Stove-top Popcorn

John and I never eat microwave popcorn anymore. It's full of awful junk. Too salty. Sometimes soggy. And perfluorooctanoic acid, found in the bag material, is the exact opposite of good for you.

Popcorn by itself, however, is very good for you. It's a whole grain food and low in calories. Unless you coat it in butter, sugar, and salt.

Making popcorn on the stove is easy, and a throw back to another era. Jiffy Pop, anyone? (I don't know if Jiffy Pop is better for you, but my gut instinct says yes. Not better for you than fresh off the stove, however!) It's also cheap - buying a big bag of kernels is much less expensive than a box of microwave popcorn in bags.

And best of all, you can control the ingredients, from how much butter and salt, to dark chocolate flakes and cayenne pepper. Your imagination is the limit!

Here's what you'll need:

3 TBS canola oil (I also use coconut)
1/3 to 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels

Pour oil into a large dutch over, set to medium high. Drop a few kernels in. When they pop, briefly remove from heat and drop the rest in.
After about 30 seconds, place dutch oven back on burner. Cover mostly, but be sure to leave a gap so steam can escape. Otherwise, popcorn will be soggy.
Shake occasionally during cooking process, to prevent burning. Once popping almost ceases, remove from heat. Add salt, pepper, whatever. Dump into HUGE bowl, and eat!