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When popping corn on the stove, using the right oil can mean the difference between a burnt mess and a generous yield of puffy popcorn. The secret: It's best to cook the kernels in a fat with a high smoke point, and to save the butter and olive oil for dressing the popped corn.
Refined peanut oil is freia's top choice: "I found [that] when I started using peanut oil, waaay more popcorn kernels got popped because you could get to popping temperature and hold it there longer before the oil started to smoke/burn."
Several hounds favor coconut oil for this task. sandylc says that even though it's "fairly expensive," it has a pretty high smoke point and "does a great job." And Becca Porter says she loves the flavor that it adds.
Grapeseed oil works, too. EWSflash says it serves as a flavorless base, to which butter and then the popcorn kernels can be added. The butter then "doesn't burn during the popping cycle," EWSflash notes.
As for which popcorn is best, monavano recommends Orville Redenbacher's because it yields a greater percentage of popped corn to unpopped kernels. The output is "[b]ig and fluffy, too," monavano says.
My grandfather used to grow popcorn and peanuts on his farm so we always had a good supply of both. My mother would take a large, tall, heavy pot (I would now call it a stockpot) and cover the bottom with about 1/4" of corn oil and put in 3 corn kernels. When those 3 kernels popped, she would pour in about 1/2 cup of corn and a handful of the raw peanuts and cover. Then you had to shake the...+READ
My grandfather used to grow popcorn and peanuts on his farm so we always had a good supply of both. My mother would take a large, tall, heavy pot (I would now call it a stockpot) and cover the bottom with about 1/4" of corn oil and put in 3 corn kernels. When those 3 kernels popped, she would pour in about 1/2 cup of corn and a handful of the raw peanuts and cover. Then you had to shake the daylights out of the pot until the popping stopped for about 5 seconds. Then dump it into a large bowl and add salt. My mom also taught me that if you accidentally burned it a bit, those burned pieces of popcorn were absolutely delicious.-COLLAPSE
Our household only uses Orville Redenbacher, the best choice on the supermarket shelves. That's the first step. Next, what we've found makes all the difference is the pot. We use a TAPERED three-ply (stainless with aluminum core) pot with a lid that is NOT tight-fitting. Something about the popped corn pushing upwards, leaving space at the bottom for un-popped corn, if one pays attention to Alton...+READ
Our household only uses Orville Redenbacher, the best choice on the supermarket shelves. That's the first step. Next, what we've found makes all the difference is the pot. We use a TAPERED three-ply (stainless with aluminum core) pot with a lid that is NOT tight-fitting. Something about the popped corn pushing upwards, leaving space at the bottom for un-popped corn, if one pays attention to Alton Brown. Thin pots, straight-sided pots, anondized aluminum, non-stick, woks, none of them will produce the same quality result as a heavy, tapered pot. Third? Plain corn oil or to infuse a light butter taste without adding butter? Ghee (clarified butter). A layer of oil coating the bottom of the pan over medium-high heat, add corn covering the bottom of the pan, shake occasionally until the popping slows dramatically, turn off the heat, empty into bowl, flavor at will. No complaints about the popcorn at our house. -- Enjoy!-COLLAPSE