How To Make Homemade Kettle Corn

(Image via fatfreefoods.com)

One of my favorite things about summer is  all the outdoors activities. This last weekend, for example, my family and I went to a local street fair and farmer’s market. Don’t you just love going to these? I sure do. I love the atmosphere; people spending time with their friends and family, enjoying leisurely afternoons strolling through parks, buying homemade goods, etc. ahh, I love it. And, one of my favorite parts about going to these local events is the wide-variety of foods available. I always make it a goal to try one new food item each time I go. Yesterday, I tried kettle corn.

My-oh-my. If you haven’t tried this offspring to good ole fashioned popcorn, you are missing out! This stuff was delicious. It’s a type of popcorn that blends the sweet taste of sugar with the saltiness of salt. It’s utterly delicious. After snarking down my entire bag of popcorn (sorry husband!), I decided I needed to find a homemade recipe to keep this treat in my regular dessert rotation. Happily scroll below for yummy-goodness!

(Image via homestead.com)

How To Make Homemade Kettle Corn 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ½ - ⅔ cup popcorn kernels
• ¼  cup sugar or ¼ cup brown sugar (or mix both!)
• sea salt to taste

After researching some recipes online, the common consensus is that coconut oil produces the best tasting kettle corn. Plus, coconut oil is healthier than regular oils (check out this article if you’re not convinced.) So, I’d advise trying that first. If you don’t have any you can also use regular oil, butter, or even olive oil.

Directions

Put the coconut oil into a large pot on the stove. Turn the stove to high and wait for the oil to heat. Once you start seeing bubbles and movement in the oil, combine the popcorn kernels and sugar. Put a lid on the pot - this is important, as the kernels start cooking they may flick hot oil or other ingredients. Once you hear the first kernel ‘pop’, slowly move the pan back and forth over the stove. This helps prevent the oil and kernels from burning and also fully distributes the ingredients over the kernels. Continue doing this until all the kernels have popped. After all the popcorn is cooked, pour the content into a large bowl. Salt to taste using either Sea Salt or regular salt. Wait for the popcorn to cool, and enjoy!

(Image via cookingontheside.com)

That’s it! Now you’re ready to enjoy delicious kettle corn just like you find at street fairs!

Let us know if you try this recipe or if you have your own favorite tips for making kettle corn. We’d love to hear from you!