What's air-popped popcorn?

I love popcorn and I'd love to be able to make it without oil but I cant see how. Do I need one of those machines? Is there an easy way to make popcorn without oil ?

 

Thanks

I make it by just popping it in the microwave oven!

I have an air popper.  The corn is popped by hot air and is very dry.  If you like the taste of very plain popcorn, then you'll like it.  If you like some salt or other flavor, you won't get that because the salt won't adhere to the dry kernals.

My compromise is Orville Reddenbacher's Smart Pop microwaveed which has less salt and very few flavorings, and no trans fats.

know what i do? buy popcorn kernels. not the pre-bagged, prebuttered ones. the big plastic bags full of just plain corn kernels. then buy those brown lunch bags. put about 2 tbsp of kernels in the bag, fold it over and lay it FLAT in the microwave. heat for about 2 mins. YUM!

Annie,

We have one of those Presto hot air corn poppers. I think we paid about $15 for ours. LOVE it! Nothing added (you can't add anything into the machine) just plain popcorn! Great snack.

For the kids and hubby I melt some salted butter while the corn is popping and add that once it's done.

Hmm.. I see you're not in the US. If you go online to amazon, type in presto hot air corn popper and you can see what kind of machine to get. We got a fancier and more expensive one for Christmas one year, but the popcorn comes out rubbery compared to this little popper.

Or if you have a microwave, you can buy a microwave popcorn popper... they're not terribly expensive either... I don't know how the popcorn from those comes out.

youheartme - I've read that idea too and thought it was a really neat idea... but then I read that heating up the brown bag may produce and add gases to your popcorn that may be harmful to your health. Then again, getting in your car each day may also be harmful to ones health, so who knows anymore. :p

Not to say I've ever done it, but you could always try pam cooking spray, or something similar.

I bought my air popper at a thrift store for a few dollars. They're pretty cheap.

I personally LOVE the taste of plain popcorn, you can taste the sweetness that's in it. I don't really like butter anyways, and salt is a tricky on w/ plain popcorn, unless you don't mind the spray taste, then you could use that I suppose... :S

I have an air popper I picked up at a thrift store. I love air popped corn. I sometimes add a bit of Earth Balance to mine, but since I popped it with air,  and I measure my "butter" I know exactly how what I'm eating and I can eliminate,  the salt that is in so many microwave popcorns.

If you can't find an air popper you can do the microwave trick as states above, or Paul Newman and at least one other brand I can't think of ,make a natural microwave popcorn with no fat or salt added, just popcorn {read labels Its usually labled natural or something along those lines}, which is really good also. the small amount of moisture contained in the bag,  {from the popcorn itself} keeps it from being as dry as air popped corn, where the hot air tends to evaporate the moisture.

 

My air popper is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.  You should definitely get one.  They're cheap and last forever.  Plus air popped popcorn doesn't have all the additives of microwave popcorn.

The microwave bowl works fine although I prefer the electric air poppers as each piece pops out when it's ready instead of all the corn getting heated the same amount.

I loved your idea!  I don't have a popcorn popper so I will try it, THANX!!!

i bought popcorn kernels and took about half a cup of them, put them in a pot and covered the pot! i shook the pot a little bit while the popcorn was popping so that nothing burnt and just ate it! no oil, no fats, no unnecessary preservatives etc :)

btw- my pot has a nonstick bottom, might make things easier!

I never really liked popcorn, but now I buy the 100-calorie packs of Orville Redenbacher SmartPop 94% Fat Free popcorn when they're buy-one-get-one-free at the grocery store(s) and it's a no-brainer!  Four grams of fiber to boot.  Plus sometimes I up the game and do two quick sprays of Butter Flavored Pam into the bowl and it's such a treat.  I had lost 20 lbs before finding this site and I'm sure the pre-measured snacks and portions have had a lot to do with it.  Other people have great ideas too - this one just happens to work for me!

For a real treat, I air pop the popcorn and then shred one ounce of the best most expensive cheese I can find on it...like a nutty gruyere.  Then pepper it and add a little salt.