Movie Theater Style Popcorn Update

We still love making popcorn in our house, and with five people, three of which are growing young boys, I love using my popcorn maker for larger batches (as opposed to just a single bag of microwave popcorn). While the microwave stuff still has a place in our house (mom's afternoon snack, or share a bag with my hubby on "grown-up movie night"), I really need to use the popper for the entire family.

When my last jar of the expensive Real Theater Popcorn Popping Oil was gone, I got tempted to try something a bit less costly. I never did try the Act II popping oil from Sam's... and living far enough away from my nearest local club that it's not easy to just pop in for oil... ("pop in"... ha, ha! I am so funny.)... I tried something new that I could find on Amazon; Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil, 1 Gallon. With 591 reviews at a 4+ star rating, I thought why not?! A gallon is a bit much, but I read how one person portions theirs out and freezes it, so that was my plan.

And we LOVE it! After portioning it out to freeze, I also discovered that I am getting twice as much for almost exactly the same price as the more expensive stuff. Score! I have pulled one batch of oil out of the freezer, and so far I notice no difference in taste and quality compare to the oil that hadn't previously been frozen, so it's a great way to keep your oil fresher longer. Let's face it... a gallon of oil being used at 3 Tbl. a batch will go rancid before you can use it all if you only use it a couple times a month or less.

I don't know if our taste buds have changed, or this oil is just a touch different, but I had to adjust our recipe slightly. Plus, I have found that I get a much more even coating of salt if I add it to the popper directly, instead of trying to sprinkle it on the popcorn after it's cooked. Because some of the salt stays stuck on the bottom of the popper, we had to up to 1/2 a tablespoon. So, if you want the true "Stokes experience", here is the recipe we follow when using this new Snappy Poporn Oil.

Marsha's Homemade Movie Theater Style Popcorn

Update: Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
3 Tbl. Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil
1/2 Tbsp. Gold Medal Flavacol Seasoning Popcorn Salt 

Place oil, salt, and corn in popper. Pop and enjoy!

Tip: Fresh popcorn kernels make such a huge difference, and I get a bigger fluffier batch when I use Orville Redenbacher compared to almost any other brand... but I sometimes go with the cheap stuff too.