Easy Homemade Caramel Corn & Kettle Corn Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between kettle corn and caramel corn? ›

While both caramel corn and kettle corn are sweet, caramel corn is richer in flavor and texture. Historically sweetened with molasses, caramel corn is most-often candy-coated. The thin, crunchy, sweet coating is derived from melted sugar. The coating is applied after popping.

Baking the caramel-coated popcorn helps to set the caramel sauce. By skipping this step, the caramel corn will become soggy. Why is my caramel corn soggy? Caramel corn will taste soft and chewy right out of the oven.

These days, I prefer using honey to sugar or corn syrup whenever I make my caramel corn. In our house, we've been working through a gallon of local raw raspberry honey, which definitely has a stronger flavor than a mild clover honey, but still works perfectly in this recipe.

Kettle corn stands out for its unique flavor profile, combining sweetness and saltiness in a way that appeals to a wide range of tastes. The preparation process, involving popping the kernels in a kettle with oil, sugar, and salt, creates a satisfying snack that is both nostalgic and delicious.

Kettle corn is a variety of corn that was initially made in the kettle – people would oil a large iron kettle and cook the corn. Once the popcorn has popped, it is tossed with a sugar and salt mixture to give it a savory taste and distinct texture.

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.

While some people said that she added the egg to absorb extra heat, others had different views. "Whole eggs absorb excess heat so it's an easy way to regulate the temperature balance of the other ingredients," a user wrote.

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.

Baking soda is what makes caramel corn chewy with a bit of crunch and gives it the classic brittle texture. The baking soda also helps the mixture to increase in volume which ensures it covers all of the popcorn. It's an essential ingredient and without it you'll likely find the texture of the caramel corn to be off.

The water evaporates, leaving sugar crystals behind. If even one sugar crystal falls back into the pan of cooking caramel, it starts a chain reaction of sugar crystals and the entire pan will harden. The result? Gross, grainy caramel that is unusable in most recipes.

What thickens caramel? ›

For each cup (240 mL) of caramel sauce that you need to thicken, run 1 tbsp (14.7 mL) of cold water into a measuring cup, and slowly stir in 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Pour the cornstarch mixture into your pot caramel sauce, and stir constantly. Keep the sauce on low heat until it begins to thicken.

Karo syrup is a popular brand of corn syrup, which is obtained from corn starch that is derived from maize. It is a concentrated solution of several sugars, such as glucose (dextrose), derived from corn starch. Because of various sugars, corn syrup has a naturally mild sweet taste.

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.

Kettle corn is a sweet variety of popcorn that is typically mixed or seasoned with a light-colored refined sugar, salt, and oil. It was traditionally made in cast iron kettles, hence the name, but in modern times other types of pots and pans are used.

Regular popcorn and kettle corn are made from different types of corn. As a result, they differ in the flake shapes of the popped kernels.

The addition of sugar makes kettle popcorn very addictive, so it's no surprise that you can't stop eating it until you've finished the entire bowl.