Oh yes Orville's is worth the price in my book. You have very few kernels that are not popped. Enjoy.
Mary

I have not done it that way in a long time. But I was just reading one of the reviews of the new presto kettle cooker I was given for Christmas, it was for making kettle corn in it. I never would have thought of that but now I want to go buy some popcorn to try it. I know they have several different brands at the grocery store, I will have to check that out.
How do you store your popcorn? I know I keep my rice in the freezer maybe that would help keep the popcorn fresh too.

Do you have a health food store? That's where I buy mine. They sell it in bulk, so you can scoop out only as much as you need. I buy yellow usually, and sometimes white or naturally multi-colored. It's not very expensive--even the organic varieties.

We buy ours at Costco or Sam's.

I currently have the popcorn I bought from DGS for Boy Scouts. If I buy it from the store,I usually buy Jolly Time. It's not as expensive as Orville's and I like it just as well, if not better. I pop mine on the stove top. I have a small sauce pan with lid. Maybe quart size? I take an eating teaspoon and scoop out some butter flavored crisco, maybe a little heaping, but not filling the spoon back by the handle, if that makes sense. Drop that in the pan and let it melt. Throw in 3 kernals of corn and put the lid on. When those 3 pop, then I fill just the bottom of the pan with kernals. Wait until there are about 5 seconds between pops, then pour in bowl, salt and butter to taste.

Raven I've stored the kernels in the frig as recommended online. No difference, so I just keep my kernels in a mason jar in the cupboard.

Tami, I'll try your method of putting the rest in the pot once the first few have popped.

Luann, what brand do you buy at Costco? How do you keep a large amount like that fresh?

I can't eat popcorn, but we have a hot air popper. DH loves caramel corn and he always uses it to make the popcorn for his c/c recipe. Just sent two bags to my brother as a gag gift, actually.

"Luann, what brand do you buy at Costco? How do you keep a large amount like that fresh?"

Whatever they carry... we aren't picky.
The kernels are kept in a Tupperware cereal container with a pouring lid.

I have always done it the way Tami does, a few in then when those pop add the rest and cover.
I totally forgot to buy it when I was just at Walmart dang it.

I am a popcorn snob....and I eat lots of it! lol
I only buy mine at a farmer's market, grown locally. I only use the stove top method, but I dump it all in at once. Never microwave popcorn in this house!

I buy American's Best by Jolly Time and pop on stove top. I've tried Orville'sâ¦â¦don't like it and certainly don't think it's worth the price. I just bought a bag at Trader Joe's but don't know what it's like yet.

I give up. I lost the website a friend of mine gave me, for FABULOUS popping corn.

Anyone have a good website for outstanding pop corn?

I also buy American's Best and do it on the top of the stove.

I buy O Redenbacker's always. Kernels pop big and there are few old maids. I use a hot air popper, and then toss the popped corn with lots of butter and popcorn salt.

Sheilajoyce and others: Is there a difference between "popcorn salt" and regular table salt (or sea salt, which I have in a grinder)?

I buy Tiny but Mighty Non GMO popcorn.
We pop in coconut oil on the stove top. Then add real butter and Celtic Sea Salt.

We love it. I just read reviews on Amazon, doesn't seem to work in air poppers because it's so tiny.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tiny but Mighty

Pammy, yes there is. It is a very finely ground salt, and so it sticks to the popcorn more easily. You can buy popcorn salt at the store.

I am still using up the round box of popcorn salt that a student gave me for home use in the late 1960s. He told me he worked at the popcorn stand at football games and that they were going to discontinue selling popcorn. I asked to buy a box of popcorn salt as I did not know where else to find it. Since they were closing it down, he gave me a box. It has moved with me to New York, California, Illinois, and back to California, and there is still plenty of popcorn salt in the pour box.

After I have opened a bag or popping corn, I store the remainder in a tupper-ware container with a snap-on lid. My secret: I add a tiny bit of water to the contents before sealing the lid.

In order for corn to pop well. it must have a proper moisture content. If it is too dry, it may burn before popping. After a sealed plastic bag of corn is opened, it begins to adjust its moisture content depending on atmospheric conditions. In summer with high humidity, it will likely stay at a desirable moisture content, but in winter inside most homes, it will loose moisture.

As for your question about OR popcorn, yes, I feel that it is definitely worth the price. I have had better popcorn (purchased online), but OR is the best I have found in a regular grocery store. My issue with others lately has been that they don't pop up crunchy, but seem to be spongy. So after I pop the corn, I end up putting it on a cookie sheet and popping it in the oven for a few minutes. IMO, that is a lot of work for a bowl of popcorn.

I know that that is a bit of moisture inside each unpopped kernel and heating to a certain point is what makes it pop, but I never thought about replacing the moisture in older popcorn that may have dried out. Thanks for that tip!

Okay guys, halfway through this thread, I just had to pop some popcorn...it's a cold snowy day...and I don't care if it "spoils" my supper, which is homemade beef stew that is on the stove.

Donna, what you described is exactly how our popcorn is. When popped, it tastes spongy instead of light and crunchy. I thought it was from putting too much butter on it, but that's not it.

Jemdandy, I've read to keep popcorn in the frig once opened. Perhaps it's because of the moisture content needed. I've done both, and hadn't noticed a difference in the texture of the popcorn, even keeping it in the frig. I'll do it again though. I keep my popcorn in a glass jar, maybe I need to add a sprinkle of water.

LOL Monica, glad you made yourself some popcorn.

I have a plastic bowl with a plastic lid that is made for popping corn in the microwave. DH does the popping, I think it takes about 1-2 T of oil,1/3 C popcorn, 1/2 t. salt, taste like it was mas popped on top of the stove.

I am sorry I can not remember the name of the popper

Sidnee

Well, I've been doing some online research to find out if maybe I'm doing something wrong to end up with spongy popcorn. Of course, for every tip I find, there is an opposite tip (too much heat v. too little heat, etc.). But I did try popping at a lower temp in my heavy aluminum Dutch Oven (older than I am) and found that the popcorn WAS crunchier than when I popped at a higher temp. I was happy that I didn't have to crisp it in the oven, LOL.

We use the Stir-Crazy.

It uses very little oil and we end up with extremely few 'old maids'.

If by spongy you mean soggy, that's from too much moisture. Try leaving the lid a bit cockeyed on the pot so that the steam can escape, or pull it off for an instant a few times while the corn is popping. When the popping is done, take the finished popcorn immediately out of the pot, the steam and residual oil in a covered pot can also make it a bit soggy.

sidnee, it's up to you, but there are consistent cautions about not allowing plastic to be in contact with food in a microwave. Bad chemicals leach from the plastic into the food at the high temps that result, especially if you're heating oil in a plastic bowl. Yikes.

Ok, sounds like I am doing lots wrong, but I seem to get great popcorn. I use Jollytime, store it in a glass sealer, no added moisture, and our climate is very, very dry, and I use an air popper. Light and airy, very few old maids. Occasionally, if the kernels are getting old, I will get more old maids, but popcorn kernels don't often have a chance to get old around here.

I will not have microwave popcorn around. Hate the artificial taste of the "butter". I have purchased OR, found absolutely no difference in taste or popping. For the difference in price, I'll stay with Jollytime.

I do like to "mix it up" with seasonings. Our local butcher carries some really unique blends of rubs and seasonings for meat that I will sprinkle on my popcorn. The Asian one he does is my fave!

I just had to come back and update.

I got gifted a Stir-Crazy West Bend electic corn popper from Freecycle. I asked for an air-popper, but got this one instead. From what I've read air-popped popcorn tastes like styrofoam anyway. Some vegetable oil in the base, throw in the kernels and the little mechanical arm goes around and around and they pop perfectly. No unpopped old maids. I'm thrilled.

A little history about the West Bend Company.
http://westbend.com/about-us-recipes/about-us.html

This company is located in West Bend, WI (on the west bend of the Milwaukee River). Its about 40 miles north of my house. When I first arrived to this area in 1960, two other manufacturers were located there: Aminity Leather and a Pots and Pans maker. The leather goods co. and the pots and pan maker are gone. I do not know how much of the West Bend Co's manufacture is left in town, however, the company headquarters are still there.

At one time, I had a stir popper. My recollection was that it did a good job but was slow compared to my old fashioned method of a deep pot over a gas burner. When in college, a stir popper was a great accessory in a dorm room. The only downside was that the smell could linger for days. Of course, there is a little skill and practice involved with the pot and burner method. Many years before this back on the farm, we used a thick walled skillet on a wood cook stove. We had to remove a stove lid to expose the skillet to the fire to get enough temperature. Temperature control was iffy. If the bacon fat began to smoke, it was getting too hot. We grew our pop corn.

I've tried a number of different popping corns. I found that Orvile Redenbaker (sp) was good, but not worth the extra price. Most of the time, I use a yellow pop corn by "Jolly Time" that is available in the local grocery stores. It comes in a resealable plastic bag and pops as well as any. I have used the brand sold by the Boy Scouts and that is good also.

We bought some popcorn kernals last week, the strore didn't have Orvile Reddenbacher - DH popped some yesterday, and had a fit - the popped corn was smaller and not as tasty.

Absolutely OR popping corn kernels. Our Publix has it buy one get one free pretty frequently. For us -I buy 6 jars whenever it is on sale and it holds me until the next sale. BJ's sells a big jug of the OR seeds-Sam's and Costco do not. The OR is a a better price at Walmart then the supermarkets, We use a Whirley Pop hand crank popper on the stove. Actually we have 2. Spongy popcorn is definitely user error. Probably the pot isn't hot enough. Tami's way is correct. Let the oil or Crisco in her case, get hot and judge that by tossing 3 seeds in. When they pop, immediately dump your popcorn in and keep it moving until they are all popped. The reason we have 2 poppers-there are 5 of us and we need 2 to make 2 batches. Its just not come out right by using the same hot popper right away. Maybe it has to do with the humidity inside the pan-I have no clue. We use Amish Country Popcorn salt. We by it either online, or in a big orchard gift shop when we are in GA. We buy the white and the yellow ballpark salt.

I always made popcorn on top of the stove in one of my Mom's old Wearever pots. Then when I got my new stove with the glass top I was afraid to use the pot even though it is flat bottomed because I wouldn't be able to shake it along the burner in case I scratched it. I don't like prepackaged microwave popcorn so I tried making popcorn in a paper bag but it always caught fire no matter how many times I tried it. I love caramel corn and cheese corn and sometimes buy it already popped at Kernels if I go to the mall but find it very expensive. When I go to Costco I pick up a bag of the Chicago Popcorn - cheese and caramel mixed - mmm. Does anyone use their flat top stove to make popcorn?

Anne

I would be happy to make it on the stove, only the kernels are so small. Who has the biggest kernels? Is Orville bigger?

The best popcorn in my town comes from the bulk food section of the Food Co-op. It is organic and is always fresh. We use a bowl designed for popping in the microwave - you CAN use a little oil, but it is not necessary, so I don't. We also store it in an airtight container. If we accidentally over buy, we seal a meal it.

Yes, Orville popcorn is bigger when it pops compared to other kinds I have used.

Wow! I just purchased 16 pounds of medium white Amish Country popcorn at WalMart (online) for $18.49 with $4.97 shipping. I would have paid more than $30 at the Amish Country Website and their shipping was higher as well. I often look at popcorn kernels online that are different than what I can buy locally, but by the time you add shipping it seems like a lot to pay for popcorn. This was such a deal that I couldn't pass it up.

We used to always use Orville. It was the only thing I would buy. My EX swore by it, he would pop a huge bowl almost every night. It's way better than anything else that we ever bought.

Cherryfizz, I use a Reverware, (I think that's what we got for a shower gift 33 years ago!) sauce pan, smallest size I have. I put a small spoon of butter flavor Crisco in it with 3 kernels, cover, and wait for those 3 kernels to pop, then add enough kernels to cover the bottom. I lift it off of the burner, shake once or twice to make sure the kernels are coated with the melted shortening, and set it back on the burner. I do not shake it across the burner. I leave it set there. If you do that you will be ok on the glass cook top.

Just had to chime in here (I used to post on here years ago, not a lot though)

I have a Whirley Pop and LOVE it. It's a stove top popper. It makes the best pop corn. The BEST oil for popping corn in is coconut oil. It makes my kitchen smell like a movie theater when I pop popcorn. I prefer using white popcorn as it doesn't get tough like yellow.