DIY Microwave Popcorn

Here’s a money saver: Stop buying those boxes of prepackaged microwave popcorn, and do it yourself, cheaper and healthier. All you need is a brown paper bag and some popping-corn kernels, which you can purchase cheaply in bulk. Self-proclaimed tinkerer Wardie discovered this a few months ago, and shares the details on his blog, Wardie’s World.

Everyone is aware that cinema popcorn is one of the most expensive substances known to man. And so the supermarket shelves are stocked with microwave popcorn which, when compared with a $9 bucket at the movies, seem quite reasonable. But are they really? And you’d think from the way they’re marketed that there’s some sort of proprietary magic going on to be able to cook corn in a microwave rather than the purpose built commercial machines. Or are they honestly just a bag full of corn?

Spoiler alert: It’s just a bag full of corn.

His next challenge? Getting salt to stick to air-popped popcorn without the aid of oil or butter. Problem solved: grind the salt into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle!

NOTE: Keep a close eye on your popcorn in the microwave. There have been cases reported of the bag catching on fire, possibly due to securing the bag closed with staples. (Even though Alton Brown recommends using staples.)

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3 Responses to DIY Microwave Popcorn

Cindy on March 8th, 2013 at 3:12 pm said:

I tried it without staples or paper clips, and the bag also caught on fire. It’s dangerous.

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Elisabeth Zero (@elisabethzero) on March 8th, 2013 at 5:52 pm said:

I don’t know what kind of bag he’s using, that’s not the (American) brown paper lunch bag I know. The bags he’s using look much thinner.

At first I found I was burning the popcorn, which can cause fire, but it was just a matter of finding the right amount of popcorn and time for the bag and microwave you’re using. My microwave, I make 1/4 cup seeds which just fills the bag, no taping or staples needed, and cook it just under 2 minutes. A full 2 minutes in my microwave always means a golf-ball sized molten char cluster.

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lisa on March 10th, 2013 at 12:05 am said:

I get the best results when I use a paper bag, a tbsp of oil and 1/4 cup corn. I thought using a Pyrex bowl would do the same job. WRONG. The corn not only caught on fire but MELTED THE PYREX BOWL. I think it retains too much heat.

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