May 2, 2021
I still can’t believe it has already been a year since my last birthday. Last year and most of this year felt mostly like a blur. I am only reminded of how much time has passed by taking a stroll through memory lane and reviewing all of the posts I’ve written over the past year. Whenever my birthday comes around, I try to celebrate with some form of treat. Last year, Kevin and I celebrated with a variety of confetti treats including one of our favorite easy desserts, confetti pistachio dessert balls. This year, I decided to celebrate with another treat I absolutely love – Chicago mix popcorn. I first fell in love with Chicago mix popcorn over a decade ago. Kevin had started an internship in the suburbs of Chicago and invited me to join him for a visit to the city. I took a trip out to Chicago to see Kevin and to experience some of the amazing food I hear of in Chicago. Everyone who had been to Chicago recommended trying the Chicago mix popcorn at Garrett Popcorn Shops. As a lover of food, I just had to try it. The Chicago mix is a combination of a sweet caramel popcorn tossed with a savory cheddar popcorn. Kevin and I rode a train from the suburbs into the city and we hopped on the nearest centrally located EL straight to the Loop. The moment we stepped off the train platform, we strolled through downtown Chicago, browsed some of the shops along the way, and made our way to the nearest Garrett Popcorn Shops. Before we even stepped foot into the store, a line had already formed out the door. A packed shop was definitely a good sign. We waited in line for just under twenty minutes until our turn to order. Kevin and I didn’t know what to expect and so we only ordered a small bag of Chicago mix popcorn. What a bad idea! The popcorn was so amazing, we finished the bag almost immediately. I so wish we had ordered a much larger bag and an additional bag to take home with us. Luck has it I would soon return back to Chicago a couple years later for my first job out of college. When I graduated college and started working full time in Chicago, Garrett’s Chicago mix popcorn became my go-to snack. I would take special trips out to the city just to get my fix. If I had a stressful day teaching, I would treat myself to some popcorn. If family or friends visited, I would bring them to get some Chicago mix popcorn. Even after leaving Chicago, my love for Garrett’s popcorn brought me out to Midtown Manhattan to get my fix when I visited family in New York and to one of the large shopping malls in Hong Kong when Kevin and I visited his family. It took until I moved to Ohio for me to miss Garrett’s popcorn enough to attempt to recreate the flavors and textures I loved so dearly. While I could order some of the popcorn online, the cost along with shipping proved too expensive. Thus, I had no choice but to recreate the beloved popcorn from Garrett at home myself. The hallmark of Chicago mix popcorn is the blend of sweet, crunchy caramel popcorn tossed with the savory, cheesy cheddar corn. The contrast of the sweet and savory, creamy and cheesy, and crunchy and soft flavors and textures is what makes the popcorn truly irresistible. The cheddar corn leaves a distinct orange hue on your fingers. You can usually spot other fellow popcorn lovers by looking out for the orange hue leftover on their fingers. In anticipation of my birthday this year, I got started on recreating the beloved Chicago mix popcorn as early as last month. For my take on the mix, I popped some corn kernels in a large pot drizzled with just a touch of coconut oil. Sometimes, if I am desperate for a quick popcorn fix, I just use microwavable popcorn. When the popcorn has sufficiently popped, I sift through the popcorn to pick out any unpopped or burned corn kernels. I transfer the rest of the popcorn to two sheet pans and got started on the caramel sauce for topping the caramel corn and cheesy powder sauce for the cheddar popcorn. To kick the popcorn up a notch further, I sprinkled in some chili powder to give the popcorn some slight heat. The heat in the chili powder paired beautifully with both the caramel and cheddar corn. I had to watch myself while I snacked on the popcorn to prevent myself from overindulging in the amazing popcorn.
For the Chicago mix popcorn:
· 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil
· 1 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
For the caramel popcorn:
· 1 tablespoon corn syrup
· ½ cup light brown sugar
· ½ cup granulated sugar
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
· ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
· 2 tablespoons water
For the cheddar popcorn:
· 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
· ½ cup cheddar cheese powder
· ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
· 2 tablespoons water
· 1 teaspoon chili powder
Directions:
1) Heat a large pot on medium heat. Add in a tablespoon of refined coconut oil. Test the heat in the pot by dropping a couple kernels into the pot. If the kernels pop, the pot is ready for popping the popcorn kernels.
2) Once the pot is hot, add the popcorn kernels to the large pot. Cover the pot with a lid and let the popcorn pop. When the popping begins to slow down, turn the heat off. Shake the pot occasionally to prevent the popcorn from burning. Sift out any unpopped or burned popcorn. Transfer the rest of the popped popcorn evenly to two sheet pans.
3) To make the caramel sauce for the caramel popcorn, heat a saucepan on medium low heat. Add in the corn syrup, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Let the sugar cook until it begins to turn a light golden brown, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the unsalted butter until melted. Sprinkle in the baking soda and pour in the water. Stir the caramel sauce until smooth. Pour the caramel sauce all over the popcorn in one of the sheet pans. Work quickly and gently to coat the popcorn with the caramel sauce until all of the popcorn is coated in the caramel sauce. Set the sheet pan aside to allow the caramel popcorn to set.
4) To make the cheddar sauce for the cheddar popcorn, in the same pot used to pop the popcorn, heat the pot on low heat. Add in the butter and stir to melt the butter. Sprinkle in the cheddar cheese powder and grated parmesan cheese. Pour in the water. Transfer the popcorn from the second sheet pan to the large pot. Work quickly to coat the popcorn in the cheddar cheese sauce. Remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the popcorn back to the second sheet pan. Set the sheet pan aside to allow the cheddar popcorn to set, about 15 minutes.
5) When both the caramel popcorn and cheddar popcorn have set, toss the caramel popcorn and cheddar popcorn in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle with chili powder right before serving. Serve immediately.
Takeaways: If I want a crispier caramel popcorn, I will pop the sheet pan with the caramel corn into the oven on a lower heat setting for several minutes. The popcorn tastes best when consumed immediately, but I have also stored it in an airtight container and kept it in the fridge for up to three days.