We were never raised to make popcorn from scratch. Sure, we had one of those awesome 80’s gadgets that stood on the counter in all its yellow, white and black glory ready to spew forth popped kernels but alas, all it did was stand there. Maybe it was a gift to our family of six which would seem appropriate and thoughtful as we needed to eat.

A better gift would have been to skip the fad gizmo (unless it was the actual Gizmo because he’s so cute and fuzzy and the Gremlins is one of my favorite Christmas movies). Seriously, a bag of popping corn and an appropriate movie would have been more satisfying.

However popping fresh popcorn has always intimidated me as its hot oil (which increases my odds of burning something which I frequently do) and the sounds of sporadically ready popcorn makes me jump more than I’d like to admit. But with my more locally sourced, less grocery store dependent lifestyle, I have had to get over it and get to popping.

Heat 1/3 cup cooking oil on medium in a deep pot, like an 8 quart. Peanut, canola or coconut oil work best.

Once the oil is heated, not boiling, drop a few kernels in. If they spin, the temp is right to pop.

Pour in enough kernels to barely cover the bottom of pan, should be about 1/2 cup.

Cover the pan, leaving small air space at the side. Shake over medium heat until the popping stops.

Now my favorite part is the seasoning. Some folks use savory like Old Bay, others go for sweet like . Host a popcorn buffet and have items to dress up these small yet mighty delicious bits. Here is a great list of 15 DIY POPCORN SEASONINGS and several of the herbs can be found at the market.