caramel popcorn

I love popcorn. It is one of my favourite snacks. . .and sometimes it is even dinner.

In Zambia, well at Grace anyway, popcorn is a staple. Almost every day you will find someone making popcorn in the kitchen as an after school snack.

One day for a treat some of the kids and I made caramel popcorn (based on my Dad's poppycock recipe) and it was a huge hit!

The recipe is:

2 quarts popped corn
1 cup butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients (except the popcorn) and cook slowly over a very low heat.
The mixture will boil and thicken.
Cook until the caramel goes hard when a small amount is dropped into a glass of cold water (however when we did it it never got to the hard-ball stage. . .it was just a thicker mixture. . .humidity or different ingredients, I have no idea, but it still tasted great).
Pour over popped corn and stir.

Here is my chief quality control officer inspecting the popped corn to ensure it is to the highest standard.

With 100 people wanting to eat some, the caramel popcorn did not last long at all.