Easy Caramel Popcorn Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why put an egg in pan when making caramel popcorn? ›

The egg stays in the whole time till the popcorn pops. After the popcorn is plated, the burnt egg is removed. Some Twitter users said that the egg was added as a way to regulate temperatures, while others said that it was just put in to get people wondering what the hell it was doing there.

Caramel corn will taste soft and chewy right out of the oven. Give it some time to cool. If it's still tasting soggy after 1–2 hours of cooling at room temperature, you may have under-baked the caramel corn. 1 hour in the oven is usually plenty.

Caramel popcorn is typically high in calories, sugar, and fat, which can contribute to weight gain and increase your risk for developing health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

The longer you cook the syrup (the mixture of sugar and water the forms the base of the caramel sauce), the crunchier your popcorn will be. For very crunchy popcorn (my favorite!), stop cooking when you see the first wisps of smoke coming from the sugar mixture.

In a small saucepan, bring butter, sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons water to a boil, stirring constantly. Working quickly, drizzle popcorn with sugar syrup, and toss. Spread popcorn evenly on prepared baking sheet. Bake, tossing occasionally, until golden and shiny, about 40 minutes.

Baking Soda: adding the baking soda at the beginning to simmer with the buttermilk, sugar and butter produces a darker, more caramelly syrup.

A good lid is important when making popcorn, but there's a bit of a strategy here. For the best results, and lowest number of un-popped kernels leave the lid open just a hairline amount. It allows any steam or moisture to get out as well, resulting in fluffy kernels.

When making caramel, it is important to use a small amount of butter, as too much can make the caramel grainy. A good rule of thumb is to use one tablespoon of butter for every cup of sugar.

Too short of a cooling time: Caramel sauce thickens significantly as it cools, so let the caramel cool for the appropriate time to achieve the right thickness. If the sauce is still too thin after cooling completely, place it back on the stovetop and reheat it on low heat for a few additional minutes.

How long does Caramel Popcorn Last? After Caramel Popcorn has cooled, store it in an airtight container. When stored in an air-tight container, homemade Caramel Popcorn will be good for up to five days.

Why is my caramel popcorn chewy? ›

Perhaps you have some granules of sugar that are 'un-melted'. It could be that your corn syrup (if used) is reacting in some way. Now to the second - chewy. Try heating your sugar syrup for a little longer.

Caramel corn or caramel popcorn (toffee popcorn in the UK) is a confection made of popcorn coated with a sugar or molasses based caramel candy shell that is normally less than 1mm thick. Typically a sugar solution or syrup is made and heated until it browns and becomes thick, producing a caramelized candy syrup.

Ingredient Differences

Toffee is a product of heating sugar or light corn syrup and butter at 300F. Therefore, it tastes like light buttery, and sugary candy. The sweet buttery taste balances well with the saltiness of the popcorn. On the other hand, caramel has dark corn syrup, milk or cream, and water.

Popcorn at home is not hard to make. Even if you want to add candy or sauces, it doesn't require an egg. Still, some say the egg keeps the kernels from sticking together, while others say it's to keep wannabe chefs from adding too many kernels to the pan.

It has a lower concentration of water (25% water) than the egg (90% water). To reach equilibrium, osmosis causes the water molecules to move out of the egg and into the corn syrup until both solutions have the same concentration of water. The outward movement of water causes the egg to shrivel.

Caramel Popcorn: Corn Syrup Solids, Brown Sugar, Sugar, Popcorn, Corn Oil, Butter (Cream, Salt), Molasses, Salt, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Beta Carotene (Color). CONTAINS SOY AND MILK. May Contain Peanut, Tree Nut, Wheat and Egg Ingredients.

Generally, the caramel will have a higher 'water activity' than the popcorn. As a result, if you leave the popcorn for a while, moisture from the caramel will migrate into the corn. This causes the popcorn to lose its 'crunch' and become soft and chewy.