New England Desserts by Tammy Donroe Inman

Author:Tammy Donroe Inman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Globe Pequot
Published: 2022-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Maple Caramel Corn

Popcorn is a different type of corn than the sweet corn we savor off the cob in the summertime or flint corn that’s ground into cornmeal. It has a unique structure that, when dried and then heated, causes a pressurized buildup of steam that ends with the interior starch exploding outwards up to 40 times its original size. In North America, the Algonquins made popcorn balls with maple syrup. In a similar spirit, this recipe has you cook a maple syrup-based caramel to pour over popcorn, which, once cool, can be broken into bite-sized clusters, salty and sweet.

SERVES 4–6

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

¼ cup plain popcorn kernels

½ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided

½ cup maple syrup (the darker, the better)

¼ cup granulated sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Heat the oil and 2 dried popcorn kernels in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan covered with a lid over medium heat. When both kernels pop (after 2–3 minutes), add the rest of the popcorn kernels and cover with the lid. Cook for 2–5 minutes, shaking the pot frequently while clamping the lid onto the pot with oven mitts, until the popping slows to 2–3 seconds between pops. Remove from the heat. (You can also pop the corn with an air-popper, if you prefer.)

Pour the popcorn onto a large, rimmed baking sheet and discard any unpopped kernels. Sprinkle the popcorn with half the salt and let cool while making the caramel.

Stir the maple syrup, sugar, and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Stop stirring and clip a candy thermometer to the pot and make sure the sensor is touching the mixture but not the bottom of the pot. (You may need to tip one side of the pot up a bit so the liquid pools deeply enough to get an accurate reading.)

Continue cooking for 10–15 minutes until the temperature reaches 300°F. If the mixture threatens to boil over, reduce the heat to low. The temperature will rise very slowly at first, but then shoot up quickly around the 280°F mark. Stay alert.

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