Prepare a bowl, or two, or three depending on how many flavours you fancy making.
Place the cooking pot over medium heat. Add the coconut oil and the corn kernels which should be sufficient and not more than covering the bottom of the pot you decide to pop the corn in.
As soon as you put the kernels in, place the lid on medium heat. The lid should be placed slightly ajar.
The corn will begin to pop so make sure you pick up the pot by its handle(s) and, while holding on to the lid, slightly and gently shake it for a couple of times during a batch, placing it back on the heat straight after each shake. This will help the kernels (that are not popped) to pop and the ones that are popped not to burn, by moving them around rather than staying still for the whole cooking time.
Once the popping has stopped, vigilantly remove the lid and place the popcorn into your prepared bowl. Be prepared that you might still get one pop just to scare you - do not drop the lid ;-) ha ha. Those late popping ones really get me, every time!
Add the topping you wish and give them a little stir. See recipe notes for some ideas on toppings.
Notes
Tips on making the perfect popcorn:• Make sure the kernels aren’t too old or humid, as they will not pop at that 100% rate.• Oil, butter, coconut oil or the ghee (depending on what you choose to use), has to be pretty hot (not smoking) when you pop the kernels in.• Make sure you pop the lid and leave a slight crack on the side.• Don't forget to give the pot a shake or two during the popping, so all kernels get a chance to pop (they will only pop if they touch the hot bottom of the pot).• Although cast iron could be one of the best pots to choose when deciding to make pop corn, this isn't necessary but the thicker the bottom the better.Alternative flavors - options and tips :
To make spicy popcorn, just add a bit of Cayenne pepper to your coconut oil, and if you decide mixing in other flavours, you can leave this step at the end so you don’t get the sweet ones with a bit of chilli although that woud make it even more fun for adults batches.
Same with herb flavored popcorn: decide what herbs you would like to mix in (rosmarin, thyme, tarragon, sage, oregano, you name it). You can add these herbs in the oil or infuse some butter with the herbs and pour it over the popcorn.
To make caramel, melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat or even low, then add the sugar (depending on how much corn you have, I'd say 2-3 tbsp/batch) some cinnamon and slightly increase the heat, while stirring slightly.
The sugar will start bubbling in about a minute, and after about 2 minutes it's ready to be removed from heat.This will be ready to be poured over the popcorn, so make sure the popcorn is ready and placed in a bowl prior to making the caramel.
Add some crushed pritzels to the caramel before pouring it over.
I do sometimes add one or two sachets of vanilla sugar, so if you don't like the cinnamon go for vanilla.
as already mentioned, take this to a different level and give them a generous sprinkle of finely grated cheese - go fo your favourite cheese - mine is mozarella as it will not overly power the popcorn with its flavour.
Feel free to come up with a whole new ideas and do let me know what else you have invented (flavour wise of course ;-)) )I am thinking right now (have not tried yet but that’s defo my next one) Lotus Biscoff spread - the French Speculoos - what do you think?Enjoy, whatever you decide to put in, sprinkle or pour over your popcorn!