Movie theaters use popcorn that pops into large, irregular snowflake shapes, which come from “butterfly” or “snowflake” kernels. White and yellow popcorn are standard, but heirloom varieties of popcorn come in just about every color of the rainbow.
When shopping for popcorn you may see a choice between yellow and white kernels. Choose YELLOW. What is this? This is what the theaters use because it puffs larger, which means that more buttery seasoning can stick to it.
Directions. Movie theaters use butter-flavored oil, which has a lower water content than butter so it makes popcorn less soggy. Real clarified butter has the same effect. To make it, melt 2 sticks butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave.
Most commonly, it is all in the way that the kernels are prepared and popped that helps the finished product to taste the way it does in the theater. Some place their kernels in coconut and canola oil before popping them, which gives them a unique taste and helps make them sweet.
What oil is used for movie theater popcorn? Coconut oil or canola oil is what they use for popcorn at movie theaters. Both of these oils give a cleaner taste and are actually a healthier option over other oils so that is good news for sure!
The flavor all comes down to one ingredient: Flavacol. You've likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it. Essentially, it's butter-flavored salt. It's a really fine, bright orange powder that adds that buttery flavor you crave and the signature yellow color.
According to Extra Crispy's Stacey Ballis, who has manned a movie theater concession stand and knows exactly how movie theater popcorn is made, movie popcorn is actually made with Flavacol and “Butter Flavored Topping.” Flavacol is the yellow powder that's tossed over the popcorn while it pops, to make it salty and ...
Coconut oil is the very best oil to use for popping popcorn. You're looking for virgin (AKA: unrefined) coconut oil. It's what makes popcorn taste like the stuff from the movies.
Popcorn is made up of strong aroma chemicals that go into the air when heated. Other food industries actually add these chemicals to their food to make the aroma more appealing! So, remember when you're stuffing your face with popcorn even before the movie starts, it's not your fault, it's SCIENCE!
The reason theatres do this is that this type of oil contains less water than butter, which means the final product has less chance of turning out soggy. So, the next time you head to the movies, you may want to opt for cooking your own kernels at home and bringing them with you.
According to Extra Crispy, that "butter" is actually made with Flavacol and Butter Flavored Topping. If you've ever wondered just what it is about movie theater popcorn that gives it that special, yellow color, you can chalk that up to Flavacol, which is basically just a type of seasoning salt that goes on the popcorn.
Flavacol is a super fine, butter-flavored seasoning salt that movie theaters on their popcorn. They usually pop it using a combination of orange-colored coconut oil and Flavacol seasoning, but regular coconut oil will give you the same results without the fake-looking color.
Most movie theaters use yellow kernels because they pop up big, are less crumbly and their light shade of yellow makes them seem buttery.
Orville Redenbacher's is the top brand of popcorn because its products contain no artificial preservatives, flavors, or colors. They appear in an instant and are incredibly light and fluffy. These raw kernels are ideal for adding a splash of color to typical situations, such as after-school mealtime.
A large AMC popcorn, without butter, contains 1,030 calories and 41 grams of fat. Moving along to Regal Cinemas, things get even heavier. There are a couple of differing calorie counts for a small, unbuttered popcorn, but they range from 325 calories and 27 grams of fat to 670 calories and 34 grams of fat.
Add Flavacol to your kernels & oil before you pop for the best coverage! Flavacol is a very fine seasoned salt that sticks to the popcorn, whereas a ground salt will tend to fall off. Adding it to the oil as you pop improves the coverage without any fear of burning. This is the tried - and - true original popcorn salt!
Flavacol is as bad for you as regular salt but worse, as it doesn't even contain iodine, regular salt's redeeming nutritional feature; it is, however, vegan and gluten-free (as salt tends to be), as well as kosher and halal certified.
Oil Is Key
Every theater makes their popcorn slightly differently, but the oil is vital. Some use canola, which has a clean, subtle taste. Others use a combination of canola and coconut oil for a unique taste, or cook the kernels in a mixture of oil and buttery salt.
As for that movie theater popcorn? The portion sizes (huge), “butter,” and heavy amounts of salt, make it highly caloric and can offset the fact that you're eating a (healthy) whole grain. According to MyFitnessPal, a small popcorn, without butter, has 225 calories with 11 grams of fat.
There's a reason the popcorn smells so good
The popcorn has chemicals in it to make its aroma fill the theater. Try this recipe for making amazing DIY popcorn in your microwave instead.
One of the main differences is the type (and amount) of oil used in movie-theater poppers. They also use a lot more salt (which may contain flavoring agents). Retail microwave popcorn manufacturers must label their ingredients and nutritional content.
While butter flavor is involved, there's no actual butter in most movie theater popcorn. Instead, these two key ingredients give movie theater popcorn its signature taste and smell: popcorn popping oil and popcorn seasoning. Yup, it's that simple.
The Internet-approved tip is as follows: Soak popcorn kernels in water for 10 minutes, then drain and pop as normal. The theory is that the extra moisture helps produce fluffier puffs.
In the meantime scoop up a cup of medium yellow popcorn kernels (or your choice of kernels) and sprinkle 2 tsp of Flavacol over the kernels. Once the oil is hot carefully lift the “hot” kettle lid, preferably using an oven mitt, and add the kernels Flavacol mix to the kettle. Shut the kettle lid and close the doors.
FLAVACOL is a very fine seasoned salt that sticks to the popcorn, whereas a ground salt will tend to fall off. Adding it to the oil as you pop improves the coverage without any fear of burning. This is the tried - and - true original popcorn salt! FLAVACOL is the worlds most popular seasoning salt.