I'm married to a corn-fed Hoosier. He likes corn in whatever form: polenta, tortilla chips, on the cob, and especially popped. He has always looked down his nose at microwave popcorn, with good reason as it turns out.¹ Then there's my healthy Luddite streak as well as my frugality. So when we want popcorn, we pop it in oil on the stovetop, then douse it with a hefty helping of butter; sometimes garlic butter, sometimes ancho-garlic butter, sometimes butter with a little micro-grated parmesan cheese added in. We pop up, on average, two bowls per week. Arrowhead Mills brand Organic Popcorn is our preferred popcorn.

Arrowhead Mills sells their yellow popcorn in fairly generous bags of 28 oz. by weight. The bags are not vacuum packed, but they are air-tight plastic, which helps keep the moisture level steady. Popcorn kernels that dry out too much won't pop properly. So you should plan to keep your popcorn in an air-tight container once you open the bag. We find that clamp-lid storage jars do the trick nicely.

We've sampled a fair section of the popcorn field, and we can say that the corn Arrowhead Mills will tend to please most people who enjoy popcorn. After popcorn is popped, each individual piece is called a flake. The Arrowhead Mills kernels produce nicely sized flakes when they pop. When oil-popped, the flakes have a nice delicate texture and a distinct taste of corn, without the sugary overtones of some types of popcorn I've sampled. There are plenty of pieces of hull mixed in with the Arrowhead Mills flakes after popping. We've tried the kind of popcorn that yields "hull-less" flakes. Though it delivers on its claims of no detectable hulls, we thought the popped flakes were very small, and the flavor wasn't as robust as the regular old yellow popcorn. If you have any restrictions about seeds or popcorn hulls in your diet, you'll need to give as a wide berth to Arrowhead Mills popcorn as to any other. Even without dietary restrictions, flossing will be in order.

For anyone trying to trim a food budget, prepared snack foods are anathema. Pound for pound, they are among the most expensive foods you can buy. Microwave popcorn is certainly no exception to this rule. The irony is that plain old popcorn is usually a pretty good deal, even if you shell out for an organic brand, such as Arrowhead Mills. As of this writing, you can get a bag of this popcorn for $1.74, exclusive of shipping, via a link right here at epinions. That works out to just under $1/pound. Compare that to the price for one of the lesser (and cheaper) brands of microwave popcorn here at epinions, offered at $17 for a pack of twenty-four 3.5 oz. bags, again exclusive of shipping. That comes to $3.24/pound, or more than three times as expensive as the bag of Arrowhead Mills popcorn. And remember that we're comparing organic to non-organic, and small quantity to bulk pricing here. By any standard, Arrowhead Mills Popcorn is a relative bargain, even if you pay for a little oil to pop it with and butter to season it with.

I can hear you saying, "Yes, Lyagushka, but what about the convenience I'll get with that microwave popcorn? I can't get popcorn to turn out that well on my stovetop." I'm so glad you asked. Oil-popped popcorn seems to be a lost art to many. But there's no arcane lore here. The secret to perfect oil-popped popcorn is really very simple: pop your popcorn over medium heat and your flakes will be fluffy, tender, and not burnt. Using anything above medium heat toughens the flakes, makes them smaller, and increases the risk of scorching. Just preheat vegetable in oil a normal saucepan over medium heat for a good two minutes before adding the kernels. When you put them in, give the pan a swirl to coat the popcorn well, and put the lid on. You won't hear any popping for at least one minute, possibly two. Shake the pan once or twice as it pops. When the popping has slowed enough that you can count to three between pops, pull the pan off the heat and dump your flakes into a big bowl. Season with salt, butter, or whatever you prefer, and dig in.

To be perfectly honest, I have found that with this method of popping I can get excellent results from just about any widely marketed popcorn. I'm not going to tell you that Arrowhead Mills is better because I get fewer unpopped kernels when I prepare it. There are nearly always a few duds in each batch of popcorn, regardless of brand. I like Arrowhead Mills because it tastes good, it's organic, it's easy to find, and it's economical. And that's exactly why I'm recommending it to you.

¹ Microwave popcorn bags are coated with chemicals that break down, when heated, into a substance called perfluorooctanoic (PFOA). This substance has been identified by the EPA as a "likely carcinogen." Further, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that the artificial butter flavoring contributes to a disease that destroys lung tissue. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfluorooctanoic_acid -- So much for "convenience."



Other edibles found in my kitchen, or not, as the case may be:

• Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes - A distinctive note in any recipe calling for canned tomatoes
• Twinings Prince of Wales Tea - Distinctive yet mellow, good for an afternoon cuppa
• Wasabi Powder - Sinus-clearing fun in a can
• Rusticchella d'Abruzzo Arrabbiata Sauce - Inferior to what you can easily make for yourself
• Rothschild Raspberry Preserves - Culinary gold you can spread on toast
• Ancho Chile Powder - Add pizzazz to so many different dishes
• Vanilla Saffron Imports - supplies me with excellent whole vanilla beans
• Campofrio Lomo - long-cured Spanish pork indulgence
• Coppola's organic Mafalde pasta - fancy pasta for an occasional indulgence
• McCann's Steel Cut Oats - eat like a king on a peasant's budget



Recommended: Yes