What makes the popcorn at the cinema more delicious than the popcorn being prepared at home alone?

I think this pops down to one answer…....you did not have to fix it yourself.

More saturated fat and possibly seasonings.

Maybe caramel?

I don’t think that’s so true these days — the microwaveable popcorn is pretty good.

Even when it wasn’t a contest — when Jiffy Pop on the rangetop was one’s best option for popcorn at home — theater popcorn had the psychological edge of taking one out of one’s kitchen.

Cocoa butter. It just makes popcorn taste better, and most people don’t want to go to the expense of using cocoa butter at home. Corn, vegetable and canola oils are all cheaper and more readily available.

I agree that the microwaveable popcorn is good and today very few people prepare popcorn on stove, it is always burned on the buttom and less tasty.

It’s butter. It’s always butter. Well butter substitute, but it works to trick your brain the same. That’s why fine dining food tastes so delicious compared to your home-made meal – they have no limit on the butter they add.

Movie butter. “flavacol is what the theatres use and basically they use clarified butter in the theatres im hearing and its the same as with lobster.coconot oil and butter flavored hydrgenated oil is pretty much it im reading”

ChowHound

I guess I’m weird oh, scratch that I know I’m weird but I like my popcorn better than movie popcorn.

Flavacol.

They add LOTS more butter and salt and I know you can buy movie theater butter, but its not the same.

Want. Movie. Popcorn.

the synthetic butter that you don’t want to know what it is.

I’m with the homemade popcorn people. I make my own popcorn in a pot on top of the stove. It tastes much better to me and I like knowing exactly what’s in it, unlike microwave popcorn or movie theatre popcorn. It doesn’t have to end up burnt if you do it right. And I can put what ever flavorings I want on it depending on my mood, if I want something more than just butter and salt.

Movie popcorn is disgusting; stale, salty and rancid.

And I am suspicious of any alleged edible that is carried into the theater in a 50 gallon plastic bag.

Microwave popcorn is now thought to be unhealthy because chemicals in the bag leach into the corn as it pops. I just bought an old-fashioned stove-top popper (with a stirring handle) from Amazon, and I think its popcorn is better than cinema popcorn.

I use a hot air popper with real butter and salt. I prefer it to movie popcorn.

but I have been known while out, to stop into a movie theater, buy popcorn, and leave. Yes they will let you do that.

@Keysha me too

Movie popcorn is HORRIBLE for you. From this article:

“It found that a Regal medium popcorn—20 cups—contains 1,200 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium. That’s without the buttery topping that can be drizzled—or poured—on the popcorn, which adds another 200 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat per 1.5 tablespoons.”

I worked at ACT III and Regal. Here is how the popcorn is made. ACT III was bought by Regal and somehow made things worse.

ACT III used coconut oil to pop the popcorn. This was expensive and tasted better. We added a scoop of some magic powder to the kernels before they went into the kettle. The powder was orange and I never looked at what was in it.

The process was this:
1. Use the scoop to gather the right amount of kernels.
2. Pour a scoop of the powder on the seeds. (I’m assuming this was mostly salt)
3. Hit the button twice for two shots of oil.
4. Add kernel mixture.
5. When it was about one second between pops we would dump it and move it to the warmer.
6. Then we would add Butter Flavoring when you ordered it. <—I’m still not sure what that shit is. It take 15 minutes to melt enough to go through the pump.

Regal was pretty much the same but instead of coconut oil they used a oil that included ingredients that belong on chemistry test.

Here is another tip. If you show up for the first showing of a film in a morning you are paying for stuff that was from the night before that sits in the warmer overnight. We moved it back into the popper to make it look fresh. It actually gets a bit worse. If there was a busy movie we would go Garbage Bag—> Warmer (when nobody was watching)—> Popper.

One of my first days on the job I was cuaght asking “do you want butter?”. A manager quickly informed me that for “legal reasons” it had to referred to as “butter flavoring.”

I don’t eat movie theater popcorn

Hydrogenated Slow Death.

I don’t think cinema popcorn is better than what I make a home. I pop organic popcorn in an air popper and add salt and butter (not butter flavored oil or margarine).

The orange powder is Flavacol.

@johnpowell Once I got fired from a Sizzler “Steakhouse.” Just sayin’. Oh. Ob topic: No popcorn was served.

If you pay thirteen bucks for a goddamn bag of calcined corn niblets, you’re going to enjoy it no matter what.

“l’m still not sure what that shit is.” Listen to @johnpowell and be afraid, be very afraid! He has been there, he knows. It’s scary stuff.

Note that the question doesn’t ask if theater popcorn is better than home popcorn. It asks what makes it better. It’s a general question too. Not a social question. So no opinions are valid answers. The answer is flavacol

Probably the fact that you’ve paid $6 for it. It damn well better taste better.

@Ineedanswersplease

“Note that the question doesn’t ask if theater popcorn is better than home popcorn. It asks what makes it better. It’s a general question too. Not a social question. So no opinions are valid answers. The answer is flavacol.”

Then the popcorn questioner has engaged in a logical fallacy, known as begging the question, or petitio principii. The questioner has assumed that theatre popcorn is better that homemade popcorn, an assumption which may or may not be true. Therefore, people have a right to question the questioner’s assumptions. We should be no less rigorous in our logic when answering questions about popcorn than we are answering questions about anything else.

Uhh…it’s popcorn. Relax.

@tinyfaery Yes, exactly, it’s just a question about popcorn. Chill. Grab a beer, have some popcorn. No worries.It’s just that @Ineedanswersplease was so earnest, I couldn’t resist. :-)

@johnpowell your informative answer confirmed all my worst suspicions and was so much fun to read. good god almighty I lurve ya!

I am still trying to figure out what the mysterious orange powder contains, that I myself saw the worker who sells popcorn adds a teaspoon of it into a glass full corn before she puts them in the pot.

What we all agree about is that the magic powder is orange. I’ve never seen butter comes in such a way as a soup powder. And if I want to buy this powder at the supermarket, what to look for? Or is it only sold for cinemas, their self-made.

BTW – I thought my question was a general one and not social, but the Fluther team made me move it to this section.

Flavacol
maybe the packaging will look familiar.
There is a jar of orange stuff, and stuff in milk carton type things.
Ingredients: Salt, artificial butter flavor, yellow #5 lake (E102) and yellow #6 lake (110)
Contains: Soy

@anartist What a great link! I want the $2,000 ice shaver.

@dpworkin Enjoy yourself. Don’t forget not to share.

@lillycoyote
Upton Sinclair called me from the grave. He said just enjoy the film….

IT“S FLAVACOL!! I said that at the beginning of the thread. Geesh.

@tinyfaery , I’m sorry, I didn’t noticed. What is Flavacol ?! What it does?

@Ranimi23: Click on @tinyfaery‘s link in red. (10th answer from top.)

It’s largely the palm oil that they use.

Nothing! We make our own popcorn at home and it’s better than cinema popcorn. We make it on the stove in a pot with a little bit of oil in the pot. Then we add powdered himalayan salt – because it’s powdered it sticks to the popcorn. PERFECT POPCORN EVERYTIME! :)

John65 had it right u dont have to make it yourself lets all get butlers

The quality of the mouse droppings.