Last night while attempting to make a snack with our fancy-pants organic non-GMO popping corn (see FOOD, INC. if you want to know why that’s significantly feel-good food) our air popper broke.
figuring out why the popper stopped blowing heat
Online, I learned that many people use these things to roast coffee at home. How interesting! However, ours appeared to be inexplicably broken, and besides not knowing how to fix it, we don’t really want to buy another one that will inevitably end up in the trash heap. Luckily, I also learned online that you can make a popper out of an aluminum can. Awesome! I have plenty of those.
Here’s how to do it: rinse out the can, CAREFULLY cut a little rectangular window near the top of the can. Keep one side attached at the top as a hinge. pry it open a bit. This is your popcorn deflector – aim it toward your vessel.
Recipe: pour a bit of oil in the can (canola or peanut oil are great) 3-4tsp of popping corn. Put the can on a heat source. You can use a tealight if your power is out and you want something fun to do, or a camp stove if you want to impress your friends when you are camping. I used the stove on med-high heat. Swirl the kernels around occasionally. Wait.
ohmygoodness it works!
unbelievably, it actually worked, and it didn’t burn the kernels. Having a nice tall can like this guiness one was possibly an improvement over a can of regular dimensions. Just don’t forget to remove the little plastic ball they put in there.
Remember this the next time the power goes out – you too can have popcorn in a pinch….
