Eating microwave popcorn increases the level of PFAS in body (2022)

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/eating-microwave-popcorn-increases-the-level-of-pfas-in-body

by SomaticPirate • 3 years ago

388 416 3 years ago

handedness2• 3 years ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20230622235711/https://www.uclah...

camhart3• 3 years ago

Microwave popcorn (in the bag) is garbage. I found I much prefer using a silicone popper [1], and then adding my own butter/salt to it. Tastes just like when I use an air popper. Since that approach doesn't use the popcorn bag, would it then be free from PFAS?

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Proper-Popper-Microwave-Collapsible-D...

handedness2• 3 years ago

That's quite the URL.

Cooking in silicone is something I would probably also avoid, especially if one can't be certain of its composition: https://www.beuc.eu/sites/default/files/publications/BEUC-X-...

sp332• 3 years ago

It's an affiliate link. (tag=hyprod-20) You can use https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z5SPRWM/ instead.

cosmodisk3• 3 years ago

Or simply use large saucepan. Pour some oil to cover its base, wait until the oil gets high temperature, pour corn. Then, shake it every now and then. We used to make tons of them when we were kids and even now I make it occasionally, when we do movie nights at home

camhart3• 3 years ago

I've found I burn the popcorn often with this. Maybe just a lack of experience (we always had an air popper growing up). You can also use small amounts of butter (or I guess oil if you wanted) with the silicone popper or air popper. Having enough oil to cover the base seems like a lot more oil? I could be wrong, just guessing.

boppo1• 3 years ago

Do you cover it to prevent mess?

colordrops2• 3 years ago

Does the silicone leech anything? Seems like a metal popper on the stove would be best.

011000114• 3 years ago

Microwave doesn't heat up your house as much and is probably faster.

eduction• 3 years ago

I also use a silicone microwave popper. Seems cleaner and less wasteful than the paper bag technique.

011000114• 3 years ago

Yep. Got a silicone popper and love it. Much more efficient than stovetop, too.

Decide if you like white or yellow corn, find a good brand, and buy it cheap, in-bulk, for a cheap and nutritious snack. You'll notice significant variation in unpopped kernels between brands.

I spray my kernels lightly with avocado oil and sprinkle popcorn salt(finer than normal to improve adhesion) before popping. I eat at least one large bowl a day now.

Rapzid2• 3 years ago

Yeah, I got a hot pop(exact same thing) and it's been a game changer. Kernels are so cheap.

leetrout4• 3 years ago

Something I learned a few weeks ago:

Put 1/3 cup kernels in a large brown paper lunch bag and fold the top down several times. Microwave as normal, bag standing up, listening for pops to slow down. Air pops in the bag with no issues.

Salt (and ghee) after you dump it in the bowl.

I have stopped using my whirlypopper.

vel0city2• 3 years ago

Other than cleaning and excess calories, what's wrong with the whirlypopper?

gnicholas3• 3 years ago

Noise, and takes up space?

leetrout4• 3 years ago

The microwaved popcorn is much crisper. Really surprised me. Not that the whirlypopper is a lot of work but the microwave is even quicker since there is little mess.

tjr• 3 years ago

Yes, I've been using the paper bag method for a while. Tastes better than prepackaged microwave popcorn too!

hackernudes• 3 years ago

You can even staple the bag closed. But now I'm a whirlypop convert. Coconut oil and flavacol popcorn salt. Yum.

worthless-trash2• 3 years ago

I thought you were not meant to put metal into a microwave ?

leetrout4• 3 years ago

Indeed. That is the way.

I measure a heaping tablespoon of solidified ghee and melt it and add 1 tsp flavacol and toss the popped corn with it to get a similar flavor.

bschwindHN2• 3 years ago

Coconut oil and flavacol popcorn salt

I used to work at a movie theater, this is the way.

adrianmonk3• 3 years ago

I do this too. I also use a food scale to weigh out the popcorn within about a gram. I figured out the number of seconds required, so I no longer have to listen.

The process is surprisingly reproducible. I get very few unpopped kernels, usually around 5 of them.

rubslopes• 3 years ago

Would you mind sharing your formula and also your microwave's wattage?

elevaet• 3 years ago

I came here to describe this method as well. Verified and PFAS free!

autoexec4• 3 years ago

I'll give this try, although after reading about the problem with PFAS and microwave popcorn a few months ago I switched to Jiffy pop and it's pretty fun.

Ekaros2• 3 years ago

Are we sure that paper bags sold and used like this are PFAS free?

gnicholas3• 3 years ago

Once I learned you can just microwave plain kernels in a paper bag, I threw out all of our microwave popcorn. Even low-salt/low-fat is much saltier and richer than I prefer. Now with this PFAS news, it's yet another reason to ditch the prepackaged popcorn.

esafak2• 3 years ago

How do you seal the bag during popping, with twine?

gnicholas3• 3 years ago

Fold it down a couple times?

quickthrower22• 3 years ago

Also price difference is nuts. Kernels are as cheap as oats almost.

hackernoteng3• 3 years ago

they are cheap but I find they dont last that long - the freshness goes away unless you find a way to store them very airtight.

Ekaros2• 3 years ago

Are you entirely sure that the paper bag used was PFAS free?

ksaj• 3 years ago

Is it the microwaves effect on the popcorn, or the fake butter that might cause "popcorn lung" if the fumes get inhaled, getting modified into PFAs by microwaving?

If it's the first, I'd expect almost everything you nuke to be at least a risk of PFAs. If its the second, that's easier to deal with by avoiding fake popcorn butter.

cmrx64• 3 years ago

Diacetyl contains no fluorine, it’s gotta be whatever lining they use on the paper.

smelendez2• 3 years ago

Yeah, the study says PFAS has been found in the packaging.

Bud2• 3 years ago

It's the bag.

nunesvn• 3 years ago

They are also widely used in paper products meant to hold foods that are hot, gooey or greasy. That includes the wrappers that hold fast food, and, as you noted in your letter, microwave popcorn bags.

It's on the paper.

eadler• 3 years ago

The article does not cite or link to the study.

The researchers found that people who ate microwave popcorn every day over the course of a year had levels of PFAS that were up to 63% higher than average.

As far as I could tell the relevant study [1] merely finds association rather than causation. This is often the best you can do in the nutrition field though. I have not yet read through the entire contents.

[1] Herbert P. Susmann, Laurel A. Schaider, Kathryn M. Rodgers, and Ruthann A. Rudel. 2019. Dietary Habits Related to Food Packaging and Population Exposure to PFASs. Environmental Health Perspectives 127, 10 (October 2019). DOI:https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4092

Bud2• 3 years ago

I mean, the study states clearly that the PFAS are in the "food contact materials" in question, here, which are the microwave popcorn bags. Then they end up in the people. Kind of open and shut.

hombre_fatal3• 3 years ago

Even double blinded randomized cross over trials only shows associations. That doesn’t mean you can’t make reasonable casual inferences after looking at the balance of evidence. Else we couldn’t even infer that smoking causes cancer, something most people have to bite the bullet on when they denounce nutrition science.

gretch• 3 years ago

? You can show causation by having a test group and a control group.

Just get N people. Have the control group eat pot cooked popcorn and have the experimental group eat microwave.

You can’t get causation by just observing, but once you are willing to make someone do something, then it’s pretty easy to arrive at.

I tried to verify the GP quote but actually couldn’t find it in the study - but if it’s true, people who eat microwave popcorn every day for a year is an extreme population in all sorts of ways. I don’t eat anything every day for a year, much less popcorn.

squokko• 3 years ago

Especially since someone who eats microwave popcorn EVERY DAY is someone who clearly treats their body like a garbage can

pas• 3 years ago

it's cheap, even vegan probably (if not buttered), not full of sugar, etc. what's wrong with it? yes, every day seems suboptimal, but it's not trivial to have a varied balanced healthy diet, and folks need to eat every day (usually at least twice).

fbdab1032• 3 years ago

...that were up to 63% higher than average

"Up to" can cover a lot of sins. Does that mean one person had 63% higher than normal and the median daily-popcorn eater was 10% higher?

QuadrupleA• 3 years ago

Stovetop is super easy - saucepan, some kernels, some oil, put the lid on. Low to medium heat til popping stops. Add some salt.

Also incredibly cheap.

civilitty• 3 years ago

I use clarified butter instead of oil so that the popcorn soaks it in immediately after popping.

Every time I take a bite, it’s like a buttery explosion.

I recommend taking it off heat for 30 seconds after adding all the kernels so they all heat up to an even temperature and roast a little in the butter. Use a screen to cover the pot rather than a lid so that steam can escape and your popcorn stays crunchy.

pengaru• 3 years ago

I've been using chicken fat collected from roasting chickens, simmered down and stored in a Ball jar (aka schmaltz)

It tolerates the high heat of popcorn popping quite well and tastes great with a hint of chicken. Usually has notes of the seasoning too... which in my case is mostly black pepper.

+1 on the screen hack, that's definitely a pro-tip.

Lacerda69• 3 years ago

Best method. You can also easily caramelize sugar, just pour it in and stir until its molten yum

poulsbohemian• 3 years ago

I’m kinda curious - why microwave popcorn when an air popper or stove top is so stinkin’ easy? Makes great popcorn and you can control the flavorings

throw9away62• 3 years ago

Most people don’t realize you can just pop in a pot they think you need special tools

esafak2• 3 years ago

An air popper is a special tool, but it's easier to use than a pot, uses no oil, and takes up less space than an equivalent pot since the popcorn can be diverted into a bowl as it pops. Recommended!

011000114• 3 years ago

Microwave is more efficient.

lm28469• 3 years ago

There are people buying pre sliced apples and pre peeled clementines out there

InvaderFizz3• 3 years ago

Best popcorn you can make is cheap and easy cleanup.

Take one large pot (the kind that holds like 10qts).

Cover the bottom with kernels.

Add a bit of oil, basically just enough to swirl and have everything covered in an oil sheen, not enough to have them submerged.

Cover, put on high (I use gas). I like to suspend a paper towel between the lid and the rest of the pot, absorbs excess oil and water.

Once popping slows, turn off the stove. Dump popcorn into large mixing bowl.

Toss 1/8 cup butter in the hot pot, melt the butter with residual heat.

Pour popcorn back in and toss to get the popcorn evenly lightly buttered, transfer back to the mixing bowl.

Salt(I prefer a salt grinder) and toss, add a bit of grated Parmesan and toss.

There should be less than 10 unpopped kernels, no burned popcorn at all.

Cleanup is a wipe down of the large pot with the moisture capture paper towel.

throw9away62• 3 years ago

Dry popcorn for 2 min on convection in the oven at 350

maxbond• 3 years ago

You can get pretty varied with the seasoning too. Parmesan is my favorite, but I like Italian herbs, nutritional yeast, garlic powder. You can throw a bunch of stuff on there together.

worthless-trash2• 3 years ago

If you like the garlic powder, try chicken salt on popcorn.

Fezzik2• 3 years ago

Popcorn is a magnificent flavor-vehicle! My personal favorite is to melt salt, ginger, and sugar in butter and toss the popcorn in that tasty mixture. Or just douse the popped-kernels in sriracha.

zonkerdonker• 3 years ago

Tabasco is incredible on popcorn, give it a shot. I like to mix it in with the melted butter before tossing it all

joshu• 3 years ago

for something absurdly decadent, try adding these:

* truffle zest (a powder, smells good, not much taste) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FDFL2RQ

* truffle sauce (it's bits of truffle and other mushrooms in oil) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3M9VLI

* truffle salt (it's a very fine salt and very good for popcorn) https://www.amazon.com/Italian-Black-Truffle-Sea-Salt/dp/B00...

(or just do the truffle salt alone)

i like this combo because it's not as chemical smelling as the "white truffle oil" or whatever they sell that doesn't contain any truffle at all.

toastal2• 3 years ago

Sprayed with cooking spray, then dusted with flavored gelatin power & quickly popped in the oven, you will get something that resembles those flavored popcorns with a sucker-like candy shell.

soligern2• 3 years ago

That’s way too much work. Buy big bag of organic Amish baby corn. Buy a silicone popcorn maker. Toss a handful of popcorn in with some olive oil. Microwave for 3.5 minutes or until you hear only 2 pops a second. Sprinkle with salt. Done. Also a $20 bag will probably make more than a hundred bowls.

xk_id3• 3 years ago

I was just about to post about the silicone popcorn makers. They’re amazingly practical, I’m super happy with mine, and I’m pretty sure it can’t get any easier than that. Some risk of burning your popcorn tho as the window between “most kernels popped” and “burnt” is relatively short, so until you figure out the correct timings for your microwave’s power, watch your fire alarms.

morsch• 3 years ago

It's really no different. Take a pot, toss in a handful of popcorn with some oil. Turn on stove for a couple of minutes until pops subside. Sprinkle with salt. Done.

I never bothered with the butter etc, though maybe I should.

petre• 3 years ago

There are Chinese popcorn cannons that require less work. Here is a video of a family of two operating such a popcorn booth in China:

https://youtu.be/DZQNjZ1xNgE

We have much to learn from their culture.

abrookewood• 3 years ago

Wow, that is literally a cannon ... crazy.

resolutebat2• 3 years ago

Looks like they're using the cannon to make both puffed rice (the first "shot") and popcorn (the second one). Same principle, of course.

bschwindHN2• 3 years ago

I'm normally good at picking up on sarcasm on the internet, this is just an advanced joke, right?

sgtnoodle7• 3 years ago

That's why I take out a dozen or so unpopped kernels before popping the rest. It's easier to throw them right in the trash, rather than have to pick them out of the rest of the popped corn.

Kichererbsen• 3 years ago

this is genius! the true life hack is always in the comments...

m_mueller• 3 years ago

wait, how can you differentiate the unpopped from the yet to pop? (tbh. so far I'm just a premade popcorn buyer, so ELI5...)

jcims2• 3 years ago

Plus who wants to eat unlucky popcorn?

ves• 3 years ago

These days, I’ve been separating the poop from the food before I eat it.

SethMurphy3• 3 years ago

This is funny. This is also not the type of comments that I expect to see on HN. I come here out of curiosity, not for humor or entertainment.

quickthrower22• 3 years ago

I use an airpopper, cost maybe $6. Can in theory be used for coffee roasting too!

askvictor• 3 years ago

Out of interest, why do you prefer a salt grinder? I've never understood why these exist. Pepper grinders, absolutely - the aromatics are released on grinding. By not so with salt. Curious if I'm missing something.

hosteur• 3 years ago

For pop corn you need fine grained salt. A grinder lets you control that. It is only about the grain sizes. Nothing about freshness with salt. With pepper it is about freshly releases aromatics.

jakogut• 3 years ago

I also don't use salt grinders, preferring coarse salt like Kosher or coarse sea salt on most dishes. However, to play Devil's advocate, a grinder is adjustable between fine and coarse.

vladvasiliu2• 3 years ago

In my neck of the woods, unground salt is much, much cheaper than ground. Ground salt can basically be only found coming in a plastic dispenser. It could be argued that throwing all these plastic containers away isn't great for the environment.

I only realize that I've never thought of comparing, but I've got the habit of using unground salt when cooking. My grandmother used to do this for some reason, so I picked it up.

Unground salt is also useful for cleaning things, like cooking pans.

It's therefore easier to only buy salt in one big pack that lasts forever.

renw0rp• 3 years ago

I've asked my mother the exact same question a couple of weeks ago. She said, that as salt is hygroscopic "table salt" comes with anti-cacking agents. Salt which comes as larger crystals doesn't need them.

soperj4• 3 years ago

pre-ground salt often contains sugar (as an ingredient, it's on the package).

InvaderFizz3• 3 years ago

I prefer course grained and no anti caking agents or iodine added.

It's nothing special, some no-name Himalayan pink salt in a plastic grinder.

wouldbecouldbe• 3 years ago

Just that they use chemicals to keep the salt seperate.

jcims2• 3 years ago

This comment reminded me that for the past few years I’ve been using a hand crank coffee grinder for my pepper and i don’t think I’ll ever go back. It’s perfect.

airza• 3 years ago

Grinding the salt more finely makes it stick to the popcorn a bit better.

op00to2• 3 years ago

My conjecture: salt grinders create more irregular shapes than provided by commercially made table salt. Irregular shapes mean more surface area, which means faster absorption into the body, which means tastier food.

Totally without evidence.

interestica5• 3 years ago

Grinder means finer salt. Finer salt sticks to things better (you can get a baby powder consistency).

And the way the salt "tastes" is different because the powder dissolves on your tongue differently/quicker.

Salt "dust" is a really interesting way of adding salt to food -- and you actually end up adding less than larger grains

Lendal• 3 years ago

The shapes of the crystals affects the taste. If the salt is going to be dissolved, such as in pasta water, then grain-shape doesn't matter. Use the cheapest salt. But if the salt is going onto the surface of a food, such as in popcorn or a steak, then fresh-ground salt gives a more salty flavor per gram used. The salt grains that come already ground have a smooth texture like the smooth pebbles in a creek. Fresh-grinding gives the crystals a jagged, irregular shape. This enhances the effect when they hit your taste buds.

moogly• 3 years ago

Just buy Flavacol

PhilipRoman• 3 years ago

Not an expert on this, but after buying both types of salt from the same manufacturer and comparing them, the pre-ground one has a different texture and is less pleasant to eat; almost like it was mixed with dust.

GrooveSAN3• 3 years ago

I like to suspend a paper towel between the lid and the rest of the pot, absorbs excess oil and water.

Interesting. I like to keep that excess oil/water, as that extra moisture on the surface of the popcorns later helps the sugar/salt stick to it - without the need for additional butter/grease.

Rebelgecko• 3 years ago

IMO flavacol is essential. Oil type matters too, coconut oil gives more of a movie theater style flavor (OTOH maybe not as healthy as other options...)

sgtnoodle7• 3 years ago

Coconut oil is relatively healthy as far as consuming oil goes, isn't it?

gpvos2• 3 years ago

10 quarts = 11.3 l

I had no idea that a quart is about a litre.

newqer2• 3 years ago

Me: Hey babe, your're almost a litre!

Her: Why?

Me: Because you're a qt!

369548684892826• 3 years ago

The other one that threw me is how am I supposed to measure 1/8th cup of butter?

randallsquared3• 3 years ago

Uh, I think something went wrong with your conversion. 10 quarts is about 9.5 liters.

newqer2• 3 years ago

Exactly this! But not with salt, but caramelized sugar. Maybe also pinch of salt just for the kick.

Can't be worse than the PFAS infused kind right?

SapporoChris• 3 years ago

I remember my family doing this when I was a child. You can return to the television and listen for the popping to slow if you wish. Returning to the kitchen and finding the lid wasn't placed on pot is tragic comedy. Sweep and mop, the floor will be oily. I think it only happened once.

mklarmann• 3 years ago

I love popcorn. And this might be arrogant. As I might come around like the extremist (that I am). But I am reading here between the lines, that even with popcorn, there is a lot that could be done better for the environment: - gas is not renewable. I hope we can get away from that - once popping starts you turn of the stove, does this mean you have fairly solid pans that keep the heat long? I don't think that is sustainable either - You put butter in the popcorn? Well that is also not sustainable either. - Then you add Parmesan, well that makes it even worse. - You use a paper towel, that you toss away

Why do we just happen to glance over those issues so easily?

JohnFen11• 3 years ago

does this mean you have fairly solid pans that keep the heat long? I don't think that is sustainable either

How is that not sustainable? It means that you can turn the heat off earlier and coast on the stored heat.

I don't cook on gas, so that's not a concern for me. But no butter?? That's the same as saying "no popcorn".

arghwhat• 3 years ago

Trick: Use a wok, leaves nothing unpopped and can use less oil.

Also, more of the world needs this in their lives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fG8rNHUspU

(not bdg - well yes also bdg - but in this case the pep corn)

bhandziuk• 3 years ago

I like to use as much peanut oil as possible. like 1/3 cup. Make a nice heavy popcorn. Delicious!

zavertnik2• 3 years ago

I love movie theater popcorn so I often try to get that exact experience at home. The biggest leap in quality for me is using a tall pot and a colander on top, it achieves the same goal as your paper towel between the lid-- getting that excess moisture out of the pot really makes all the difference!

atentaten3• 3 years ago

The secret to movie popcorn flavor is coconut oil and the flavored salt.

sumtechguy• 3 years ago

If you want movie theater popcorn you make it the same way they do with the same ingredients.

Stir popcorn maker something like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004RC6R

flavacol salt (optional if you use flour salt) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W8LT10 or flour salt https://www.amazon.com/Morton-Popcorn-Salt-Green-French/dp/B... or both 1/2-1 tea spoons at most.

'butter' oil https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UZLQG2 1/4 cup after cooking (warm it in a microwave)

The butter oil is a bit of a pain as there is so much of it and you can not really buy in small quantities, and it will go rancid before you use it all. It is meant for movie theaters to use. I have not found any supermarket versions that are correct. Usually they are kinda gross.

You can use a coconut oil for cooking with. Most theaters do not do this at all. The butter oil is closest to the same as movie theater as that is what they use during cooking and topping at the end. I personally use the coconut oil when cooking as it imparts a nice texture and flavor to the popcorn. 1-2 tsps for cooking with for either. Then top with the butter oil.

The flavacol and butter oil are the key ingredients.

For the popcorn I just buy orville redenbacher popcorn. They have a decent process of removing the duds before they get into the container. You can buy generic just expect a few duds.

hilbert42• 3 years ago

"Cover, put on high (I use gas)."

Microwave is also fine, I just use a Pyrex bowl put in kernels and cover with a non-metal plate. The plate is necessary or they end up everywhere except the bowl.

havnagiggle• 3 years ago

Add some sugar to the oil and skip the butter. So goooood!

griffinkelly• 3 years ago

I recommend jalapeno popcorn. If you enjoy a spicy snack its great. Only difference is when you're heating up the oil, add some pickled jalapenos and cook them until they're crunchy--the oil will absorb the spiciness.

Also, try using coconut oil instead of canola oil to cook the popcorn--its pricier, but its a great taste. I think it removes the need to add butter afterwards.

bilalq• 3 years ago

I would avoid normal butter. I use ghee instead. The problem with butter is that it has water content that can cause the popcorn to get soggy. Ghee avoids that.

skipkey• 3 years ago

If you have time, or have pre-made it, using clarified butter results in a better final product. I keep some in the fridge all the time. Ghee would probably work similarly, but I have never tried it.

xctr94• 3 years ago

Unless there’s a comment more pedantic than mine disproving this, ghee IS clarified butter.

mauvehaus• 3 years ago

Old Bay seasoning on popcorn is fantastic. I usually don't butter if I'm putting it on, though I'm sure that would be delicious too.

JohnFen11• 3 years ago

Old Bay is great, yes! I also like nutritional yeast on popcorn.

But plain old butter is still my favorite.

tashoecraft2• 3 years ago

My only recommendation/advice is to use a thick bottom wok or pot. A wok allows the already popped popcorn to move away from the heat source.

Thick bottom pots also reduce burning. Use a vented lid so steam can escape which prevents soggy popcorn.

bharrison• 3 years ago

My household follows this method, though we find high heat, while extremely efficient, frequently results in chewy output.

In my experiments heating the pan and oil to a medium-high temperature, just before smoking, with 3-4 test kernels preloaded allows them to generate an alert by their popping, signalling the optimal time for addition of the rest of the kernel package.

interestica5• 3 years ago

Chewy is from moisture. Vent the pot better.

dsego• 3 years ago

No butter or parmesan, just salt is perfect.

datavirtue2• 3 years ago

I have stopped using paper towels after discovering those "flour sack" towels at Menards. I bought a lot of them so there is always a stack in the kitchen. They are a joy to use and easily replace paper towels for 99% of their functions. We still keep paper towels but the roll lasts forever now.

systems_glitch• 3 years ago

Our recipe:

* 3 tablespoons bacon grease * 1/2 cup popcorn kernels

Put the bacon grease in a large pot and add three kernels of popcorn. Heat it on half heat (5 on a gas burner, anyway) until the three kernels all pop -- this will usually be the point at which smoke from the grease is accumulating in the pot (if you have a large lid you can watch). Once the three pop, dump the rest in. Scoot the pot vigorously back and forth on the stove to shake the unpopped kernels to the bottom. Turn off the heat when the popping stops.

Pour in a bowl and salt to taste. No butter required. As above, you get almost no unpopped kernels this way!

We use "rainbow popcorn," which is multi-color and we think tastes better. It doesn't pop as big as the regular yellow kind.

I'll have to try the paper towel trick, especially with the smaller pot I sometimes use.

linsomniac2• 3 years ago

I'm a "heat kernels to just below popping and then pop" fan, since trying this method a decade ago. The goal is to get all the kernels to pop in a relatively short window, so nothing sits there to burn.

Method:

  - Prepare: Measure out 1/3 cup of popcorn and have a serving bowl ready.
  - Add high temp oil to the pot.  I use 1-2tbs of coconut oil.
  - Place in stock pot along with 3 kernels over medium high heat.
  - Cover with a kitchen towel (to let out some steam during popping, don't want a soggy popcorn).
  - Once the kernels pop, immediately dump in the rest of the kernels (I usually do 1/3 cup, whatever the instructions recommend).
  - Immediately take off the heat and shake gently to the count of 30.  The kids love participating in the count.
  - Put back on the heat and shake a little to make sure the kernels are evenly distributed.
  - Once the popping slows, immediately take it off the heat and dump into a serving bowl.  This prevents burning.

This method works great, rave reviews from the family.

jrmg• 3 years ago

With this method, the popping is reasonably quick, and the temperature fairly consistent, so, despite the advice seemingly everywhere in the internet, high temp oil isn’t actually necessary. Be careful and you can use olive oil (though that tastes a bit weird) or even butter.

leesalminen• 3 years ago

Cover, put on high (I use gas). I like to suspend a paper towel between the lid and the rest of the pot, absorbs excess oil and water.

Cool tip, thanks. I use basically the same steps except fort this one. Living in a high humidity environment (it's rarely below 70%), any step to reduce excess moisture helps improve the crunchiness of the popcorn.

JohnFen11• 3 years ago

I do this all the time. I never liked microwave popcorn because all of it has a strange odor and taste to me.

I like to suspend a paper towel between the lid and the rest of the pot, absorbs excess oil and water.

Brilliant! I never thought of this, and I'm going to start doing doing it. Thank you!

guerrilla• 3 years ago

Cover, put on high (I use gas). I like to suspend a paper towel between the lid and the rest of the pot, absorbs excess oil and water.

This is what I've been missing...

oktwtf2• 3 years ago

Knowing full well that you enjoy the popped corn enough to develop such a method. The one thing that took my basically verbatim instructions to the next level, was to add some “Butter Salt” in with the oil so the kernels are coated as they pop. It’ll give it that movie theatre yellow colour. It’s potent so not too much.

Also I usually toss in 3 kernels to the oil. When they pop you add the 1/3 cup as the oil is preheated and ready to get to work.

aSockPuppeteer• 3 years ago

Kettle corn * ¼ cup coconut oil * ¼ cup white sugar * ½ cup unpopped popcorn kernels

Heat oil first. Use the 3 kernel method to make sure oil is hot enough then add sugar and rest of kernels. Use a large lightweight pot with lid to shake every few seconds or you get uneven coated or crispy burnt pieces.

I tried different oils and sugar mixes but coconut with white sugar seems the best.

I read there are ways to use an air fryer also but haven’t tried yet.

phil21• 3 years ago

I'm somewhat of a fanatic on popcorn style... Take with a grain of salt.

Take one large pot (the kind that holds like 10qts).

Ideally a dutch oven or similar heavy bottom that distributes heat well. This makes the process nearly foolproof on any heat source.

Add a bit of oil, basically just enough to swirl and have everything covered in an oil sheen, not enough to have them submerged.

If you are looking for "movie theatre" popcorn the "secret" is using (extra virgin) coconut oil along with flavacol dissolved in the heated oil with the kernels popped in it. I use 2-3tbps of coconut oil and 2tsp of flavacol for 3/4 cup worth of kernels.

Flavacol should not be used as a topping imo, but as part of the popping substrate.

Cover

This is tricky. Covering traps moisture released during popping, and moisture results in soggy (or at least not crisp!) popcorn. You do need some sort of cover though for obvious reasons.

I found a pot+metal strainer combo that fits perfectly together, where the strainer has about as many holes in it as you could get away with without creating oil splash mess. This lets as much steam as possible out immediately upon popping with as little kernel contact as possible. A more easy to come by lid is using a mesh oil cover meant for deep frying.

The commercial poppers accomplish this by having a very small popping pan, which kernels get "pushed out" of fairly quickly after they pop into a well vented holding tub.

Toss 1/8 cup butter in the hot pot, melt the butter with residual heat.

Disagree on butter on popcorn, but it's a personal preference. I find butter makes popcorn soggy due to water content - and the flavacol+coconut oil is typically what most US theatre chains use vs. real butter, so it's what I "expect" the flavor to be. That said, I sometimes do melt up some butter to switch things up.

Salt(I prefer a salt grinder)

I prefer pre-made popcorn salt in a wide metal popcorn salt shaker to really get a nice even spread.

transfer back to the mixing bowl.

One trick: If you are making a lot of popcorn "to go" (e.g. for a party later) the best way I've found to keep it fresh is inside doubled-up paper grocery shopping bags. This helps soak up residual moisture, and the difference is noticeable after a few hours.

xnx• 3 years ago

s/Parmesan/nutritional yeast/ for me

sschueller• 3 years ago

Buy a 20 USD hot air popcorn machine. No unpoped kernels and you add as little or as much oil/butter etc you want at the end. No cleanup needed either. Only downside is that they are loud.

throwaway892238• 3 years ago

Make oil-free microwave popcorn by buying a collapsible silicone bowl, filling it with kernels, and nuking it for 3 minutes. Low calorie snack, no mess, no cleanup. I find salt sticks to it best afterward by sprinkling with a little water.

MrDunham2• 3 years ago

The low calorie part is questionable. Popcorn has (off I remember right) quite a lot more calories than you'd expect.

Source: I started getting fat of popcorn every day and am typically considered skinny/fit. Then I read the label and got sad.

Fezzik2• 3 years ago

Unadorned popped kernels are relatively low calorie, I think - 3 cups is less than 100 calories. Popcorn is also a decent source of roughage.

hombre_fatal3• 3 years ago

Popcorn is 30cal per cup which is low calorie. Since you mention reading a label, the thing you’re getting fat from isn’t the popcorn but the fat added to it.

The comment you reply to specifically mentions oil-less popcorn which is a low calorie stack and a good source of fiber once you get used to not lathering it in butter or olive oil.

xk_id3• 3 years ago

No, the kernels are very low calorie. It all comes down to how much fats you use (if any).

smelendez2• 3 years ago

Fast food also. Not shocking since it’s all served in grease-blocking packaging.

It’s always depressing to eat inside a fast food restaurant, where they wrap all of your food in chemically treated packaging you almost immediately discard since it’s presumably cheaper and simpler than having washable dishes.

NoZebra120vClip• 3 years ago

Take heart, because all the dishes and silverware in an upscale restaurant are likewise coated in contact poison. The reason being is that kitchens don't have the patience to air-dry their dishes, so they use chemical drying agents. These drying agents are toxic and they tend to leave a residue everywhere. So enjoy your fast food and know that you are in good company, no matter the number of Michelin stars.

jondwillis• 3 years ago

Having just started my dishwasher with a rinse aid, I checked on some of the ingredients. All of them slightly toxic w/ little potential to bioaccumulate.

Do you know what chemicals or products restaurants tend to use?

nabogh• 3 years ago

I'm sympathetic to this point of view but unless we're linking these so called toxins with a worse outcome how can we know they're actually causing harm? In all likelihood we'll die of a heart attack before any amount of toxins give us super cancer or whatever.

Trencin• 3 years ago

I feel this is somewhat misleading. One does not have to use these microwave popcorn bags, I have cooked popcorn in a microwave using a normal glass bowl, albeit covered with a plate. No oil required.

m_abdelfattah• 3 years ago

Exactly! I wanted to post the same! This is misleading. The problem is the microwave bags not the microwave itself!

wkat4242• 3 years ago

Ok this is a bit worrying indeed. I have to say I hardly ever eat that stuff, just because it's not even that nice. And it's full of hard fat.

AlbertCory• 3 years ago

+1 to all the old school recipes in here. Mine is slightly different, but no arguments. The dog gets excited because he knows he's getting some.

Microwave popcorn is an abomination, suitable only for annoying your fellow office workers. Especially if you burn it.

technick• 3 years ago

Well crap....

resolutebat2• 3 years ago

One more reason not to eat microwave popcorn: at least here in Australia, the prepackaged oil is invariably bottom-of-the-barrel palm oil, and there's lots of it in there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/13r7r3k/...

stevesimmons• 3 years ago

I'm surprised no one has posted The Muppets' Swedish Chef's instructions for making popcorn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7UmUX68KtE

riffraff• 3 years ago

people who ate microwave popcorn every day over the course of a year had levels of PFAS that were up to 63% higher than average.

You're probably fine if you have microwave popcorn once a fortnight, tho as other said you can use a pan or pot just fine.

redox992• 3 years ago

Eating microwave popcorn every single day seems kind of insane lol

dools2• 3 years ago

Until you realise that it's probably kids coming home from school and microwaving popcorn while both of their parents are at work still.

autoexec4• 3 years ago

I've gone through periods where I'd bring it into work for lunches. Fast, cheap, and filling. Every single day does seem a bit extreme though.

mrguyorama2• 3 years ago

I did it because I was doing stuff that caused me to get "the munchies" every night and a 440 calorie bag of popcorn was better for my health than an entire family sized bag of chips every night.

AHOHA• 3 years ago

I just buy corn and pop them naturally with popcorn machine, I don’t add anything, and it’s good and healthy!

lost_tourist2• 3 years ago

Mixing plastic and high temps is a bad idea in general.

davidgatti• 3 years ago

I think the problem is with the popcorn and not the waves ^_^

simmerup• 3 years ago

I'd suspect the packaging more than the food

DoingIsLearning2• 3 years ago

Reminder that PFAS is so pervasive that researchers can't design studies with a proper control group. i.e. they virtually cannot find anyone in the world without PFAS in their blood.

Dupont/3M did (and continue to do) a level of harm on par with CFCs and leaded gasoline, with complete regulatory impunity.

At some point the ICC needs to extend the crimes against humanity/nature to something like crimes against Human Health.

DiabloD3• 3 years ago

I agree.

However, how do you go after people who have so much money they can literally buy their way out of any appropriate punishment? We need something stronger than the ICC.

cnity2• 3 years ago

There are solutions but they exist only outside of the judicial system...

mdp2021• 3 years ago

Dupont/3M did (and continue to do) a level of harm

3M is on The Economist today with relevance to this matter:

3M, an American conglomerate, agreed to pay cities and utilities $12.5bn to settle thousands of lawsuits that had alleged chemicals emitted by the firm's products had polluted drinking-water supplies

MrBodangles• 3 years ago

Nice. I’m guessing that’ll barely cover a years worth of filtration (which they won’t ever spend it on anyway). What about the next 100 years? Let them profit because oligarchy?

ClumsyPilot8• 3 years ago

What about all the other cities in the world?

If the true cost of this damage were paid, 3M would be driven to bancrupsy. Maybe then the next conpany would not be so gun-ho about dumping strange chemicals.

This is your regular reminder that many of the wealthy are only so, because they never pay for the consequences of their actions.

DoingIsLearning2• 3 years ago

It would be billions more to:

1. Clean up PFAS from riverbeds and groundwater sediment.

2. Add PFAS cleaning stages in all water treatment systems across the globe.

At 12.5B, they are just paying up the people that can prove they now have cancer because of ridiculous exposure levels.

At 12.5B this is just the cost of doing business for Chem industry.

myshpa3• 3 years ago

PFAS 'forever chemicals' cost society €16 trillion a year

https://euobserver.com/green-economy/157075

RcouF1uZ4gsC• 3 years ago

Reminder that PFAS is so pervasive that researchers can't design studies with a proper control group. i.e. they virtually cannot find anyone in the world without PFAS in their blood.

The very pervasiveness argues against PFAS being that bad for humans in real life. Despite pretty much everyone having PFAS in their blood, at a global level, health is probably better than ever and most health problems are from refined sugars and sedentary lifestyle than anything that can be attributed to PFAS.

chrischen• 3 years ago

Is it possible to substitute the PFAS with a wax coating?

Jolter2• 3 years ago

Most waxes melt at about body temperature. You’d be eating waxed popcorn.

myshpa3• 3 years ago

Most waxes are made from fossil fuels anyway (because money).

qwertox• 3 years ago

My kids eat microwaved popcorn almost every night. Should I be worried?

Wouldn't they risk getting obese?

sakex• 3 years ago

Popcorn are very low calories and they're quite filling

kevincox• 3 years ago

While popcorn itself is low calorie and filling most microwave popcorn includes loads of oil which is fairly energy dense.

Gordonjcp• 3 years ago

What's PFAS? <reads article> Oh, something with a scary-sounding name that Californians can be frightened of, like hydrogen hydroxide.

philshem• 3 years ago

Let's not forget about the butter flavoring, aka Diacetyl:

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/flavorings/exposure.html#:~....

In a plant where workers with uncontrolled exposures to butter-flavoring chemicals in microwave popcorn production had rapidly developed severe, irreversible lung disease, increased ventilation and isolation of flavor sources in mixing, holding tanks, and microwave popping decreased the risk for most workers.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3115208/

Man Wins $7 Million In Suit Claiming Microwave Popcorn Caused Lung Disease

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/09/20/161489994/ma...

sideproject3• 3 years ago

An oncologist in my family anecdotally told me how her patients are getting younger and younger - speculates (with research) that lots of food chemicals might be contributing.

Since the beginning of this year, our family has been much more conscious of the ingredients in the food labels. Lots of additives with many different numbers. We've been trying to get back to more natural things with less numbers. We bought breadmaker and started making our own bread (fun and messy). Bought a second hand ice cream maker (fun, tedious, but yum). Never knew how simple popcorn making was! Lots of colours of vegetables, home-grown spring onions. Our grocery bills on vegetables and fruits went up sharply. But it went down on crackers, chocolates and other things sharply.

I don't feel anything - but it helps me to think that I'm eating less numbers.

Rnonymous2• 3 years ago

Ironically the pans in breadmakers are always(afaik) non-stick, based on the same PFAS chemicals.

Not that im saying you should avoid using a bread maker, but it doesn't avoid all chemicals...

AstralStorm6• 3 years ago

Less ironically the nonstick surfaces do not leach much of those after an initial bake cycle, unless you scrape them. Much less than, say, a plastic bottle.

But if you're really bothered by this, you can actually get a non-stick ceramic coated insert instead. Or do it the classic way with steel or glass and fat, just like cake.

Or get bread that's not packed in plastic heh.

sergioisidoro• 3 years ago

The numbers are not bad, and in many cases they might even be totally natural (eg. e330 citric acid, the acid present on citrus fruits).

I worry more about what's not in the labels (like pesticides used, antibiotics in meats, packaging etc). Your approach seems to be directionally correct tho, if you source your ingredients right.

sofixa• 3 years ago

That's why I'm so happy Yuka exists. It's an app that scans barcodes of foodstuffs or cosmetics, and gives you an easy and clear scoring of the stuff inside them based on how good are they for you and for the planet (e.g. too much sugar, lots of protein, high impact on the environment, local or not, additives, etc.).

Of course it doesn't work on stuff without barcodes like vegetables and fruit, meat bought fresh, etc. but still it's extremely helpful and useful.

AstralStorm6• 3 years ago

I believe a lot of this is leached from packaging, not even put directly in the food. How about we stop using plastic foil, foil laminated paper and plastic trays for everything? Glass was fine, plain paper was fine, waxed paper was fine, even non-laminated cans are fine.

CaptainZapp• 3 years ago

Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.

Michael Pollan

mrguyorama2• 3 years ago

My great grandmother was a housewife in the 50s so that would include things like a "salad" made of mayo and nuts on a banana or a jello dish full of tuna.

toxicFork2• 3 years ago

I thought at first that the existing patients are getting better and looking younger thanks to the chemicals, rather than the new patients being younger than the previous ones.

atentaten3• 3 years ago

Any brand recommendations on the ice cream maker and breadmaker?

sideproject3• 3 years ago

We were recommended Breville. They are more on the pricey end. But we did get them second hand via FB marketplace.

im3w1l• 3 years ago

Is pfas intrinsic to microwave popcorn? I'm inclined to think that there is one or a few brands that is responsible.

daneel_w• 3 years ago

The Swedish brand of "micropop" I buy every now and then has a label on the box stating that the bag is made without perfluorated substances. I have no means of testing it, but I believe them.

mgrund• 3 years ago

Some brands do use PFAS free bags and have for a while though.

MagicMoonlight• 3 years ago

Why has fertility halved we ask as we drink the plastic water.

One day this will be the “why did they put lead in toys” of our period

robert_no_robot• 3 years ago

I believe that people who eat microwave popcorn have higher PFAS levels as the study suggests.

I'm a bit skeptical about microwave popcorn increases PFAS as the study doesn't really answer this question. People eating microwave popcorn might be different from those who don't eat it and the real source could be something else.

But I'm only a bit skeptical as it sounds plausible that the manufacturers probably use PFAS-contaminated surfaces in the production.

smallerdemon• 3 years ago

Truly, microwave popcorn is atrocious for all sorts of reasons.

As top vote getting comment points out, regular popcorn is SO easy and SO much better. I have no idea why anyone wants to make microwave popcorn when the regular way is just as easy, taste better, and in now demonstrably healthier.

tabiv• 3 years ago

Recently my wife and I searched for a drinking water filter that would remove PFAS. We found one!

https://www.clearlyfiltered.com/pages/performance-data-for-t...

Eumenes• 3 years ago

Nice, now I need to find a whole house filter system

f5ve• 3 years ago

It removes flouride as well, for better or worse -- one of very few available filters which do. (Some think flouride is good and some think it's bad.)

I have it, and purely ergonomically, it's the best filter I've ever used. It's also quite expensive with expensive filters that need replacing frequently.

OldManRyan• 3 years ago

Seems like it needs to be replaced every 4-5 months which is longer than my Brita which needs to be replaced every 3 months

hospitalJail2• 3 years ago

If you brush your teeth with toothpaste, it shouldn't matter.

light_hue_12• 3 years ago

This isn't a some think it's good and some think it's bad kind of thing. Just like with climate change there's no legitimate other side.

Fluoride in your water supply is key to reducing tooth decay. Every medical association every scrap of evidence that we have says it's useful and important. It cuts tooth decay by 25% or so at all ages. You're doing yourself and your family a massive disservice by not adding it back in, never mind causing yourself a lot of pain and losing a lot of money in the long term.

https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/index.html

I think it's ironic that people don't listen to doctors when they suggest simple proven methods that have a worldwide consensus behind them and unlimited evidence. But then are willing to let those same doctors drill into their skulls when they're in pain. Don't be that person :)

objektif• 3 years ago

This looks good but the under sink system is a bit expensive. Does anyone know a good, affordable, easy to install under sink filter?

prismatix• 3 years ago

Also see AquaGear https://www.drinkaquagear.com/ for a slightly cheaper option ($70 vs $90).

FiddlerClamp• 3 years ago

I use a reusable flexible plastic bowl and popcorn from a jar I pour into it - inside the microwave. Wonder if that's just as harmful.

hackernoteng3• 3 years ago

everyone at this point should know that you dont put plastic into a microwave

hackernoteng3• 3 years ago

we use an old fashioned stove top metal popper with a hand crank to stir it. use a bit of organic coconut oil and organic popcorn kernels and salt. its very easy to do.

seydor• 3 years ago

why would you eat popcorn after the age when you become conscious of food anyway

fallat• 3 years ago

this guy doesnt popcorn.

mensetmanusman• 3 years ago

Prozac, Lipitor, and Flonase are also PFAS used in the body.

Octokiddie• 3 years ago

A study published in 2019 analyzed a decade of data about the eating habits of 10,000 people, which was collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2003 and 2014. Blood samples from the study participants were also collected. The researchers found that people who ate microwave popcorn every day over the course of a year had levels of PFAS that were up to 63% higher than average.

1. Is it too much to ask for a link to the original research in an article like this?

2. Given that every human alive has detectable levels of PFAS in blood, 63% elevation after eating every single day of the year doesn't seem like a lot.

3. Those advocating popping in pans/pots might want to consider what that pan/pot is coated with.

mchanson• 3 years ago

Most people stove top pop in a 8 or 10 qt pot. These are typically for making pasta, boiling potatoes, soups, or stews. Usually bare metal or enameled cast iron. No PFAs.

SethMurphy3• 3 years ago

Try the stovetop method with preferred oil and then drizzle honey before heating. Higher risk of burning, more shaking is needed. When popped, lightly salt. Make sure to rinse the pot with water while still hot to not allow sticky burnt sugars to get solidified for an easier cleanup.

firecall• 3 years ago

My kids eat microwaved popcorn almost every night. Should I be worried?

Every night?!

Well yes…

k8si• 3 years ago

Certain brands (e.g. SkinnyPop) advertise their bags as "chemical-free" (SkinnyPop claims their's is free of PFOAS). Can anyone help me understand/verify these kinds of claims?

wly_cdgr• 3 years ago

Also those sharp little bits always get stuck between your teeth and it's suuuuuuper annoying

Eating microwave popcorn increases the level of PFAS in body (2022)

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