Out of curiosity, I used a large 2.4L/2.5 quart glass pyrex bowl, put in 3 tablespoons of corn kernel, and covered with a lightweight dinner plate (left a small vent for steam). Within 5 minutes, I had microwave popcorn!
The largest glass bowl I had was a 2.4 quart glass bowl. Any popcorn kernels will do. When it is time to buy more popcorn, I will try organic non-genetically modified (GMO) popcorn.
Put in 3 Tbsp of popcorn in the bottom of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a lightweight dinner plate or glass lid. (I love my new Corelle Iris set from Walmart!). Leave a small gap to vent some steam. Make sure the gap is not too big or else popcorn will escape! Ready for the microwave!
Set the microwave for 5 minutes. Popcorn is ready when the popping slows down to 5-10 seconds between pops. For us, it usually takes about 4 min 30 sec.
Done! Success!
I like to use melted butter in popcorn. No complaints from the kiddies! Since the glass bowl is nice and hot, I just rub a pat of butter along the sides of the bowl to melt it. Toss the popcorn around the melted butter. You can use butter, extra
virgin olive oil and other seasonings afterwards.
I like to use a Herb and Spice sea salt blend in a salt grinder. I ran out of the blend and made my own with coarse sea salt, rosemary, coriander and garlic dip seasoning (from our local garlic festival).
Making microwave popcorn takes a few tries, even with the commercial stuff. You don't want to overcook and burn the popcorn but you want to pop most of the kernels. It all depends on your microwave's personality, the thickness of the glass bowl and the thickness of the dinnerplate cover. It took about 4 min 30 seconds for ours to pop. If you use a paper bag, it takes less time to pop, as the heat penetrates the paper bag quicker than the glass bowl and lid.
We don't have microwave popcorn all the time. It's a nice thing to have 2-3 times in a month. Yes, I have read the dangers of using the microwave. Here's one article that I came across that has some good information to keep in mind (Microwave Hazards). I like to read different sides of a story and decide from there.
Glass Bowl Microwave Popcorn
3 Tbsp popcorn kernels
1 large 2.4Qt/2.5L glass bowl
1 large dinner plate or glass lid, large enough to cover the bowl but leave a vent
Popcorn seasoning of your choice: butter, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, etc.
Place 3 Tbsp popcorn kernels in a large glass bowl. Cover the bowl with a large dinner plate or glass lid. Make a vent for steam to escape, approximately the width of a pinky finger. Not too wide or the popcorn will escape!
Microwave for 5 minutes or until there are 5 seconds between pops. Do not burn the popcorn. Microwave times depend the microwave, wattage, the thickness of the glass bowl and the thickness of the lid.
Season popcorn as desired.
In case anyone is curious, I only had 8 unpopped kernels from this batch!
Enjoy!
