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Doesn't microwave popcorn smell great?
It should: it's chemically engineered to do so. Think that delicious smell is fresh butter? Think again. Many conventional microwave popcorns use diacetyl, an additive, to simulate real butter. And that's a problem.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has long suspected diacetyl vapor's connection to a medical syndrome known as Popcorn Lung. It's a serious lung disease which, until recently, has only been known to effect popcorn factory workers. But now doctors believe it is also turning up at the consumer level, after a Colorado man was diagnosed with symptoms of popcorn lung.
Industry officials are looking to replace diacetyl in commercial popcorn. But you needn't wait to eliminate this pollutant from your home.
 Go organic
The quickest, simplest way to avoid diacetyl vapor exposure is to start buying organic popcorn. It's a little more expensive than conventional varieties -- but if you smell butter, it's really butter. You'll also be avoiding genetically modified corn stocks and the ugly payload of pesticide residue which comes in every bowl of store-bought popcorn.
Best of all, you needn't surrender microwave convenience. Farmer Steve's sells organic microwaveable bags which feature no diacetyl, no GMOs, no trans fats, no gluten, and no pesticides. You'll find others at your local health or whole foods market.
Make your own microwave popcorn
Wanna dump the diacetyl and save money, too? Make your own microwave popcorn. It's not difficult -- though, as with any cooking project, pay attention to safety and never leave popcorn unattended while it's in your microwave.
You'll need a brown paper lunch sack about 1/4 cup of loose, organic popcorn kernels. Measure the kernels into your bag. Add one teaspoon of olive oil and popcorn salt to taste. Fold the top of the bag and shake gently to mix.
Press most of the air out of the bag. Secure with two staples (they won't spark in most ovens) or tape loosely, leaving room for steam to vent. Place flat on a microwave-safe plate and heat on a high setting until the pops have slowed down to about three seconds apart. it will take less than four minutes.
Enjoy!
Remove the bag from the microwave and open carefully. The escaping steam will be very hot. Yummy! Fresh, healthy popcorn -- at about 15 cents a serving. Season with melted butter or additional spices, as desired.
Do you have a favorite popcorn recipe to share? Leave a note in our Comments section, or open a fresh topic in the Lighter Footstep Forums.
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Readers have left 34 comments. 1. Use the hob!
weee, Guest You can still make it the old-fashioned way in a pan! You know how much better baked potatoes taste when you don't microwave them... well it's just the same with popcorn! 2. Accuracy please!
Andy, Guest Correctly farmed produce does NOT have "an ugly payload of pesticide residue". Drop the hysterical greenie nonsense please and stick to the facts. While organically farmed produce may be kinder to the environment (but not always) there is NO EVIDENCE that you will live longer or more healthier by eating it! 3. Sure, let
Chris Baskind, Super Administrator Andy, your post title is "Accuracy Please!" So let's talk accuracy for a moment.
We'll start with the straw man you knock down:
While organically farmed produce may be kinder to the environment (but not always) there is NO EVIDENCE that you will live longer or more healthier by eating it!
That's not in the article. What I said is that most commercial popcorn contains pesticide residue, and I stand by this.
Most produce, in fact, contains various chemical residues -- the natural consequence of their use in conventional farming, "proper" or not. This isn't a matter of controversy. The only area for argument is in the generally accepted safety of the residue levels, an index the EPA calls "tolerances."
As you may know, these tolerances are rather mutable, changing with prevailing scientific opinion. One particular area of concern -- referenced in the EPA source below -- is the sensitivity of children to otherwise "safe" levels of pesticides.
http://tinyurl.com/375wjc
You're correct that not all organic farming practices are necessarily of lower impact than their conventional equivalents. But my opinions are neither "greenie" nor hysterical -- they're drawn from official government sources and standards. 4. pesticides
Christi, Guest I came across this some time ago and it actually surprised me a bit.
http://www.foodnews.org/
It's not that I didn't know pesticides where on everything...it's the level that took me back.
I operate on the " I can't duck everything" stance but what I consume should be something I can control.
It pays to be tenacious with information and I appreciate this story. 5. Maple Butter Popcorn...
Guest, Guest I make my popcorn the traditional way... After the corn is done popping, I pour it into a bowl and place a small amount of butter and maple syrup (the real stuff) into the still hot pot to melt. Then I just pour the result onto the popped corn and add a bit of salt.
Very nice!
Thanks for the good article Chris and I'm glad you don't let posters get away with their bull! 6. alternate recipes
Guest, Guest The paper bag method is found in Alton Brown's cookbook I'm Just Here for the Food as well as his TV show Good Eats.
The oil and salt are actually unneccesary for the microwaved popcorn. You can omit them during popping, then add butter/oil/salt afterward if you wish.
Or put a little brown sugar (1/8 cup?) in the bag with the kernels. It'll melt a little and stick on the outside of the popcorn--slightly sweet and delicious! 7. Awesome
Guest, Guest What an awesome idea! It never occurred to me that you could microwave regular popcorn in a bag. I always thought there was something very 'special' about microwave popcorn but apparently not! Cool! Thanks for the tip! 8. popcorn my way
moon, Guest thanks for the info... much prefer organics anyway.  9. reusable microwave containers
Guest, Guest You can also purchase reusable microwave containers designed for popcorn. They work well although you'll have to actually clean it instead of just throwing it out.  10. 25 years of Microwave goodness
Guest, Guest Microwave popcorn has been around for 25 years, give or take a couple. Now you support your case with proof of ONE SUSPECTED case?? Are you serious? This man at 2 bags of popcorn a day for 10 years. If he had substituted butter he most likely would have died from a massive coronary. Now don't get me wrong...I agree with your article, but eating 2 bags every day for ten years is not healthy period. Next time support your article with more than 10 lines and a link to one news article. Do you believe everything you read?? 11. am i the only one
Guest, Guest who thought that microwave popcorn smelled harsh and like chemicals, and not good at all?
also, they do make plastic microwaveable bowls that you pour popcorn into, stick it in the microwave, and let it pop. pour butter over it and voila, popcorn. already in a bowl.
why are people too lazy to use air poppers or stovetop anyway? 12. Hot Air FTW!
Smiley, Guest "why are people too lazy to use air poppers or stovetop anyway?"
Hear hear! I bought a decent quality hot-air popper 20 years ago, and to this day it still makes a brilliant bowl of popcorn that's light, fluffy and 10,000 times better than the microwaved variety.
It's cheaper, healthier (because I can control exactly what goes on it), and the difference in effort is negligible.
13. I can make the best popcorn in a microwave from the cheapest pop
Guest, Guest I learned this a long time ago from trial and error.
First you need the right salt. In a regular blender put in about 1/2 - 1 cup of salt and blend it until the salt is the consistency of flour. This is Super Salt.
Buy a microwave popcorn bowl at your favorite super shopper (walmart, target). These bowls have a heavy bottom to suck up the microwaves.
Put 2 tablespoons of oil, 1/4 teaspoon of Super Salt (Yep 1/4 teaspoon!). And your popcorn.
Why this works! Normally this type of microwave popcorn is moist and chewy .. not what a popcorn lover likes. But the Super Salt sucks all the moisture out of the air and leaves the popcorn super crispy!
You can make 100 bags of popcorn for the price of 1 6pack of "microwave" popcorn.
Super Salt is the key! Enjoy. 14. Popcorn
Guest, Guest As some others have said, why microwave at all? I've been popping heirloom popcorn on the stovetop for years. I use real butter and lots of it (butter is healthy). Mix in a little melted cheddar cheese or honey and you've got a party in your mouth.
Regarding the, "A little pesticide in your diet is OK" argument: nonsense! It's the industrial food complex that started that lie. I mean seriously, why eat pesticides, even a little, when you don't have to.
You can farm without pesticides. I know farmers who do. Their secret? High quality soil that's allowed to rest every other season. Healthy soil = healthy plants = no pests. 15. Best. Comment. Yet.
Chris Baskind, Super Administrator Mix in a little melted cheddar cheese or honey and you've got a party in your mouth.
Beautiful.
For the record, I enjoy making stovetop popcorn. But in terms of raw energy efficiency, the microwave and air poppers stack up well. 16. Diacetyl tastes better, sorry Granolaheads!
Kitty Tibet, Guest I've tried the all natural route with organic popcorn and French butter and sea salt, and I'm sorry, it just doesn't taste as good as fake-o, food-engineered, diacetyl-laced popcorn. It doesn't. It's blander and doesn't have an intense butter flavor. Usually putting butter and syrup on anything will make it taste better but in this one case of microwaveable popcorn, I'm all for the perversely chemical richness of diacetyl.
But only in moderation. 17. Unbelievable
TerminalDigit, Guest Anyone who clicks through to the actual NYT article will meet the following conclusion: "This is not a definitive causal link, but it raises a lot of questions and supports the recommendation that more work needs to be done,” Dr. Rose said."
So we take one single unproven anecdote, write a sensationalist headline, and watch ourselves skyrocket to the top of Digg (whose users know nothing about science), capitalizing on the fact that 99% of the world thinks words like "diacetyl" are scary regardless of what they really mean. Hello ad revenue!
You know what? I have a better solution to your problem which involves a lot less work. Toss the popcorn. Eat a banana. 18. nomenclature
Chemist, Guest What's with this kick using the term "organic" to explain foods? Organic compounds are carbon containing compounds. The most famous of these is petroleums and synthetic compounds. When I think of organic popcorn, I think of motor oil in my popcorn. Oh there is nothing wrong with genetically modified food. There's genetically modified dogs and no one is complaining about all the different breeds out there. Hey, the dog that has not been genetically modified by humans is a wolf. My point is that human modification of food is not always a bad thing. Genetically modified crops have allowed us to feed more people with more robust food using smaller amounts of land. Long live reason! 19. The article is based on current industry recommendations
Chris Baskind, Super Administrator You know what? I have a better solution to your problem which involves a lot less work. Toss the popcorn. Eat a banana.That's a great idea. But people like popcorn. As for "sensationalist," it's true: this is one consumer case, not the result of a clinical trial. It's still factual. Popcorn lung is well-documented in factory settings, and industry concern over diacetyl is such that popcorn vendors are beginning to announce its withdrawal. Last week, the The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers trade organization recommended that diacetyl levels be dropped in consumer food products. We're glad this article has proven popular, but it wasn't intended as a scholarly journal entry. More substantive references can be found in the Wikipedia bibliography for their entry on diacetyl: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacetyl 20. Gene splicing for fun and profit
Chris Baskind, Super Administrator There's genetically modified dogs and no one is complaining about all the different breeds out there.
They might if dogs were table food -- and the genetic modifications spliced dog DNA with, oh, I dunno ... DNA from some plant.
Personally, I think genetically modified foods are going bite is in the butt. I also strongly object to the strongarm tactics of some companies which produce GM seedstocks. The idea of forcing (for instance) Iraqi farmers into throwing out copyrighted seedstocks and forcing them to repurchase each year is obscene.
The term "organic" is used here not in terms of carbon-based chemistry, but food production standards certified by the FDA and other entities. 21. hysteria?
Guest, Guest http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacetyl
You will find that diacetyl is naturally occuring in various alcoholic beverages. It has not been used as an additive to impart buttery flavor to popcorn for over a year. There is no story here 22. You're mistaken
Chris Baskind, Super Administrator It has not been used as an additive to impart buttery flavor to popcorn for over a year.
You're mistaken, though some popcorn makers have begun to drop it.
The problem isn't the mere presence diacetyl in food, but its high concentration in microwave popcorn vapor. 23. Move To Europe
American Warewolf In Prague, Guest I'm glad I don't live in the US anymore. People here wouldn't eat artificial crap. The food here is real food. Europeans have a different mindset regarding food and such.  24. Microwave popcorn without diacetyl flavoring is available now
Cathy Yingling, on behalf of Wea, Guest There is a microwave popcorn option available for people concerned about this issue.
Weaver Popcorn has ALREADY taken out diacetyl from the flavoring in its microwave popcorn brands - Pop Weaver, sold at mass market retailers, discount stores and select grocery stores; and Trail's End, sold through Boy Scout councils. 25. Genetically altered foods
Scientist, Guest I don't know if you were aware, but plants aren't made of genes. They're made of the protein biproduct of gene activation. Changing the genetic composition of a plant doesn't necessarily change the chemical composition of the matter it produces. I'm not saying that this is the case here, but most plants grown for the purpose of human consumption don't contain harmful genetic alterations. They contain either an alteration that either increases the yield produced by a plant in a shorter amount of time or a gene that can generate the types of proteins that naturally ward off pests or make it resistant to other herbicides without causing harm to humans later down the line. Keep in mind that I AM a scientist. Suckers. 26. Dear Mr. Wizard
Chris Baskind, Super Administrator ... most plants grown for the purpose of human consumption don't contain harmful genetic alterations.
Most? I'll pass on all of them, thanks. And since GM crops are so safe, I'm sure U.S. manufacturers won't mind clearly labeling them. 27. Worker safety and actions already taken
Chris, Guest Three points I think are worth mentioning:
- Several microwave popcorn makers, including the largest one in the United States (ConAgra Foods Inc.) have already announced plans to remove diacetyl from their products, so actions have already been taken
- These actions are in response to the fact that factory workers, not consumers, were at risk of developing lung disease since they handle large quantities of diacetyl on a regular basis
- The EPA completed a study on microwave popcorn fumes in 2005, but has still not released it to the public, so they aren't exactly leading the charge on regulating diacetyl 28. Why does everyone make everything so hard ???
Guest, Guest I have been making popcorn for 40 years ... originally on a stove top, now in the microwave. There is no need to buy any special bowls or bags - I have been using the samy small Pyrex casserole dish for 27 years ... it makes the best popcorn. For those who like it sweet, try blending a teaspoon of salt with a teaspoon of raw sugar. Place a thin layer of kernels in the bottom of the casserole and sprinkle the salt/sugar mix over. As for the fat ... butter/marg/oil - all are totally unncessary. Why add even more fat to the diet?
My American partner has been living with me in Australia for over 20 months. Thanks to a total diet change (real whole foods including plenty of meat, carbs, veges and salads, with very little human interference) and she is off all her meds for diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis, bi-polar disorder, heart trouble and chronic "anxiety" - all of which have been medically proven not to exist at this point. Even her eyesight has improved - the current perscription last month being approximately half the strength of previous disgnoses. You just cannot beat putting the right fuel into your body! 29. I can make my own?
Alotta Errata, Guest I had no idea I could make my own microwave popcorn, this is pretty darn cool. Thanks! 30. There is Diacetyl free popcorn ... and Scouts are selling it!
Guest, Guest Well, popcorn lovers, the good news is that Boy Scouts are in the middle of their popcorn fundraising drive and Trails-End/Wagner Popcorn has certified that their popcorn is Diacetyl free.
So you can enjoy your popcorn and help the scouts at the same time! 31. neat!
Guest, Guest Thanks for posting this! I'm having a lot of fun with this easy recipe. I appreciate the comments, too (especially about variations on this SIMPLE method - Super Salt is GREAT and I'm gonna try using Pyrex and/or no oil next).
What I dont appreciate is the implication that one is acting hysterically by choosing an alternative to over-packaged, over-priced and over-processed microwave popcorn.
So the "scare" triggered this post - so what? The pop secret is out! there are better alternatives to what they're feeding us...
thx again! 32. ORGANIC IS SAFE?
Guest, Guest
I think that's lousy advice. Just take a look at Orville Redenbacher's Organic popcorn box:
"Artificial Flavors"
What's the artificial flavor? That's right: Butter-tasting diacetyl.
33. No, we mean real organic kernels
Chris Baskind, Super Administrator > I think that's lousy advice. Just take a look at Orville Redenbacher's Organic popcorn box ...
Yes, but we're talking about loose, organic, unflavored kernels. 34. Popcorn is just the beginning
Tanya, Guest My philosphy-
Never eat anything microwaved! Period. |
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