ThoughtLines
Popcorn Perfection Vikas Suri How do you make popcorn? It’s actually quite simple to do. All you do is take the corn, heat the kettle, pour some oil and salt, and you have popcorn! This may sound easy, but there are many things that affect the quality of your end product.
Popping Procedures Start with the best corn, oil and salt. Use the correct ratio of corn to oil: 3:1. Though there is no milliondollar recipe for this, but for best the results use between 24 per cent and 30 per cent of the corn weight as the popping oil per batch. Pour the corn first together with salt in the kettle, and follow it up. If you want the best flavor, always use coconut oil- consumers normally prefer the buttery flavor it imparts .Go a step further and use coconut oil with a heat–resistant colour. Then add a top quality imitation- butter flavor. And when the final product is ready, just the aroma itself will help you sell more! How about salt? All salt is not the same. The fine, flake, floursize crystal salt with a heat -resistant yellow colour and imitation with butter flavor – called Flavacol – will enhance the appearance, taste and aroma of the corn. Always insist that your personnel use a salt measure. No more than 4 per cent salt to the corn weight. This means 36 grams of salt for a 32-ounce kettle. In fact, a lot of guesswork by the operators has been eliminated by today’s 21st century popcorn popper technology. It is still important to dump the kettle when the popping cycle is 98 per cent completed. However, the popper with ‘Big Eye’ electronic controls has both visual and audio signals that alert the operator to ‘dump the kettle and reload ingredients.’ Obey the signal, to make the popcorn taste better. Poppers without this technology still put out full heat even while the last five percent of the kernels are popping. This excess heat can make the corn ‘slightly burnt’ taste to that popped properly before. Conversely, machines with electronic controls actually reduce the heat applied as the popping cycle nears completion. When the last 25 per cent of the kernels taste the same as the first 25 per cent, the operator will obviously sell more popcorn.
TW-52 Theatre World September 2005
Finally, a popcorn scoop in the hands of a nervous, untrained teenager can cost the operator a bundle. Today’s great-tasting tender, medium kernel popcor n fractures easily if it is scooped too much. People operating the popcorn machine have to be taught to use metal-to-metal scoop / screening techniques so as not to bruise the tasty popped kernels. When scooping up to a full bag, avoid crushing or jamming the container into the display. Instead, try to scoop from the side again. Four sizes of perforated stainless-steel jet scoops are available internationally. So, be sure to use a large size scoop to speed up sales. Tips to improve the popping • To optimise taste, wait for one to three minutes before serving. Popcorn tastes chewy right out of the kettle. • Keep popped corn warm to keep it crisp. Popped corn can go stale in 15 minutes on a rainy day due to moisture in the air. Keep it warm and it will stay fresh and crisp for hours. • Maintain raw corn sealed to keep it from drying out. Even the best corn will not pop well if it was allowed to dry out. • Remove un-popped kernel before serving. An un-popped kernel can break a tooth. • Conduct timely cleaning procedures, particularly in case of the kettle. • Place the popcorn machine as close to the anticipated point-of-sale as possible. The aroma will draw in additional customers. Do not overcharge or undercharge the popcorn kettles
Never • Never ever serve stale or poorly popped corn. • Never ever save corn for tomorrow. Popcorn is a fast food product and everyone likes freshly prepared popcorn.