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Why would you want to do popcorn this way, when you could just toss a packet of commercial popcorn into the microwave?

I’ll give you five reasons.

1) It’s cheaper this way
2) It’s way less wasteful
3) It’s just as easy
4) It’s way cheaper
5) Because commercial microwave popcorn is coated in so many gross chemicals, it actually gave a guy cancer from eating it every day!

Okay, it’s easy, look. Here’s what you need:
A medium pot with a lid, vegetable oil (not olive oil, it’ll scorch), and popcorn. That’s it. You can even buy the popcorn at the grocery store, usually on the top shelf with the microwave popcorn. But I like to buy it loose in a bag from a “healthy” grocery store, like Earth Fare is where I get mine.

There is no Detailed/Quick version to this one; it’s just easy!

First, pour a little lake of oil into the pot. While cold, it should cover about a quarter of the bottom of the pan just as you pour it out. Set the pan on a small burner and turn it to about medium high-ish. Put three kernels into the oil; they’re your canaries. When they all three pop, you know the oil is hot enough. Put the lid on.

Before the canaries pop, (*paff!*) grab about a handful of corn per person you’re serving, and put it on a plate or in a bowl or something so it’s easy to dump in when the oil is hot enough.

Once the popcorn is in the oil, swirl it good to coat all the kernels, and put the lid on at an angle, leaving a little gap for steam to escape.

Now, just wait for it to pop! Same as microwave, you know it’s done when it slows way down. Don’t let it burn!

Try it a few times, you’ll get a feel for stove temp, amount of corn to put in, how long to leave it on the stove.

Carefully dump the popcorn out, and give it a shake of salt, or butter powder, or melted butter, or cinnamon and sugar…. maybe some chili powder? Anybody got unusual popcorn toppings?

Enjoy your healthy, cheap popcorn!