely coated, and it tastes better than caramel on the stove, especially since it never gets burned :D I really am thinking about posting...

[GRitter]

If you have an easy caramel corn recipe, you should definitely post it. I have a caramel corn recipe that is much like the one right here on Instructables, but it takes about an hour to do it and, like you said, there is that chance of burning the caramel. Let me know when you post it and I will be the first to try it out.

[cowscankill]

Ok, lol. My sister keeps randomly saying "caramel popcorn" whenever I am aound her. If she likes it, you better believe it's good! She is freakin' OCD and looks skepticle at everything I show her or I want her to try. So, I guess I'll take some pictures next time I make it. I'll be sure to tell you :D

[Chikara]

psst... i havent seen a post yet! i want some caramel corn :) I dont have a stove here...

[cowscankill]

Oh, sorry! I haven't made it in a while, and I don't own cream, and I can't find the recipe... let's hope I can make this again soon.

[Chikara]

heh, just inform me when you can make it please :D

[iwitmateo]

Awesome recipe!!! I Love it!!! Quick easy and taste great... I made it with brown sugar earlier today, taste just as good, and adds a little color!!!

[wolf1234link]

OMG TASTES AWESOME I AM EATING IT AS I TYPE IT IS THE MOST DELICIOUS KETTLE CORN EVER
U ROCK U ARE LIKE GOD OF FOOD BASED INSTRUCTABLES

[maigatter420]

 Awesome recipe! I strongly recommend this method for home kettle corn making! It comes out way better than an air popper, or microwavable versions found in the supermarket. This recipe has that distinct "county fair" taste. Kudos!

[RENATO.ROSS]

aqui no brasil é comum fazermos pipocas assim!!!!!

[GRitter]

Então Brasil deve ser um grande lugar a viver!

[RENATO.ROSS]

sim,maravilhoso!!! as pessoas são amigas e temos muitas belezas naturais!!

[droepcke]

Great Instructable!!!  I have been meaning to try this for a while, so today when I saw a huge bag of Jolly-Time at Big-Lots! . . . the rest is history.  It really does taste just like at the fair. 

One thing I did was pour the corn out of the pot from about a foot-and-a-half above the bowl.  This cooled it down a bit so that it did not stick together too bad.

Thanks again for the Instructable.

[GRitter]

The method you describe for pouring / cooling the popcorn is the same as the guy at the festival uses. I don't know why I never thought of that (sometimes I can be a little thick )Thanks for the tip!

Enjoy!

[TH3 R4ND0M H3R0]

What's the point in this if you could just buy kettle corn you cook in your microwave? At least then you don't have to worry about oil splashing into your face and scarring you for life.

[GRitter]

If I could find microwave popcorn that was sweetened with sugar, I would be willing to give it a try. But  all the kettle corn I have found for the microwave is sweetened with sucralose, which has that artificial sweetener taste that I don't like because they are so ridiculously sweet.

[kfr1sby]

Because making popcorn fresh on the stove tastes so much better than the microwave stuff. It tastes fresh and clean. That's the only way I make popcorn anymore. Give it a try!

[JerryMopar]

oh gosh, home-made popcorn is the best, I refuse to eat store-bought junk anymore. Plug, being gluten intolerant, i dont know if there is any gluten from store-bought junk

[Ninzerbean]

It's probably something about wanting to put a lot of chemicals into your body or not, probably taste would be a factor also. Hot oil spatters (how would you get "splashed'?) hitting you in the face are not going to scare you for life,  an 'ible for placing a bag in the microwave wouldn't be on here right?

[galaxygee]

 My thanks also, very delish.

I just made for the first time and wonder if using "better" (read: bigger, easier popping) popcorn, like Orville Reddenbacher would be better. I just have/used crappy JollyTime and while it always somewhat sucks (perhaps in part due to my popping situation, i.e., a cast iron dutch oven on a gas stove) it was worse with the sugar because it burned more easily.

Still very yummy, though!

[Doggie Stylish]

great 'ible! i'm going to have to try to make this yummy stuff!

[sbirdranch]

I got luck and was in two places this summer where I could get it. I just finished the last and am jones'in for more already. I'm going to try this with some popcorn I grew last season. Thanks.

[GRitter]

I hope it turns out good for you. I just made a batch and ..........mmmmm........

[lfontein]

Yum, thanks for the recipe. I found this online last night. Within minutes, my boyfriend and I were shoving handfuls of kettle corn into our mouths as if we hadn't eaten in days (in fact, we'd just finished dinner). So easy and sooo good.

http://ilovegrub.blogspot.com

[GRitter]

I'm really glad you enjoyed this and thanks for the nod in your blog. I'm very honored.