My father-in-law handles making movie marathon popcorn. My popcorn making skills start and end with the use of a microwave. He used some kind of apparatus to pop it on the stovetop, but I never paid close attention to how he was doing it. I’ve since learned that he was using a whirley popper, and that whirley poppers are regarded as one of the best ways to produce movie-theater quality popcorn at home. This sounded like a promising area of movie marathon research. What would a movie marathon be without quality popcorn.
Basic instructions are not hard to find. An instructional video is available on YouTube and the Whirley-Pop makers have some written instructions. It looks pretty easy! I’m impressed at how fast it is too. I want to try it myself, so I put in an order whirley pop popcorn kit.
I’ll let you know how it goes!
UPDATE: 25 March 2017
Thanks to Andy for his detailed comments about his home popcorn-popping experience! I did indeed purchase the whirley pop, and I had all the supplies I could want from my local popcorn supply store. Costco also sells large quantities of popcorn kernels. My use of the whirley pop has had its highs and lows:
High point: I used the whirley pop and a portable single-burner stovetop to mass-produce popcorn for about 30 people at my office as a fun get-together for my project team. The popcorn was popular and it was easy to make. Note: I paid less than half of what the linked model is currently going for – shop around!).
Low point: I like salt. No, I really like salt. I found over time that I tended to use too much. Maybe not too much for me, but too much for other normal human beings like my wife. I’m not much of a natural chef, so I don’t think I took full advantage of experimenting with different mixtures of seasonings. Eventually laziness took over, and Amazon Dash gets me a crate of popcorn with a press of a button.
So, for better or worse, my whirley popping days are now dormant. Perhaps someday I’ll back to the mad science of making the perfect movie marathon popcorn.
Well, how did your adventures in whirly popping go?
I just picked one up (after eating several helpings of popcorn at your movie marathon) and haven’t stopped popping since. I’ve been using Pop Secret kernels (0.5 cup) and coconut oil (2 tbsp) from Meijer and Flavacol (0.5 tsp) from Amazon. I’m pretty pleased with the result.
I used to pop corn on the stove using a 3.5 qt. sauce pan, canola oil, and would sprinkle salt on when done. Lame!
-The thin aluminum of the whirly pop helps the oil and kernels get hot faster. The stirring mechanism ensures even heating of oil and kernels and distribution of Flavacol. I notice fluffier popcorn and very few (4-5) un-popped kernels.
-The Flavacol gives an even, salty/buttery flavor. From what I’ve read, Flavacol is the “secret sauce” in movie theatre popcorn.
-I think the difference from the coconut oil is more subtle. If you’re mindful of saturated fat I think you can skip it. I’m going to investigate coconut oil with butter flavoring and color to see if that gets me closer to movie theatre popcorn-nirvana.