食品：为什么影院的爆米花比家里做的好吃

What makes cinema popcorn taste better than home popcorn?Steven Angel, Amateur cook who enjoys to experiment.Having worked at the theaters for several years and made more than my share of popcorn, I can answer this. It isn't hard.The first thing you have to do is forget the word “healthy”. And the then forget “microwave”. Both are an abomination when it comes to movie theater popcorn. And “air popped”. You want popcorn cooked in oil.Next is the popcorn itself. What you are looking for here is “fresh”. Find a reputable brand that didn't buy up and repackage all the WWII surplus. The fresher it is the more moisture the corn has and the better your popcorn experience. Theaters have an advantage because they move a LOT of corn and don't have that stale half bag in the cabinet from six months back.Coconut oil is another secret and one most home cooks don't have due to price and perceived healthiness. Bear in mind it really isn't the healthiest of oils but you are going for popcorn quality here. You only live once. You can get white or yellow oil. Personally I prefer white because the taste is the same, but you will come out with white popcorn rather than the yellow theater variety. You'll also save 25–40%.The third ingredient is a flavoring salt such as ( my favorite ) “Flavacol”. It's made just for popcorn, comes in quart cartons, and is added to the oil just before popping.Those are my three secrets that I use at home.UPDATE:Thanks to David Critchley who asked for my method:Well, I don’t own an industrial popper at home so I have to make do. My method is to add the oil and Flavacol to a large, heavy bottom pan and mix (Flavacol is a flavored salt powder). I then add three kernels of corn, cover, and cook over medium-high heat. I use a glass cover so I can see what’s going on. Then after they start to pop I add the rest of the kernels to the pan, stir, cover, and remove from the heat for 30 seconds, This sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s actually useful for equalizing the heat around the pan. You’re looking for the kernels to pop as close as possible to the same time, yet hot spots in your pan can mess up your timing. Then put back on the heat and shake back and forth. Once the popping slows enough you take it off the heat and keep shaking until it stops altogether. Knowing when is sort of an art and you’ll have to try it a few times. There’s a fine balance between too much unpopped, just right, and starting to burn. Better to err on the side of caution because nothing is worse than burnt popcorn and popcorn is cheap. You’ll always have some kernels that just won’t pop.Also thanks to Daniel Berry who suggested adding real butter. It does give it a better flavor in my personal opinion, but you generally won’t find it in the theater. The theater uses a butter flavored oil that is more shelf stable and consistent. Olive oil also works.When making popcorn at home you can get far more creative than at the theater for flavorings. One year I made flavored popcorn to give out as Christmas presents.Garlic Parmesan was one flavor. Garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Paprika and Cayenne pepper can add a bit of spice. Kool Aid or other flavored drink mix powders can be used as well. I made cherry, strawberry, lime, and grape. Cinnamon sugar, garlic-herb, ranch, the sky is the limit. As soon as your batch of popcorn finishes popping, dump it into a container, add the flavoring, and shake. The quicker the better because the hot popcorn makes the flavor stick.Shalini Munjal also asked about where to get Flavacol.I’ve never seen it in a grocery store, it’s the sort of thing you’d need to get from a restaurant supply or such. Personally I found it on Amazon. It comes in US quart sized milk cartons and was $10–15 the last time I bought it.