Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn (with Bonus “Fat Americano” Recipe)
I’ve recently fallen down the popcorn rabbit hole—more precisely, the spherical popcorn rabbit hole! How can you get more spherical popcorn? Can you use butter as the oil? To what stage should you cook the caramel so it adheres easily to the popcorn? I’ve been experimenting over and over with these questions. About the relationship between the type of oil, oil temperature, and spherical popcorn: I tried half corn oil and half butter, and also using only corn oil. I found that the batch made with some butter had tiny black burnt bits, while the batch made with pure corn oil didn’t. The reason is that butter has a smoke point of 121–149℃, while refined corn oil’s smoke point is around 232℃, and the oil temperature needed for spherical popcorn is between 185–210℃. So lower–smoke-point butter tends to smoke and burn first. The method the seller included with the spherical popcorn kernels was to start with a cold pan: add the oil and kernels together, then turn on high heat and stir the kernels as they heat up. This does work, but it increases the proportion of butterfly-shaped popcorn. Butterfly popcorn pops at 165–185℃. If you heat the kernels together with the oil, they start popping once the temperature hits 165–185℃, but since the oil still hasn’t reached the temperature for spherical popcorn, a portion of the batch will be butterfly-shaped. To increase the spherical popping rate, first heat the oil to the spherical-popping temperature, then add the kernels. As for how far to cook the caramel, my method here is designed for beginners who have trouble judging the degree of caramelization. The lighter the color of the caramel, the higher the perceived sweetness, and vice versa. If you’re worried about overcooking the caramel and making it bitter, you can add the butter once the sugar turns a golden yellow. When you pour the syrup over the popcorn, keep the stove on low heat and toss the popcorn as you gently heat it. This has two benefits: first, the heat in the pan delays the caramel from setting, helping it coat the popcorn more evenly; second, the caramel continues to caramelize slowly as you heat it, so you can decide exactly how dark you want it. That way you don’t overshoot and end up with bitter caramel right from the start.
Ingredients
Steps
Heat the corn oil to 200–210℃, then add the spherical popcorn kernels. Shake the pot so the kernels are evenly coated with oil, and heat over medium-high heat;
When 2–3 kernels start to pop, put the lid on. Don’t rush to shake the pot yet; wait about 5–10 seconds and let the kernels pop a bit;
Then, every 5–10 seconds, gently shake the pot so the kernels heat evenly and to prevent the popcorn from burning;
When the popping sound gradually slows and then stops, turn the heat down low and remove the lid. Use a spatula to toss the popcorn to let the steam escape, then turn off the heat;
Transfer the popcorn to another skillet and keep it warm;
Start making the sea salt caramel sauce: add the caster sugar, water, and sea salt to a pot and cook over low–medium heat until it turns golden yellow, then add the butter and lower the heat. As soon as the butter is fully melted, pour the caramel over the popcorn. If you like a stronger caramel flavor, cook the sugar a bit darker before adding the butter. Since sea salt is less salty than table salt, if you use table salt, reduce the amount by half. If you skip the salt, this becomes a regular caramel sauce;
Once the caramel sauce is poured over the popcorn, immediately use a spatula to toss and coat it evenly. Because there’s salt in the caramel, the sugar amount is on the higher side; if you don’t like things too sweet, you can reduce the sugar, or increase the salt slightly—adjust to your own taste;
While tossing the popcorn, you can keep the heat on low and stir as you warm it. Earlier we kept the caramel color fairly light so that during this heating and tossing stage, the caramel isn’t too thick and can coat the popcorn more evenly. For beginners, this also gives some leeway: as you heat and toss, the caramel will gradually darken. When it reaches the color you want, turn off the heat;
While the popcorn is still warm and the caramel hasn’t fully set, quickly separate the popcorn to prevent it from clumping together. Warm popcorn won’t be very crispy yet; once it cools completely, it will become crunchy. If you can’t finish it all at once, store it in an airtight container to prevent it from absorbing moisture and losing its crispness;
Add 130g ice cubes to a cup, then pour in 160ml cola;
Finally, pour in 1 shot of espresso and your “Fat Americano” is ready. If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can substitute with 2g instant black coffee dissolved in 30g hot water.