Popcorn (Various Brands) Review

Would you like your fiber in a liquid remedy?  Or would you rather have some freshly-popped popcorn?

My six-star favorite would be the salty, buttered popcorn Dad kettle-cooked for Mom and me when we watched I Love Lucy in the fifties.  Oh, the aroma floating down the stairs to the familyroom. . .  Another six-star would be the dishpan full of cooled but crisp "corn" that awaited me in Grandma's sewing room when I visited.  We knew nothing from real butter and salt in those days, and it was heaven!

Now, I'm appreciative of the health benefits -- no trans fat, low salt, zero cholesterol, plenty of fiber, and whole grain goodness.  Popcorn if not "abused" fits the bill for all but children under four (a choking danger according to the American Academy of Pediatrics) and for those folks whose large intestine disdains the roughage popcorn represents.

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My current favorite?  A quick-and-easy, of course -- Orville Redenbacher's 94% Fat-free SmartPop! Kettle Korn.  I've just placed another 12-box (36 packs) order with Amazon.  This particular Redenbacher variety now boasts 30% lower salt than my last order and remains "sweet" enough to satisfy my obsessive "tooth".   Redenbacher corn has another health advantage.  It doesn't use diacetyl in its recipe.  Diacetyl adds (artificial) butter flavor to processed popcorns.  Respiratory difficulty is said to be a side effect.

Orville Redenbacher began selling popcorn grown on his family's farm when he was just an innocent Indiana lad.  Later, he and his business partner, Charlie Bowman, tested more than 40,000 hybrid varieties before settling on their favorite and selling it (originally) under the RedBow name.  Today the bulk (hmm) of our popcorn is still grown in Indiana along with Nebraska and, increasingly, Texas.  The "discovery" of Native Americans hundreds and hundreds of years ago, popcorn is truly a national food.

Orville's 94% Fat-free SmartPop! Kettle Korn cooks up in about two minutes and 15 seconds in our microwave.  Getting the nuking formula down can be a pain because the Kettle Korn varieties seem especially prone to burning.  I've read about people who nuke their Korn on slightly less than "High".  Other folks nuke a couple of cups of water for a minute or so then remove the water and do the Korn.  Whatever it takes!

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National Popcorn Month falls in October, but it's the winter holidays that tempt the best of us with gourmet brands such as Harry and David's varieties of Moose Munch.  The chocoholic in me thinks that H and D's Popcorn Fudge might be good for starters.

A more highly-specialized number of popcorn treats unfold at www.PopcornPalace.com.  This Chicago-based company's products come recommended by The Chicago Tribune as "the most awesome snack".  You can customize your popcorn gifts in tins ranging from one gallon to six-and-a-half gallons.  For the gallon size, choose from two popcorns; for the larger tins, pick up to three varieties.

A photo of the Popcorn Palace's Double Chocolate is to the right.  But don't stop there!  At this moment, the 33 Popcorn Palace selections include Air Popped (for dietary saints), Jalapeno, Chicago Style (caramel/cheddar mix), Cinnamon, Lemon, Cookies and Cream, Peanut Butter Drizzle, Grape, Tangerine, and Strawberries and Cream, to name just a few.

If we must add calories, fat and salt on special occasions, let's do it in style with a creative vendor.  The world's least creative and unhealthiest popcorn?  Movie theater popcorn.  According to experts from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the basic oil usually used at theaters is the less-than-healthy coconut.  If you want the fat equivalent of three Big Macs, order a small popcorn at a theater in the immense Regal Cinema Group chain.

So it is, that husband Pal, the pooches and I are ready for the chilly winter evenings that say "popcorn"... in a Redenbacher sorta way.

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MORE POPCORN FACTS and TRIVIA

• Kernels come in two shapes (see title photo).  The "mushroom" shape (left) packs well but lacks the fluffy tenderness of the "butterfly" shape (right).
• Three and a half oz. of Air Popped corn has 78 g Carbs, 15 g Dietary Fiber, 4 g Fat, 12 g Protein and Thiamine (Vit. B1), Riboflavin (Vit. B2) and Iron.
• One cup of popcorn is eight ounces.
• At the popping point, corn has a pressure of about 135 pounds per square inch.
• "Old Maids" are non-popped kernels with leaky hulls.
• The Popcorn Board can be accessed at www.popcorn.org.
• Pop corn was exceedling cheap during the Great Depression and extremely popular during World War II when sugar was rationed.
• The Cracker Jack brand of caramel corn first appeared in 1896.
• Popcorn has no calories at all when you string it for the Christmas tree.