Kettle corn is a sweet-and-salty variety of popcorn

Popcorn

Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...

 that is mixed or seasoned with typically, a light colored refined sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, salt

Edible salt

Salt, also known as table salt, or rock salt, is a mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride , a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess...

, and oil

Cooking oil

Cooking oil is purified fat of plant origin, which is usually liquid at room temperature ....

. It was traditionally made in cast iron kettles

Cauldron

A cauldron or caldron is a large metal pot for cooking and/or boiling over an open fire, with a large mouth and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger.- Etymology :...

, but may also be made in metal pans now.

History in the United States

Kettle corn was introduced to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the 18th century. It is referenced in the diaries of Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 settlers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 circa 1776. It was a treat

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well...

 sold at fairs or consumed at other festive occasions. The corn, oil, sugar and salt together is cooked in a cast iron kettle, or possibly a Dutch oven

Dutch oven

A Dutch oven is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens have been used as cooking vessels for hundreds of years....

, this produces a noticeable sweet crust on the popcorn, however this method requires constant stirring or the sugar will burn, or a batch of plain popped corn can be sweetened with sugar or honey

Honey

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...

 before adding salt. The combination was widely popular in the early 19th century but fell from wide usage during the 20th century.

In the early 21st century, kettle corn has made something of a comeback in America, especially at 19th-century living history events. As of the 21st century, it is cooked and sold at fairs and flea markets throughout the United States, especially art and craft shows. Hand-cooked home recipes are available, and microwave popcorn versions are sold at grocery stores by Orville Redenbacher's

Orville Redenbacher's

Orville Redenbacher's Gourmet Popping Corn is a brand of popcorn made originally by Chester Inc. which was owned by Charles F. Bowman and Orville Redenbacher . The product was launched to the public in 1969 and was sold to Hunt-Wesson, a division of Norton Simon Inc. in 1976...

, Act II, and other brands.

Type of corn used for kettle corn cooking

Mushroom Corn: Mushroom corn refers to the ball shape of the popped corn. Mushroom corn is known for big, round mushroom-like popcorn, great for Kettle corn cooking, with very few pieces sticking out.

Butterfly Corn: Butterfly corn is bit cheaper and when cooked it looks like butterfly.

Monster Corn: Monster corn is another variety that recently became popular. Like Mushroom corn, the Monster corn is round and big.

Sucralose substitute

Most microwave oven

Microwave oven

A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...

 varieties of kettle corn do not contain sugar, since sugar tends to burn in a microwave. This problem has been addressed by replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners

Sugar substitute

A sugar substitute is a food additive that duplicates the effect of sugar in taste, usually with less food energy. Some sugar substitutes are natural and some are synthetic. Those that are not natural are, in general, called artificial sweeteners....

 such as sucralose

Sucralose

Sucralose is an artificial sweetener. The majority of ingested sucralose is not broken down by the body and therefore it is non-caloric. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. Sucralose is approximately 600 times as sweet as sucrose , twice as sweet as saccharin, and 3.3...

. These formulations can have the sweet-salty flavor of kettle corn, but not the same texture

Texture

Texture may refer to:* Textures , album of Brian Eno* Textures , a metal band from the Netherlands* Texture , theoretical topological defect in the structure of spacetime...

, which normally comes from the crunchy sugar crust of kettle corn made from scratch

From scratch

From scratch may refer to:* "from basic components", as in a cake made from scratch, not from a commercial pre-mix, showing the skill or knowledge of the cookFrom Scratch may refer to:* From Scratch * From Scratch...

.

See also

• Caramel corn
  Caramel corn
  Caramel corn is a confection made of popcorn coated with a sugar or molasses based caramel candy shell. Typically a sugar solution or syrup is made and heated until it browns and becomes thick, producing a caramelized candy syrup. This hot candy is then mixed with popped popcorn, and allowed to cool...
  
   the popcorn with a darker, thicker, richer tasting candy shell, made with caramelized sugar