Caramel Corn

From Country Canning and Preserving, Linda Ferrari, Crescent Books, 1991. ISBN 0-517-69125-6.

An easy-to-make and delicious caramel popcorn recipe. It's a little bit of a mess to clean up though.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 stick) unsalted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cpu light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 quarts popped popcorn

Directions

Melt the butter in a heavy pan. Add the sugar, syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When it begins to boil, stop stirring and cook at medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add the baking soda and vanilla. Stir vigorously for 2 minutes or until the caramel doubles in size.

Put the popcorn in a large roasting pan and pour the hot caramel sauce over top. Mix caramel and popcorn and then cook in a 250F oven for 50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to distribute the caramel evenly. Remove and spread the popcorn on a wooden surface or on cookie sheets. Separate with two spoons, and let the popcorn cool completely. Store in an airtight container. It should keep for 2 weeks.

Comments

They recommend Land O Lakes unsalted butter specifically.
Be very gentle when you stir so that you don't break the popcorn up into little bits.
Soak everything for a long time before cleaning.

Jim Plank

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