Easy Homemade Caramel Corn & Kettle Corn Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between caramel corn and kettle corn? ›

While both caramel corn and kettle corn are sweet, caramel corn is richer in flavor and texture. Historically sweetened with molasses, caramel corn is most-often candy-coated. The thin, crunchy, sweet coating is derived from melted sugar.

→ The exact cooking temperature isn't critical with this recipe, but ideally you want the sugar mixture to reach between 250°F and 300°F. The longer you cook the syrup, the crunchier it will be.

Once the caramel has cooled on your popcorn, the air bubbles inside the caramel create a softer texture. The softer texture means you won't be biting into hard-as-cement caramel. Rather, the caramel is melt-in-your-mouth chewy and only slightly crunchy.

Baking soda is what makes caramel corn chewy with a bit of crunch and gives it the classic brittle texture. The baking soda also helps the mixture to increase in volume which ensures it covers all of the popcorn. It's an essential ingredient and without it you'll likely find the texture of the caramel corn to be off.

Adding sugar to your mix during the cooking process is essential to crafting that perfect blend of sweet and savory taste. It's the flavor that has become a hallmark of kettle corn.

Kettle corn is a variety of corn that was initially made in the kettle – people would oil a large iron kettle and cook the corn. Once the popcorn has popped, it is tossed with a sugar and salt mixture to give it a savory taste and distinct texture.

Even if you want to add candy or sauces, it doesn't require an egg. Still, some say the egg keeps the kernels from sticking together, while others say it's to keep wannabe chefs from adding too many kernels to the pan.

Caramel: You will need brown sugar, butter, light corn syrup, salt, vanilla, and baking soda to make the caramel mixture. Popcorn: I prefer white popcorn in this recipe. However, you could use white or yellow.

Why is my Caramel Corn Grainy? Grainy caramel (or crystalized caramel) happens when the sugar crystals in the caramel seize up or cling together.

If you're looking to breathe new life into the snack, spread it on a baking sheet and heat in the oven at 250°F for about five minutes. It should be as good as new!

Why is my caramel corn bitter? ›

Overheating the mixture

Follow the recipe carefully, and never melt your caramel on your stove's highest setting—it will cause the caramel to scorch and taste burnt. Once it gets a burnt or bitter flavor, it can't be saved. Luckily, sugar is inexpensive, so you can always start over!

If your caramel corn came out sticky then, unfortunately, it has not been cooked properly. It is very important to bring the caramel mixture to a boil and boil it for 5 minutes. This helps make sure it dries as a shiny coating during the cooling process instead of a sticky mess.

The secret to a great caramel popcorn that's evenly coated with caramel with a thin, crispy coating of caramel (rather that globs of sticky caramel) is baking soda and baking the popcorn to dry it out. This caramel corn stays crispy for 2+ weeks!!!

Kettle corn is a sweet variety of popcorn that is typically mixed or seasoned with a light-colored refined sugar, salt, and oil. It was traditionally made in cast iron kettles, hence the name, but in modern times other types of pots and pans are used. Kettle corn.

Caramel corn or caramel popcorn (toffee popcorn in the UK) is a confection made of popcorn coated with a sugar or molasses based caramel candy shell that is normally less than 1mm thick.

Kettle corn is also coated with sweet ingredients but uses brown and brown sugar instead of dairy-based caramel. That means that its color will be darker than caramel corn (and even brown). It also tends to have more of an “oatmeal” taste rather than a buttery one because of its high concentration of sugar crystals.

While both varieties of popcorn have similar nutritious benefits, sugar added to kettle popcorn is more likely to cause you to gain weight (due to its higher calorie count and addictive nature). However, there is no reason to worry if you consume kettle popcorn every now and then.