Kettle corn is a guilty pleasure that I was introduced to here in the USA. It was brought here by Dutche settlers in Pennsylvania in the 18th century and was a treat sold at fairs and other festive occasions. Traditionally the corn, oil, sugar and salt are cooked together in a cast iron kettle which produces a thick and sweet caramel crust on the outside of the popped corn. It is a little tricky to make because it can burn easily, so once you put the pot on the stove, don’t walk away!
Most companies who make this use the mushroom type corn which gives that perfect ball shape to the popped corn and you can find this type of popcorn in the store these days so that you can make it at home.
I had found a great recipe for kettle corn a while ago on a blog called Baking 4 Six. I really enjoy it every time that I make it and have always had great results with the recipe. You may choose to make a simple, straightforward version of the kettle corn, or you can drizzle it with white and dark chocolate like Dianne did and make a moose munch mix with it.
Today I wanted to make some red, white and blue popcorn for us to enjoy while watching the fireworks. When I went to look for my food coloring, I realized I did not have any red or blue food coloring…that almost put a damper on my Holiday treat but I had a trick up my sleeve…
Most people will tell you that you can’t make a red color because it is considered a primary color…but thanks to my color wheel, it turned out just fine. My art classes taught me that in order to make a particular color, find the colors on either side of the color you want to create on the color wheel, and combine the two until you achieve the shade you want. In this case, the red required a deep mauve and a light orange, with the orange being the key color which made it more or less red.
What do you think? I think it turned out great! I did the same with the dark blue that I needed…the two colors I needed to combine here was the same deep mauve and a light blue, with the light blue being the color which made it more of a navy blue. If you don’t want to use any color, that’s ok too. My goal was to make it a little festive for the occasion, but it’s definitely not necessary.
You can also add flavoring if you like. I had a bottle of strawberry oil which I added to the red popcorn but that is optional.These are so delicious and super easy to make for the kids or just about any function requiring a quick snack…once you make this you will never buy it at the store again.
Kettle Corn
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
¼ cup popcorn kernels
¼ to ½ teaspoon salt **optional
¼ to ½ teaspoon food coloring **optional
Use a little pan spray on the entire inside of the pot you will be using. Then add the oil to the pot and use a clear lid for the pot if you have one. This way you can see the popcorn popping instead of just hearing it. Place the pot on moderate heat until the oil begins to sizzle. At this point add the popcorn and the sugar and stir into the oil with a wooden spoon, cover quickly because the popcorn will start popping quickly. Place the pot onto the heat and shake over the hot plate until the popcorn begins to pop. Shake and toss the popcorn on and off the heat until all of the popcorn has popped. When ready pour this out into a large bowl, add some salt, toss and allow this to cool completely.
This will be the white color, now repeat the same procedure for the other two colors. When making colored popcorn, the color goes in with the popcorn.
Just make sure to stir it well when you add everything together so that the color is uniform for the whole batch. Once the popcorn is ready, add it to the same large bowl and toss with the other colors. Don’t forget to add a little more salt each time while the popcorn is still warm. It cools fairly quickly, and you will notice that the melted sugar has created a shiny glaze on the surface…this is what makes kettle corn so delicious! Combine all of the colors together and enjoy!
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