Up in Ontario

My New Popcorn Popper

As many of you loyal Up in Ontario readers will know, I have an enthusiasm for popcorn. It is, perhaps, the perfect snack for sedentary activities. Sure it doesn't travel well, but head yourself into a house or apartment within hours of popcorn being popped and your body will tell you what it wants.

I share my enthusiasm with my father and my brother Scott and some other select aficianados. We appreciate the corn, you might say. So, when my brother turned up on Friday night for the weekend to celebrate my birthday and pulled out a box containing a stovetop popcorn popper, my heart went flipty flop with delight. Just the week before I had been telling him about a similar unit I had seen at a mutual friend's, and the fine, fine corn it had produced. Now here was one ready to go before my very eyes.

We broke it out right away. After cleaning out the hopper, I gave it a few test cranks. Now maybe, before I get into the full action of what happened, I should describe the popper for our viewers at home. Imagine a large-sized pot, almost large enough for cobs of corn, but more closely associated with a large lashing of soup. Place a tight lid on the pot, with clips on the lid to hold it to the rim and a handle off the side of the lid. The handle is wooden and drives a gear in the middle of the lid, which drives a cylinder that stretches down to the centre of the base of the pot. Three arms extend from the cylinder. When the handle is cranked it drives the gear that rotates the cylinder and the arms sweep around the base of the pot, rolling the popcorn kernels with love.

So we broke it out right away. Scott told me he thought he knew what he was doing, since he had lived in Ireland for a year playing rugby, and had learned to make popcorn on a stovetop with some skill. We added the right amount of oil to the bottom of the pot and four or five popcorn kernals. This was the best way to proceed, he told me, since we wanted to oil at the right temperature before we added all the kernels. We applied the heat, crowded over the stovetop, and waited.

Every few seconds I gave the pot a shake on the element. I also worked the crank and heard those precious little kernals rolling around inside. After a few minutes the gentle sound of the oil bubbling whispered from the pot. A second later the first kernel fired. Scott was ready with the balance of kernels when I opened the lid. They clattered in and I kept churning the handle. The Duck watched us with some bemusement, so we put her to work. She loaded up our measuring cup - the one I had bought solely for melting butter for popcorn - with an appropriate level of buttery goodness and slid it into the microwave. The kernels popped rapid fire by then, like an automatic weapon. I cranked the handle and gave a little shake now and then. The weight in the pot began to dissapate and move up towards the lid. I cranked and shook some more, until I turned the handle around and the arms connecting to the cylinder on the inside would no longer turn. We were done.

"She's done," I said to Scott and he nodded.

"Just a few seconds and we'll have to take it off."

I slipped on an oven mit and pried open the clamp that held the lid shut. Once released, the lid lifted on its own, the popcorn inside bursting from the pot. Scott held the big popcorn bowl ready while I tilted the pot. We ending up getting almost all the popcorn into the bowl. He poured the butter over the top, I sprinkled some salt on, and he tossed those glistening white kernels to distribute the goodness. We grabbed some napkins and headed to the couch. Do I have to tell you what happened next? I think I even got to hold the bowl.

Tomorrow night Canada plays Finland in the finals of the World Cup of Hockey. I think the new popcorn maker could well see it's second run.