Isolation popcorn (butterscotch) - caramel popcorn recipe

Isolation popcorn - perfect for those movie afternoons.

There's nothing like the smell of hot popcorn, it's so quick and easy to make and great if you are going to sit down to watch a film or stream a live show.

It's the snacks that people will be missing during the Covid-19 outbreak, so this a perfect treat and only needs minimal ingredients. I add a large pinch of Maldon sea salt to the butterscotch as I'm making it, then you get a lovely salted caramel flavour.

If you love the popcorn that comes in bags, with a caramel/butterscotch crispness, then you will love this easy recipe.

Ingredients

For the popcorn:

1 heaped tbsp popping corn

1 tbsp cooking oil

For the butterscotch:

25g butter

25g golden granulated sugar

1 heaped tbsp golden syrup

Method

First pop the corn. If you have an electronic popper then use that (it dry pops the corn so no oil and very healthy).

Stove top method:

You need a large deep heavy-based pan with a lid to pop the corn.

Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat, add the popping corn stir, then cover with the lid. 

Gently shake the pan and you will soon hear popping start, keep gently shaking whilst holding the lid on the pan (you don't want popcorn snow in your kitchen), until the popping slows down. 

Don't leave too long, or the popcorn could burn. 

Take off the heat and remove the lid after 10 seconds (you hopefully won't have any more pops. 

Pour into a large mixing bowl. 

Check through the popcorn and remove any unpopped kernels.

Take a medium pan, add the butter, sugar and golden syrup and start to heat over medium heat. You can stir with a wooden spoon. It will get very hot, so be careful if you have young children around, this part is best done without them around. It will bubble and foam, keep cooking until it starts to turn colour, you need to keep stirring and watching it carefully at this stage, it will colour very quickly. 

When it has turned a lovely butterscotch colour, turn off the heat and drizzle over the popcorn in the mixing bowl. 

Use 2 wooden spoons, or serving spoons to toss the popcorn with the butterscotch. It will get very sticky and you may start to see spun sugar threads. Keep tossing the popcorn, so it doesn't stick into one huge mass.

As soon as cool enough to handle, you can start to break up the pieces.

If you want to make salted caramel, add a large pinch of flaked sea salt crystals to the butterscotch whilst you are making it.

Sit back and enjoy your film.

If you have any other flavours that you make, I'd love to hear your ideas.

I have discovered an amazing gluten-free popcorn available to pop at home on Amazon. It produces mushroom-style kernels like a well-known brand you can purchase in bags covered in butterscotch😉