It's Great Northern coconut oil. The orange stuff that makes Michelle Obama cry.

Thanks I'll give this one a shot.

Man I love this thread. I popped two 8 oz. bags last Friday. Friday is our kids movie night. We ordered Thai food and stuffed our faces then popped the popcorn and sat down to watch. Despite being full, we ate all the popcorn. 3 adults, and 2 kids under 5 with 16oz of popped corn in our bellies! Delicious!

I have a weird question about the pre-packs. I find I'm having difficulty squeezing the oil into the kettle. The oil mixture isn't really a liquid, it kind of comes out like soft frozen orange juice. I just find it awkward squeezing it out of the package into the kettle as there isn't a lot of room to move inside.

Do you guys heat up the oil mix a little in the microwave so it just pours out? Right now, I'm squeezing it onto a plate and then using a spatula to put it in the kettle.

I squish it around in the pack and it liquifies to easily squeeze out directly into the popper.

Yeah, I've put the packets in my pocket for a few minutes (unopened!) and then it comes out thin and easy.

I use the Great Northern packets and squeeze out what oil I can, then fold that compartment in half and squeeze out the rest. And I put everything in at the same time then turn it on and it tastes fine to me, my popcorn palette isn't as sophisticated.

I use my thumb and forefinger to squeeze out the solidified oil. If there is any left, I will roll up the bag like a tube of toothpaste to squeeze out the last bit. To make it easier to handle, I usually pour the popcorn and flavacol in a separate cup first. I then cut off just the oil part of the packet. It's easier than dealing with the whole bag in such a confined space.

Run the packet under hot water. The oil has a low melting point and will liquify quickly.

You think it's sloppy trying to squeeze the coconut oil out of a packet? You should see me scooping the hardened goop out of the bottom of a gallon container.

Heat up just the oil first for 5 mins then put in the rest. After it is popped let it sit with the light and bottom heater on for 30-60 min.
You will never go back to just adding it all at once.

I emailed Great Northern to suggest that they perforate the packaging between the oil pack and the salt/corn side. Then you could tear it off and use a toothpaste tube squeezer or something to do it.

Never heard back.

Yep, that would be ideal. It seems like such an obvious thing for them to do. I'm surprised none of the brands have thought of it.

You can't even easily cut them apart due to the oil portion being formed around the salt.

Yep. That's precisely why I pour out the corn and salt before cutting off the oil part. It's a bit easier with the Gold Medal packs, since the it's just a straight line between the oil and the corn/salt.

I use the Mega Pop packs that are just two pouches. They are very close together though and its hard to tell where one ends and the other starts when cutting them apart. The perforated approach would be amazing and make it much easier to make a batch.

What I do now is, if I know I want to make some popcorn, I start cutting apart pouches carefully. I keep cutting them apart until I make a mistake and accidentally cut into a pouch. When this happens, this is the set I use to make the popcorn. I then have a stack of butter pouches and kernel pouches all cut apart and ready for future batches. After doing this a couple of times I end up with a case of packs, all pre cut and ready for easy use.

For those with the bulk packs what's the measurements for coconut oil and kernels per batch?

Taken from a website alert I got. Slickdeals.net. The remainder of this message is from the alert email I got.

Great Northern Popcorn 8oz Portion Packs (Case of 40) $36.99 and FS @Costco.com
I buy these all-in-one popcorn packs for easy popcorn making at home and also for sale at my 3 boy’s little league games.
You can’t mess up as everything is pre-measure and ready to go. Everyone loves the taste as it is the same fresh results you get at the movies. Check out the reviews on Amazon…They are 4.4/5 with almost 2,000 reviews.

Costco.com (Case of 40) @ $36.99 FS.
http://www.costco.com/Great-Northern-Popcorn-8-oz.-Portion-Packs-Unpopped-Popcorn-40---Count.product.100035600.html
I have been buying cases on a regular basis for the past three years and this is the lowest price I have ever seen them sell for.

Amazon.com #1 Best Seller http://slickdeals.net/?pv=&au=&sdtid=7913031&sdop=1&sdpid=76487775&sdfid=9&sdfib=1&lno=2&trd=1+Best+Seller&u2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FGreat-Northern-Popcorn-Portion-Counts%2Fdp%2FB000PDY3HI (Case of 24) @$34.91

Wow, that's a great price.

What's the shelf life on these packs? Trying to gauge how much I should stock up.

I use a ¼ cup coconut oil to 1 cup popcorn.

They have a chart on this site for bulk popcorn making.
http://www.htmarket.com/homtheatpopq.html

1 Tablespoon coconut oil (that's the big one, not a little teaspoon) for 8oz corn.

Is that 1/2 cup of popcorn?

Yes, figure that there is 16oz in a cup, so 8oz in a 1/2 cup.

Stupid question(sorry): can you use any kind of coconut oil or do you get specific popcorn coconut oil?

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Usually you use "Red Coconut Oil", but try that organic stuff and see what it does.

I tried a bash with 2 tablespoons of the organic oil and cup of popcorn kernels and a teaspoon of Flavacol. It turned out okay but had a little too much of a coconut taste to my liking. My family thought it was good though.
I heated up the oil for about 5 minutes before I put in the kernels and Flavacol.

I have tried the prepackaged stuff and the prepackaged is definitely better.

Ok I tried 2 table spoons of oil instead of ¼ cup. All four of us like ¼ oil better.
As soon as I gave it to my son he said this taste different than normal.
I asked better or worse he said worse we all agreed.

But it might be just what you like or it could be the brand of oil.

I can't taste any coconut flavor putting Red Coconut Oil directly in my mouth.

Maybe the organic stuff is different?

Is that with a cup of kernels?

Yes a cup of kernels. I think this taste the closest to the theaters popcorn.

I did a couple batches using the "organic" stuff, and I could also taste a little bit of coconut in the finished popcorn. I like coconut, so it wasn't a problem, but it IS a bit different. The smell of the "organic" is awesome.

Have the Great Northern 8 oz from Costco. I usually heat the coconut oil for 5 minutes and add the flavacol and then the popcorn. It usually takes a couple more minutes before things start popping. With all the talk about heating the oil until super hot, after adding the popcorn should it start popping right away or will it take a couple minutes?

Costco.com (Case of 40) @ $36.99 FS.
http://www.costco.com/Great-Northern-Popcorn-8-oz.-Portion-Packs-Unpopped-Popcorn-40---Count.product.100035600.html
I have been buying cases on a regular basis for the past three years and this is the lowest price I have ever seen them sell for.

Also, everyone should note that you do not need to be a costco member to buy this. You're charged a modest surchage for not being a member.

My total came to 39.23. Still a great deal.

The corn kernels still have to be heated for a certain amount of time before they'll pop -- it's not immediate. Quicker if the oil is already hot, but not immediate.

This is what I use. Bought it from Amazon. There's no coconut taste at all. I measure everything out. My buddy has a machine and uses the pre packs (I have no idea what kind). But he says that his popcorn tastes like bar popcorn, and mine tastes like movie theater popcorn.
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When you drop all that corn in, the oil temp instantly falls and then takes a minute to return to popping temp.

If you drop a single kernel in, it will pop almost immediately.

Also came back to post the Costco deal but it's already been posted twice. I bought 80 packs. I like the simplicity of these packs, but I typically don't dump in all the flavoring. It's a little too salty for my taste. Our of curiosity what other flavorings do people use? Do you have any special spices that you'll use? Not really anything fancy, but we'll often use "Pleasoning" instead of salt. I'm sure there has to be some other ideas.

Edit: I also don't have much trouble with the oil. I just cut the top off of that section first.

I like the Flavorcol "Better Butter" .

We like to shake on kernel seasonings powder sometimes, in our individual buckets.

The white cheddar is my favorite.

Vid I brought home my laser thermometer. The oil never got to 425*F, not even close. I hit 200*F after 10 minutes of the oil being heated up in the kettle. I'm only on my 5th batch so I still have to season the kettle, but what gives?

Oh, and how accurate are the measurements in those pre-packs? I'm using the Great Western dual packs. The very first batch I popped came out partially yellowed with a perfect amount of salt. This last batch was practically white and waaaaaaayyyy too salty.

It must have got hotter at some point, or I don't think the corn would have popped.

Aim that laser into a pot of boiling water and see if it's working correctly (212*F, or 100*C)

How close to the kettle was the thermometer when you were measuring? I've found that mine has to be pretty close (within 8-12") to work well. The laser can be deceptive because the area being measured is much larger than that pinpoint. To get a good reading on hot parts on a PCB, I have to be really close AND aim above the part.

I'll give both these things a try guys. Thanks!

Anyone know the difference between the different Great Northern models? I see there is a Commercial, Foundation, Paducah, Lincoln, etc. I checked their website for a comparison chart and couldn't find one. To be honestly, their website page for the popcorn machines is blank.

i asked them the same question, and now i cant find the email, but basically they said the number of doors, some have 1, others 2. and the general styling.

Yep. They are all very similar. I went with the Princeton because I liked the red with the gold trim. It is also slightly larger than some of the other models.

That's good to know, thanks. There is decent price swing depending on which way you go.

I just picked this one up today for the YMCA Camp I work at.

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So who better than to ask but you guys. A mate just brought back some Flavacol powder for me. I don't have a popcorn machine only one of those air popcorn machines (the little ones).

How is best way to use this, how much do I use as well. Cheers guys.

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