As you munch on a bag of popcorn, you might be congratulating yourself on indulging in a high-fiber snack, but are you thinking, “I sure am enjoying a nice crispy vegetable”?
It’s easy to forget that popcorn is indeed corn. Not the soft-skinned sweet corn we enjoy on the cob, but “flint” corn so called for its hard outer skin. And now is the time to buy freshly harvested local popcorn at your neighborhood farmers market.
At Riverview Farms in Ranger, Wes and Charlotte Swancy grow four acres of popcorn. Seed planted in early June produced the popcorn they’ve been harvesting since late September. Riverview is a certified organic farm of about 200 acres, much of which is planted in grain to feed the hogs that are a large part of the farming operation.
But the popcorn from those four acres? It all goes to the farm’s community-supported agriculture customers, the shoppers at local farmers markets such as Morningside, Peachtree Road, Grant Park and East Atlanta Village and Riverview’s restaurant clients.
Commercially available popcorn generally has yellow kernels, but popcorn can come in blue, red, black or brown varieties. The Swancys grow yellow and red popcorn.
Popcorn is not a high-yielding plant. Typically there’s only about one ear per cornstalk. No wonder the Swancys need four acres’ worth.
At the farm, a huge combine harvester makes light work of separating the popcorn from first the stalk and then the cob. “The combine rolls through the fields. It spits the stalks out the back and rolls the kernels right off the cob,” Charlotte Swancy said. They store the popcorn kernels in 1-ton totes, keeping the kernels dry, cool and away from pests who’d enjoy that popcorn as much or more than their customers do.
At home, Swancy recommends storing your popcorn in a glass jar in the freezer, first being sure it’s truly well dried. “A kernel that’s a little moist won’t pop up as large as really dry kernels,” she said.
Swancy prepares her popcorn the old-fashioned way. She pops it on the stove in a pan, adding olive oil and maybe rosemary or cayenne along with a little salt.
Riverview will have their popcorn available until they sell out, usually along about January.
At local farmers markets
Cooking demos:
11:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 25. Chef Jeb Aldrich of 4th & Swift. Grant Park Farmers Market, Atlanta. www.grantparkmarket.org
For sale
Vegetables, fruit and nuts: African squash, apples, arugula, Asian greens, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, chestnuts, collards, dandelion, endive, escarole, English peas, fennel, frisee, garlic, ginger, green beans, herbs, Jerusalem artichoke, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, onions, peanuts, pecans, peppers, persimmons, popping corn, pumpkins, radicchio, radishes, spaghetti squash, spinach, sweet potato greens, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric, turnips and turnip greens, winter squash
From local reports
Canoe’s Caramel-Coated Popcorn and Peanuts
Hands on: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Makes: 8 cups (1/4 cup serving)
Canoe’s version of an old-fashioned favorite, Cracker Jack, is part of the restaurant’s Popcorn Ice Cream Sundae. This dessert features popcorn ice cream layered with salted caramel sauce, topped with sweetened whipped cream and garnished with a handful of this addictive snack. This recipe comes from Canoe’s executive pastry chef Sarah Koob. One key to success is to move quickly when combining the caramel, popcorn and peanuts at the end.
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup roasted skinned peanuts
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Set aside. Lightly spray a large bowl and long-handled spoon with cooking spray and set aside.
Using an air popper or other method, pop popcorn using no oil. Put popcorn in prepared bowl. Discard any unpopped kernels.
In a large saucepan over high heat, combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup. Bring mixture to a boil. Heat until mixture becomes thicker and begins to change color to a medium brown, about 5 minutes. You can test the color by putting a few drops on a piece of parchment paper.
Remove mixture from heat and add salt and baking soda. Stir with a long-handled spoon. Mixture will foam up. Pour mixture over popcorn in bowl, quickly pour in peanuts and use prepared spoon to stir everything together, evenly coating the popcorn and peanuts with the caramel.
Quickly pour the coated mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread as evenly as possible. Cool completely before breaking into serving-size pieces. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Per 1/4-cup serving: 85 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 1 gram protein, 9 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 5 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 8 milligrams cholesterol, 140 milligrams sodium.
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