"The Popcorn Book"

Yesterday we had a snow day and I suggested that we get out the hot air popcorn popper and make some Carmel Popcorn.  To this there was a chorus of "Yeah!" So I pulled out the popper and we made the first batch of popcorn.  While it was popping, Garrett asked so what makes the popcorn pop? To this I quickly went to the bookshelf and pulled off the shelf "The Popcorn Book" by Tomie de Paola.

 We stopped making popcorn and read the story. This is a great little read with all sorts of information about corn and the Native Americans and their culture. So after we finished reading the book, we went back to making the Carmel Popcorn.

Watching popcorn actually pop is something that a lot of kids have never seen because of microwave popcorn where the popcorn pops inside a bag. So for Garrett this was a lot of fun to watch the popcorn pop!!!

Here is our recipe for Carmel Corn
(please make the popcorn with your kids, but be very careful with the syrup it can be extremely hot and I would hate for anyone to get hurt!)

2 gallons of Popped Popcorn
2 sticks oleo
2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Corn Syrup
1/4 cup water
1 tsp of vanilla
1 tsp soda

Pop the popcorn and set aside. Make sure that the popcorn is in a large kettle or pan that will fit in the oven.
Mix the next 4  ingredients together and melt, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.  Remove from stove and cool for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and the soda and stir until well mixed in.  Then Pour over the popped popcorn and stir the popcorn to help distribute evenly the Carmel. Place in the oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour - stirring every 15minutes. Let cool and store in a sealed container.

(this recipe can be cut in half for smaller quantities)