This is the real secret to making movie theater popcorn at home (2024)

FAQs

This is the real secret to making movie theater popcorn at home? ›

Even the bagged “movie theater butter” microwave popcorn can't get it right. So, what's the secret? The flavor all comes down to one ingredient: Flavacol. You've likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it.

Even the bagged “movie theater butter” microwave popcorn can't get it right. So, what's the secret? The flavor all comes down to one ingredient: Flavacol. You've likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it.

Use four tablespoons of coconut oil for the true movie theater flavor, or use canola oil if you want to be a bit healthier. Put the salt into the oil and stir it up until it is well mixed. Then put it into the whirley popper and put it on the stove on medium heat.

So, what the heck are you made of anyway? Meet movie theater popcorn's three main ingredients: Flavacol, butter flavored topping and, wait for it – buttery flavoring. Yum! Flavacol is a seasoned powder that goes on the corn before it's popped.

While butter flavor is involved, there's no actual butter in most movie theater popcorn. Instead, these two key ingredients give movie theater popcorn its signature taste and smell: popcorn popping oil and popcorn seasoning. Yup, it's that simple.

The top secret of movie theater popcorn is the flavor, which comes from Flavacol most of the time. This is a flavoring that's added to the oil, giving the popcorn its distinctive taste.

there IS a “secret ingredient”. Or, more precisely, a sort of “trade secret”; and that's Flavacol. What's in it? “Salt, artificial butter flavor, FD&C Yellow #5 Lake (E102) and Yellow #6 Lake (E110)”.

Movie theaters use butter-flavored oil, which has a lower water content than butter so it makes popcorn less soggy. Real clarified butter has the same effect. To make it, melt 2 sticks butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Let sit for a few minutes; the butter will separate into 3 layers.

It's a personal preference—and there are certainly people who eat both and wouldn't even notice the difference.” AMC, Regal, and Marcus theaters use coconut oil, while Cinemark opts for canola, and other regional chains use a blend.

How to use flavacol at home? ›

My personal trick is to mix two tablespoons of whatever oil I have with one teaspoon of Flavacol in a pot over medium heat on the stove. When the oil is hot, I add just a couple of kernels to the pot and put on the lid. Once they've popped, I add two tablespoons of more popcorn and put the lid loosely back on.

The flavor all comes down to one ingredient: Flavacol. You've likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it. Essentially, it's butter-flavored salt. It's a really fine, bright orange powder that adds that buttery flavor you crave and the signature yellow color.

FLAVACOL is a very fine seasoned salt that sticks to the popcorn, whereas a ground salt will tend to fall off. Adding it to the oil as you pop improves the coverage without any fear of burning. This is the tried - and - true original popcorn salt!

Pop Weaver Popcorn Kernels - Weaver Gold 50-lb Bag - Butterfly Style Popping Corn. This is the brand and type AMC theaters use for their popcorn. It is formulated to pop larger with more crevices to “grab” the seasonings.

Movie theaters use butter-flavored oil, which has a lower water content than butter so it makes popcorn less soggy. Real clarified butter has the same effect. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/theater-style-buttered-popcorn-recipe-2103372#:~:text=Directions,butter%20has%20the%20same%20effect.

Toppings and Secret Ingredients

Other theaters cook their kernels in a mix of oil and real butter, helping to maximize that butter flavor and fine salt taste before the actual popcorn kernels are popped. However, many don't know that the main reason for the taste of that movie popcorn is a topping called Flavacol.

Most people have never heard of it because it is mostly used in movie theaters. Flavacol is a fine butter-flavored salt.

What replaces real butter is quite a list — partially hydrogenated soybean oil, beta carotene, tertiary butylhydroquinone, and polydimethylsiloxane. Sure, the chemicals may not sound appetizing, but what's even more disappointing is that the buttery flavoring contains more calories than actual butter.