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Do any of you out there sell kettle corn? If so, do you buy it already made? If you make it yourself how is it done and how does it compete with the butter popcorn?

Gold Medal has it in pre-mixed portions to make in your standard popper, I got a sample just haven't tried it yet...

My best guess is you would want to make some up in advance and bag it, and then use the popper as God intended to make butter soaked popcorn the rest of the night!

Tony.

I made it once after eating some at a street fair. It tasted really good, but made a complete mess in my popcorn pot.

I wonder if it would be worth having a Small popper in a back room to just make the kettle corn in???

Tony.

I actually have a small popper that i use for carmel glaze popcorn (which personally i like alot better than kettle corn) it works well. If you have the room it is best in the area of the concession stand as the smell really helps sales---and people know it is fresh.

Has anyone used 'Glaze Pop'? It is a product that you add to the batch to make caramel coated popcorn. My question is how much mess does it make to the kettle? Cleaning the popcorn popper is one of my least favorite duties and I'd rather not make it worse.

Beyond that, how does it taste? Do you charge much more for it?

If you get the chance to try these alternatives, check the instructions, or with your distributor on how hot the kettle should be. When I last saw the "Gold Medal Guy", he said those products are supposed to run in a cooler kettle than what you'd use for regular popcorn... and that might explain the mess the stuff makes.

jack,

how do you turn down the temp in your popper? There is no adjustment on mine (that I know of, that is)

the thermostats are internal and not adjustable on any popper i've seen with the exception of gas poppers...

I will ask my service guy and see what he says about doing the kettle corn/Glazed corns in normal poppers.

Tony.

I own all creators--all mine use a cylindrical shaped thermostat that is adjustable--all have a hole on side of kettle to put a screwdriver through--but takes patience to hit the small adjustment

I'm sure it would NOT be a good idea to keep making adjustments to that type of thermostat, I'm sure it wouldn't last long that way!

I will post after I talk to my service guy monday, I know he will tell me exactly what is needed.

I have a much smaller popper in storage that I could bring out, make a one-time adjustment to (if I CAN adjust it) and then use just for kettle corn. I think I can get away with a healthy mark-up beyond my already healthy popcorn mark-up for it to make it worth my while, but the mess is something else to consider.

I think that was the point he was making... that it would be best to have a small machine in the back that you could dedicate to specialty popcorns, especially if you can generate the volume to justify it.

We tried to run the stuff through our main kettles & found the return not worth the headache it caused to clean up afterwards.

We have used the glaze pop mix for years to make caramel corn. It does not sell well enough to justify dedicating a popper to it exclusively but we have evolved a process that works for our purposes. We pop batches up in our regular popper just before we start the daily popping just wiping out the kettle before we start the regular corn. Then we bag our caramel corn in quart size freezer bags with twist ties and put them into the #1 size popcorn boxes sold by most suppliers. They will then keep for some time. You will build up a clientele that loves it gradually.

We use the glaze pop. We tried the blue raspberry but that didn't sell well. We make caramel corn and that usually goes well (it has its spurts). One thing though, when we make it, we use twice as much of the caramel flavoring as directed on the box; we find that it gives more of a caramel flavor then just using the recommonded amount. After we finish popping the caramel corn, we'll pour water into the kettle and let it boil in there for a few minutes. After dumping the water out, we'll pop a batch of regular popcorn (just oil and kernals, no salt) and make sure to hold the lid closed for a few minutes as it's popping so it'll press against the top of the kettle. That way, it helps to clean out the kettle.