DIY Sweet and Salty Popcorn

On a trip to the cinema one evening, keen to try out my new Christmas present of a 'popcorn making kit' – basically a couple of packs of coloured popping corn and a small bottle of rapeseed oil plus instruction - I decided no longer would we spend silly amounts of money on what is mainly air and instead were going to make our own.  The smallest box you can get in cinemas costs around £3, whereas a similar amount of the homemade variety will cost about 10pence – quite a proft margin!

Never having made popcorn before, I wasn't really sure what to expect and whether it would just explode and end up all over the kitchen ceiling and in our hair.  But I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was, and how so little corn can make so much popcorn.  The great thing is you can then flavour it with how much, or little, salt and/or sugar as you like.  The stuff you get in cinemas tends to be over salted or just too sweet.

So here's how you do it:

Ingredients:

(Makes enough for one person who loves pop corn, or two who merely like it):

80 grammes Popping corn

15ml Extra virign rapeseed oil

Finely ground salt

Caster sugar

Method

Use a large saucepan with a tight fitting lid

Put the corn in the pan and coat with the rapeseed oil

Cover with lid and put on a high heat on the hob.  Shake vigorously for as long as it takes for the corn to start popping explosively.

Keep shaking the pan and don't be tempted to open whilst it is popping

It is safe to take lid off when the popping has died down to a few pops in ten seconds

Whilst it is still hot sprinkle in your salt, sugar or both and shake the pan, with the lid on, to make sure the flavours are dispersed evenly

If you are feeling more adventurous, try these variations:

 - salt, freshly ground pepper and red hot chilli pepper powder (easy on the chilli though, a small shake goes a long way)

 - sugar and cinnamon powder