Guest Author: Ariel Knapp

Good morning and happy October first! Did you know October was National Popcorn Poppin’ Month? I just found that out earlier this week when I visited this popcorn website. My family and I love popcorn! We usually have it as a snack once or twice a week. And we don’t use microwave popcorn, either. We pop it on the stove top. It’s super easy to do and you don’t have to worry about all the chemicals that get added to the microwave variety. If you’ve never popped popcorn on the stove top before here’s a quick run through of how to do it along with some topping choices that we like at my house.

First, gather the ingredients (such as they are) together:That’s it. All you need is oil and popcorn. Canola oil is a good neutral oil to use plus it’s good at high temperatures. Cover the bottom of a high sided pot with the oil and then pour in the popcorn. You want the popcorn to cover the bottom of the pan but not be overcrowded because then you get kernels that don’t pop. Cover the pot and apply medium high heat like so:At the same time, put a small amount of butter in another pot over low heat so it will melt and you can pour it over your popcorn.Pretty soon, your popcorn kernels will start popping. Turn off the heat when the time between popping sounds is about 3 seconds or so long.

This is what happens when you overfill the pot with kernels. But it’s ok because the more popcorn the better if you ask me. When the popcorn has stopped popping, transfer it to a large container and pour the melted butter all over it.

Most of the time, I eat my popcorn without butter but with plenty of salt and pepper. But other times we’ve put parmesan cheese on it, Italian seasoning or even these handy little seasonings.The most important thing when having popcorn? Making sure you have a friend to share it with.If you haven’t tried making popcorn at home before I hope you try it out soon. It’s a lot of fun to experiment with different flavors and toppings!