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I want to make brown paper bags of popcorn kernels and flavouring to give as gifts, but i can't seen to get the popcorn flavouring to stick to the unpopped kernels.
How do companies that sell microwave popcorn make sure it's flavoured when it's popped in the microwave? I don't want to add anything after, just have it already flavoured when it's popped.
If you inspect any commercially sold bagged popcorn, you'll notice that one side of the bag (before it's popped) is denser than the other. They put all the butter and flavourings on one side of the bag and it disperses as the corn pops. The flavoring should be on the side labeled "this side up".
Here's a great YouTube video that walks through the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBCgbwp8uSw
Basically, you use oil as the coating. The oil will adhere the seasonings you'd like to add to the kernels. They recommend 1/4 cup of popcorn to a 1/2 teaspoon of oil.
Some commercial kinds use a butter flavoring called diacetyl, which is very potent and likely effective if just sprayed on. It's in butter too, naturally, but also in a tiny enough amount not to turn the butter into hazmat (which an ounce of pure diacetyl would be). In the end, the chemical that makes butter taste like butter is instead used directly on the popcorn.
