Sugary-Salty Bliss

The sweet smell of corn cooking alongside a slew of sugar and salt can only mean one thing – Kettle Corn.  Ohh Kettle Corn, how I love you so.  One of the best things about going to BBQ Festivals, Fairs & other food events, is the Kettle Corn.  Of course I love all the other aspects of food but Kettle Corn holds a special place in my heart.  No matter what, I always leave with a large bag of kettle corn.  Always.  Without a doubt.  No questions asked.

I’m not sure what the exact thing is that attracts me to Kettle Corn so much.  I love every aspect of Kettle Corn and enjoy every opportunity I have to receive a fresh batch.  Yes, the microwavable stuff will do in a pinch but it doesn’t come close to fresh Kettle Corn.  Earlier this month was Ziggy Dicks BBQ Festival & Cookoff.  I was so pumped to go for a number of reasons – I am the runner of All-Out B B Que Cook Team, Fried Oreos and Kettle Corn.  The day was great and before we left, I purchased a large bag of Kettle Corn for $7. 

I like to purchase my Kettle Corn right before I leave the event and save it for home.  I resist the temptation to rip open the bag and go to town.  It is extremely hard to do but often times, I have handfuls of others Kettle Corn throughout the day.  Ziggy Dicks was no exception and I waited until Sunday morning to open my bag.  Yes, it may have only been 10:00am but, I had been up since 5am and already went grocery shopping, so it’s all good.

I really think the key to the Kettle Corn being so great, is to warm it up once you are home and eating it.  If you eat it fresh, you receive it hot and it’s just great.  So why not do the same at home?  Well, that is just what I do.  I fill up a bowl full, microwave for 10 seconds, shake it around, microwave for 15 seconds and it is ready to go.  The warm up process allows the sugar to begin the melt and incorporate additional flavors into the Kettle Corn.

 

After I removed my bowl from the microwave, I shook the Kettle Corn once more and then began to eat.  Each piece had flavors of not only sugar but salt as well.  The key to really good Kettle Corn is getting the ratios of sugar and salt equal.  Too much sugar and your stomach hurts and too much salt and it’s just normal over-salted popcorn.  Ratio is key.  This bag of Kettle Corn nailed the ratio down.  Every bite I had, buzzed with sugar and salt and the perfect crisp.

The Kettle Corn bag contained mostly all fully popped pieces.  Yes, there were a few pieces of unpopped corn but they were few and far between.  Every piece was just bursting with flavors.  I like the fact that you sometimes get pieces that have a lot of sugar.  Once the Kettle Corn has been warmed up, these pieces are the best.  The warm sugar just melts into your mouth.  I received many of these extra sugared pieces in my bag and every one was just as good as the next.  There were no pieces of super salty Kettle Corn which is a good thing indeed.  Kettle Corn is meant to be sugary with a touch of salt, not the other way around.

I managed to make my bag of Kettle Corn last an entire week and every day it was just as fresh.  Every bowl was full of sugary-salty popcorn goodness.  Kettle Corn holds a special place in my heart and I think that it always will.  I am not a popcorn fan overall but put a bowl of Kettle Corn in front of me, and it will be gone in no time.  The vendor who sold this Kettle Corn is one of the best I have had and they nailed the ratio just perfectly.  Every piece of it transported me into the Sugary-Salty Bliss that is better known as Kettle Corn.