Hi!
If you love popcorn and you are lazy about making it like I can be (oil popped is messier, less healthy, and more cleanup...and air-popped can have kernals flying everywhere or just lots of unpopped ones at the bottom of the bowl), try this! I saw this tip on TV a few weeks back and just tried it Saturday night for myself because I just couldn't believe it. I am still stunned even though I saw it with my own eyes. My husband and I loved it and will never make popcorn any other way again. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Instead of buying microwave popcorn with all the unhealthy (and potentially dangerous) oils...plus the rumored contaminants from the dyed/processed bags themselves, take a plain brown paper lunch bag, put about 1/3 of a cup of popcorn kernals in (only kernals -- no oil), make a small fold at the top to close the bag and put in one staple to keep it closed. Put it in the microwave on your regular popcorn setting you'd use. Like magic, it pops!!! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Watch and listen until the popping slows to barely any before stopping so as not to burn any. Then, just add your own butter or margarine topping...or whatever you like. You could even eat it out of the bag just like the movies. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Delicious, healthy, an easy-clean up, and safer for PA/TNA folks like us. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Enjoy!
Kyla
![http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]](http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]){kind=link}
This 'recipe' is also in one of Alton Brown's books. I haven't tried it yet, but am glad to hear that it works!
You can use a staple in a microwave? Does it cause any problems? I've always been under the assumption that you cannot put metal in a microwave.
We make this, too but don't use the staple. We also add a little drizzle of oil and place it on a plate. My microwave is short so maybe that's why it's never popped open - we just fold it a few times and crease it really well. I've been experimenting with making homemade microwave Kettle corn - I've been using Splenda (I read real sugar would burn too quickly) but haven't quite got it yet.
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Jana
[url="http://www.seattlefoodallergy.org"]www.seattlefoodallergy.org[/url]
[This message has been edited by Jana R (edited August 28, 2006).]
Quote:Originally posted by ceross:
[b]You can use a staple in a microwave? Does it cause any problems? I've always been under the assumption that you cannot put metal in a microwave.[/b]
I Google'd about the staple. 1-2 staples (thin kind...not the heavy duty staples or staple gun staples) do not contain enough metal to make a spark in a microwave.
You can also make smaller batches and fold over the bag a few times to stay shut. Just don't overfill the bag!
Adrienne
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30-something survivor of severe peanut/tree nut allergy
I love this idea but want to mention one thing. I always thought I was safe with popcorn kernels in a bag (no oil, just the kernels) until recently a bag had a warning. I didn't buy it but will look next time to see what type of warning (packaged at the same facility or on same equipment). I won't buy it regardless, but will look for the brand and so forth.
Thanks, Adrienne. I tried that yesterday. Just folds, no staple. Worked great. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Really am interested in there are paper bags with warnings on them. That would really make me sad. I can't imagine why bags would have a warning though.
Kyla
Quote:Originally posted by DJPorter:
[b]I love this idea but want to mention one thing. I always thought I was safe with popcorn kernels in a bag (no oil, just the kernels) until recently a bag had a warning. I didn't buy it but will look next time to see what type of warning (packaged at the same facility or on same equipment). I won't buy it regardless, but will look for the brand and so forth.[/b]
a brown paper bag had a warning? Is that what I am understanding?
If so, it would be really sweet if you could find that brand again and post here. In particular, under the 'Unexpected sources of peanut' thread...
Adrienne
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30-something survivor of severe peanut/tree nut allergy
I am so sorry for not conveying clearly what I meant. The paper bags did not have a warning (now that would be a "thought we had heard it all!" moment) - the popcorn bag did. I never thought loose popcorn kernels in a bag would be an issue, just microwave or jar popcorn with oil, but again, it was the loose popcorn in a bag that had the warning, NOT paper bags. Sorry for the confusion.
The last time I checked, most of the bagged kernels sold in Ontario do have a "may contain" warning. The only safe kernels I found were the "Orville Redenbacher" ones in the plastic jar and this is the one I've been using for about a year now.
Can microwave popcorn give you cancer?
That question is the gist of this e-mail from an HSI member named Steve: "What do you know about the current research that shows carcinogens on the inside of the bags of microwavable popcorn? According to a news item, the FDA claims the bags are safe, but I do not trust whatever I hear from them. As someone who has eaten a lot of microwave popcorn, I am concerned. If the claim is true, do you know what the potential danger exists?"
Well, Steve...I've got good news, and I've got bad news...
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Inside out
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Microwave popcorn bags are made of paper, but the inside of the bag has to be coated with something that will repel grease and moisture to prevent the bag from becoming a soggy mess while it's whirling and popping in your microwave oven. When the mix of chemicals used to coat microwave bags is heated, some compounds are known to break down into a substance called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).
Here's the bad news: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFOA has been identified as a "likely carcinogen."
So how much PFOA migrates from the bag to the popcorn? That's the question FDA researchers set out to answer in a study published this past October. Using a technique known as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the FDA team determined that a relatively small amount of PFOA made it into the popcorn.
If we put aside our general wariness of the FDA for the moment and accept this study's finding at face value, then the obvious good news is that you'll have to eat quite a bit of microwave popcorn to consume a significant amount of PFOA.
And I'm afraid the good news ends there, because at this point it's impossible to say how much PFOA might be required to present a cancer danger. But here's the really unsettling part: The FDA team estimates that blood levels of PFOA from microwave popcorn may account for only about 20 percent of the average level found in blood samples of U.S. consumers. So whether you eat two bags of Jolly Time per day or none at all, you're probably getting plenty of PFOA exposure from a wide range of other sources.
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The popcorn plant
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Unfortunately, there may be more than just a carcinogen in the popcorn bag.
In the e-Alert "Could Popcorn be Worse for Your Lungs than Cigarettes?" (11/7/01), I told you about an incident at a Missouri microwave popcorn plant in which two-dozen workers developed a rare and potentially deadly disease that destroys lung tissue. The culprit: According to a report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the disease was triggered by exposure to artificial butter flavoring.
The initial report noted that 130 plant employees had twice the national average rates of bronchitis and asthma and more than three times the rate of obstructed breathing. Ironically, the effects were even worse for people who had never smoked - their rates of obstructed breathing were almost 11 times higher than the national average.
NIOSH officials believe that a single ingredient in the artificial butter flavoring is to blame for this rash of respiratory diseases. It's called Diacetyl, and it's the chemical compound that gives most artificial butter its flavor and aroma. The widely used (and FDA-approved) additive is also found in many wines, beers, cookies, candies, and cheese-flavored products.
In November 2005, the last of 54 former workers at the popcorn plant settled their lawsuits out of court. Four other cases involving seven workers went to trial and resulted in verdicts that totaled more than $50 million dollars in compensation for the workers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, NIOSH officials believe it's "safe for consumers to eat microwave popcorn and other artificially flavored products that have received FDA approval."
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