Food - Drink
Kettle Corn Vs. Regular Popcorn: What’s The Difference?
By RYAN CASHMAN
When you think of corn-based snacks do you think of big screens and the buttery aroma of popcorn, or a bustling street fair and the salty-sweet scent of kettle corn? Aside from their flavors and the places you might find them, popcorn and kettle corn are more different than you might think.
The difference between the two snacks goes back to kettle corn’s origins in the 17th century when Dutch immigrants brought the recipe to the country. The treat was made with a large Dutch oven called a kettle — which looked more like a cast iron cauldron — which was coated in lard, before the popping corn was thrown in along with a bit of salt and sugar.
Today, traditional kettle corn is still made in a kettle over an open flame except using vegetable oil, while movie theater popcorn is popped using oil and steam. Furthermore, kettle corn uses mushroom popping corn which has a textured exterior that flavors cling to, while other popcorn is made with butterfly kernels which are open and have a lighter texture.