Gugel Family Cookbook

Dad's Popcorn

(a story by Ellen and Paul Gugel)

This is not as much a recipe, as it is a story about Dad and his popcorn.

Popcorn (cooked with oil on the stove – the only way to cook it in those days before the microwave oven) was a favorite in the Gugel home. Most of us “kids” remember trying to go to sleep and smelling first the low sound and faint odor of popcorn cooking from the kitchen stove and then the stronger smell of popcorn coming from the den where dad came back with his just popped treasure to watch a bit of TV in peace. The smell was especially intoxicating on those occasions when dad forgot to close the door at the foot of the stairs! Decisions had to be made. Would I be able to get downstairs and get some popcorn before mom realized I wasn’t in bed? Would Dad be annoyed after he had just sent me off to sleep? Was it worth the risk? Of COURSE it was!

Follow three simple rules:

1. Pop it on the stove top (not a microwave oven – Dad never did that)
2. Use the proper type and amount of oil, not being too stingy, or overly generous.*
3. Don’t put too much popcorn in the pan, meaning more than the pan can hold once it’s all popped. Never use more than a single layer covering the bottom of whatever size pan you’ve chosen or else it will pop the lid off the pan.

*Popcorn demands sufficient oil. Back in Dad’s days, no one skimped on oil, sanctimonious about their fat intake. Even today, everyone knows corn oil is one of the “good fats”. As far as popping oil, corn oil or peanut oil are traditional and need no improvement. Never get fancier, like olive oil, with popcorn (not worth it). And don’t get "healthier", like canola oil, either (no taste). Put in enough to cover the bottom generously, a few tablespoons.

Dad’s Special Method is the only fool-proof process to make sure all the kernels pop without any burnt popcorn and to get a full pan of plump white popped corn.

Dad’s Special Method:

1. Fill the pan with oil to cover the bottom, a few tablespoons.
2. Put in three kernels – exactly three, no more, no less.
3. Turn the heat on high, cover the pan, and leave it there until you hear all three kernels pop.
4. Add the rest of the popcorn (a single layer on the bottom).
5. When you start to hear it pop, start the shaking process and keep it up until it’s all popped (when you stop hearing popping).*
6. Remove from heat.

*Dad had twenty different ways of shaking popcorn, all of which he employed in a single popping session. He would shake the pan sideways, back and forth, up and down, give the pan quick little shakes, alternated with longer, slower more forceful strokes, and he wouldn’t let up shaking for even a second. (This may have been for show?)

Dad insisted that popped popcorn be kept hot, to the extent that was possible. “Put the lid back on,” was the refrain we heard as we helped ourselves to more. He instructed us to replace the lid of the pan to keep the remaining popcorn hot. (It turns out, this doesn’t help much.)

Once your popcorn stops popping, slide the pan off the hot burner, turn the stove off, and carefully lift the lid. Smell the aromatic steam as it escapes, and admire your fluffy, puffy white popcorn. Every piece should be fully popped, not a one shriveled or blackened. Your pot full of healthy-looking, plump popcorn is ready to be eaten. Serve with melted margarine or butter, and salt if you like. Ellen suggests grated parmesan cheese.

“Dad was a popcorn expert, a popcorn gourmet, if you will, and he had much popcorn wisdom to pass on to the younger popcorn-making generation (to those who paid attention). Everything I know about making popcorn, I owe to my Dad.” – Ellen

“Since the making of the popcorn was often done in secrecy, not all of us were familiar with the process. Well at least Paul wasn’t familiar because one night (could he really be in college and be this – what is a nice way to say it – not the sharpest knife in the drawer?) when he was home with one of his friends he decided to make popcorn. Little did he (or his friend) know that Karo Syrup was not a good substitute for vegetable oil when it comes to popping corn! As the popcorn did not pop and the house began to fill with smoke, Paul realized that he might have a problem on his hands. As it was freezing cold he sought refuge in the back room. Soon however, this room began to fill with smoke too, setting off a mild (medium?) bout of panic. Fortunately, after a bit of frantic struggle, Paul got the handle working, opened the back room door, crawled through the kitchen, opened the side door and escaped to fresh air. Airing out the house took quite a bit longer; cleaning the ruined pot, proved impossible; learning a lesson (not cooking popcorn without Dad around to help?) was unavoidable.” – Paul