Easy Homemade Caramel Corn & Kettle Corn Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Are kettle corn and caramel corn the same thing? ›

Kettle corn is a combination of sweet and salty flavors. It is lighter in flavor and texture than caramel corn as the sugar and salt are mixed in during popping rather than coated.

Baking the caramel-coated popcorn helps to set the caramel sauce. By skipping this step, the caramel corn will become soggy.

What happens if you forgot the baking soda in caramel corn? Baking soda is basically what makes the caramel corn chewy with a little bit of crunch.

Cowboy Kettle Corn ​Cowboy Kettle Corn is family owned and operated. We have an old-fashioned cast iron kettle, use premium mushroom popcorn, and stir the corn by hand with a wooden paddle. We cook our Cowboy Kettle Corn using a secret recipe known only by a few, but loved by many.

Kettle corn is traditionally made in a large, iron kettle that has been oiled. The popcorn is popped before it is tossed with a little salt, and of course some sugar, to give it that addictive flavor. The oil from the iron kettle is what keeps the seasonings on the popped kernels.

If you prefer chewy caramel corn, let it sit until the caramel has hardened. If you prefer crunchy caramel corn, Preheat oven to 250 F. and bake for 30-40 minutes, tossing occasionally. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, break the larger clumps into smaller pieces if desired.

You can also use a pinch in whipped cream to help avoid it from deflating. Cream of tartar is used in caramel sauces and fudge to help prevent the sugar from crystallizing while cooking. It also prevents cooling sugars from forming brittle crystals, this is why it's the secret ingredient in snickerdoodles!

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

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 isn't my caramel corn shiny? ›

A granule of sugar, over-mixing, or uncooperative clumps of sea salt can turn caramel from a glossy, shiny confection into a dull grainy heap of chewy, brown sugar crystals.

If you leave the caramel until the temperature reaches around 410°F, it will start to darken rapidly, and by the end, it will become baker's caramel or black caramel, a more bitter-tasting and less sweet browning agent that's used to color all kinds of sweet products from soft drinks to gravy.

Generally, the caramel will have a higher 'water activity' than the popcorn. As a result, if you leave the popcorn for a while, moisture from the caramel will migrate into the corn. This causes the popcorn to lose its 'crunch' and become soft and chewy.

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.

At the same time, kettle corn was reserved for events such as carnivals and fairs. Here are the most significant differences between kettle popcorn and regular popcorn: Classic popcorn is mostly popped with oil and butter, while kettle popcorn is traditionally air-popped in an iron kettle.

Kettle popcorn, being a type of oil-popped popcorn, benefits from the addition of oil in both flavor and texture. The sugar and salt adhere to the oil-coated kernels, creating a delectable combination that distinguishes kettle popcorn from its regular counterpart.

Texture. Because it uses butterfly kernels, regular popcorn is crunchy and airy. Kettle corn's texture is more complex. The exterior is crispy and slightly sticky, thanks to its layer of caramelized sugar.