HEALTHIER HOME/MOVIE THEATRE SNACKS

Like most people, I was getting all my popcorn from the microwave, until sometime in the mid-nineties, while I was working on audience coordination for a TV sitcom.  Behind the set was the usual craft services table, set up with a variety of the usual foods.  Among the snacks was something unusual but vaguely familiar.  A bowl of white popcorn - that hadn't come from a microwave!  One nibble led to several, and it reminded me how great real popcorn could be, with none of the nasty hydrogenated gunk found in those dry microwave bags...

Stirring, like the big machines at the movies, is a key to better popcorn.  It makes the popcorn less likely to burn, and it coats the kernels evenly so you need much less oil.  I found a stove-top popper with a stirring handle.  There are a several brands of stirring poppers around for about $20, and I've gone through nearly a dozen in so many years.  I tried a mechanical model called "Stir-Crazy" that didn't reach the right temperature and the stirrer itself made an annoying noise as it scraped much of the nonstick coating off.  I'm back to the stovetop kettle, which works better on an electric stove because of the ability to maintain...

The right popping temperature.  Another key to good popcorn.  Medum-high gets the best results: fluffy, butterfly shapes.  Too much heat produces round, ball-shapes that are tough and chewy.  Theatres like the butterfly shape,not just because it tastes better, but because the butterfly kernel shape takes up more space in a container when sold, ensuring a better yield on their investment.

The popcorn itself.  Boy, just try to find loose popcorn kernels in a store these days!  Ask for it, and most people don't even know what you mean.  The cheap stuff in bags at the grocery store is fine, but I gotta tell you, the premium hybrid popcorn from Orville Redenbacher's is much better.  (many cinemas use it, too.)  Redenbacher's popcorn kernels in jars is hard to find at a good price.  Their small jars in grocery stores are really expensive.  Target and K-Mart used to carry a larger jar of Redenbacher's for about $2.50-$3.   Target discontinued it a few years ago, and my local K-Mart stocks it occasionally, but the price has nearly doubled.  I would call ahead to make sure K-Mart has it in stock, and buy several jars at a time. Amazon sells pretty much every other product in the Redenbacher popcorn line, except the jars.  The new Fresh & Easy stores now carry the smaller jars for about $3, but unlike many of F&E's prices, this one can be beat... for another 50 cents, you can get a jar twice the size at a big national chain-store (that's also the main competitor for for Fresh & Easy's Tesco).   That means I can travel and save, or walk to the corner and pay more, but at least it's accessible.

Seasoning.  Most commercially sold popcorn/oil/seasoning packets contain pretty much the same orange salty powder used in theatres.  In fact, years ago, when I worked at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, those packets were exactly what we used.  These days, theatres use orange colored oil with orange colored seasoning.  That orange stuff has additives to make the popcorn look and smell more appealing, and it does, but it's a little heavy for my taste. 

Topping.  Most cinemas that advertise real butter are using Odell's Anhydrous Butterfat, a product that goes all the way back to the old Buttercup brand we remember from the sixties. This company has been making popcorn related products for decades.  Their Anhydrous Butterfat topping is real butter, minus water and milk, and it tastes great.  But there is a substantial amount of (non-trans) fat in there, so for me it's just an occasional treat. 

Healthier options.   I tried a variety of oils before finding the perfect solution: Smart Balance - A vegetable oil blend with Omega 3, specially formulated with your health in mind.  Popped in Smart Balance oil, Popcorn can now be a guilt-free, and even healthy snack!  I was delighted to make popcorn that doesn't add the waistline.  But what about the flavoring?

Smart Balance now makes a spray called Buttery Blast.  It tastes buttery and light - with NO calories or fat!  A company in Canada called Schneider's Gourmet World makes several tasty popcorn flavorings, including one they call "Theatre Spice."  This is a yellow, not orange, superfine popcorn salt that you put in the kettle with the popcorn and oil.  It mixes with the oil, leaves a light buttery/salty flavor, and seems healthier than the orange stuff. 

Once accustomed to kettle-stirred Redenbacher's popcorn, popped in Smart Balance oil with Schneider's Theatre Spice, I have sometimes found that the heavy flavored oil and seasoning used in many cinemas can make me almost nauseous.  

Variations.  If you eat popcorn often, eventually you get a little tired of the butter flavor.  Schneider's Gourmet World has some powdered toppings, including Salt & Vinegar and Herb & Garlic.   Kernel Seasons makes several flavors to shake over popcorn, and they also have a butter flavor, which is not very salty.  It's a nice compliment to the Schneider's in-popper seasoning and Smart Balance Butter Blast spray. 

Ingredients for guilt-free, healthier movie style popcorn:

Stove-Top Stirring Kettle.

Orville Redenbacher's Original Popcorn - loose kernels, from a jar.

Smart Balance oil, between a teaspoon and a tablespoon.

Schneider's Theatre Spice, about 1/6th to 1/4 of a teaspoon.

Smart Balance Buttery Blast Spray

Alternate flavors: Kernel Seasons or Schneider's flavored seasonings.

Candy.  I've been through the old East-Coast to West Coast debate: Twizzlers or Red Vines?   I still have both now and then, but I'm partial to Cherry flavor Twizzlers.  Again, hard to find.   Of course, I'm trying to find lower-calorie options.  I like the Ginger Chew candy from Trader Joe's because it's good for the digestion, and it just feels healthier.

Sodas: There are now many brands of of flavored seltzer waters, with no sugar, and no calories.  The brand I like best is Cascadia from Shasta, because it comes in a good variety of flavors, and is sweetened with Splenda instead of Aspartame.  But Cascadia is virtually impossible to find now.  When it vanished from the shelves at Ralphs, I contacted Shasta and found that they were now only sending Cascadia to US military bases.  I'm glad someone still gets it, but for the rest of us...  Hansen's Natural Diet Sodas contain all natural flavors and have no sodium, caffeine, aspartame, preservatives, carbs - or calories!  They are sweetened with Splenda, and are hard to find all the diet flavors around my area.  Fresh & Easy currently carries only two of the seven Hansen's diet soda flavors.  If I could get access to all their flavors, I'd never drink any other brand.

I wish.  Having said all that, it would be nice if the cinemas offered this kind of fare.  Popping in Smart Balance, seasoning with Schneider's Theatre Spice, topping with Smart Balance Buttery Spray, Kernel Seasons or Schneider's powders; adding Hansen's diet sodas to the menu... all it would take is for a few forward-thinking movie exhibitors to give it a try.  Smart Balance currently doesn't package its products for industrial use, but that shouldn't stop thoughtful cinema management from making the switch.  I once spoke with a Smart Balance rep about that very thing, and I'm sure if the demand was there, the supply would follow. 

A blast from the past:

Does anyone remember "Intermission Popcorn Chips" - from the late 60s-early 70s?   They came in a dark bag, decorated in a movie theatre theme.  I used to love them, but no one has even heard of them today...   Sounds good, doesn't it?

To Be Continued...

- TJ Edwards