This dry sweet popcorn is such a treat for me. Not because it is fancy or difficult to make but because it brings so many memories to my mind when I eat it.Our family called it Pink Candy Popcorn. It is an old recipe from my grandmother. I never knew her but my mom would make this popcorn and tell us stories. My mom wasn't a great cook but could make this popcorn just perfect. I'm sure it was the sweet tooth in her. I can see her standing next to the stove in our green kitchen stirring and stirring carefully minding the candy thermometer to get it just right for the final pour over the popcorn. We had a great big metal bowl that was perfect for making a big batch for sharing with friends or neighbors. Oh what a treat.
Old Fashioned Pink Popcorn
2 cups Sugar
2/3 cup half & half, cream or whole milk
1 TBS white corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
few drops red food coloring
Place sugar, cream, corn syrup and salt in saucepan on a medium heat. Stir well and cook until sugar has fully dissolved before allowing mixture to boil (this is important to avoid rendering the popcorn too sugary). Continue to cook stirring occasionally until reaching 230 degrees or slightly soft ball stage. Add vanilla and food coloring. Mix well. Pour over 6 quarts of popcorn and stir until well coated. Spread out on flat surface to let dry and cool.
I am so greatful you posted this recipe!!! I have been searching for this for years. My sweet grandmother passed away many years ago and I haven't been able to find her recipe for it. This is the one! Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteI just made this and it's the bomb. So good. I grew up in Canada where they sold Lucky Elephant Pink Candy Popcorn so this was so nostalgic for me. I posted about it and linked back to you. Thank you so much for the inspiration to make this. SO many memories of this stuff.
ReplyDeleteMade the pink popcorn tonight. It is good but thought it would be more sugary than sticky sweet. I cooked it to 240 degrees. Is this the consistancy it is suppose to be?(sticky)
ReplyDeleteCan anyone tell me how long this will last (ie shelf life).
ReplyDeleteJust want to try to make ahead for little girls bday party this Saturday but am concerned cause it does have milk in it :(
How much popcorn is to be used with this recipe?
ReplyDeleteI know this is eons later, but to comment on the milk question: the milk in a cooked candy does not spoil. It keeps like any other candy such as fudge.
ReplyDeleteI just made this, but it not drying....it has been one hour. It is still very sticky. Any idea what might have gone wrong. Wanting to make this for my daughters Pink Princess Party in a few days, and thought I would try it a few days ahead of time to trouble shoot. Any help would be welcome.
ReplyDeleteJust made it from another posted recipe and mine was not sticky at all but too sugary and the other posted recipe did not mention to use a lower heat to dissolve the sugar before letting it come to a boil and I think this would have made a difference. I will try again with this recipe.. for those of you who have too sticky popcorn, I think you may not have reached the correct soft ball stage but a remedy to fix it may be to try putting it in a roaster at 200 degrees and stir every 15 minutes for 1 hour. This will harden it and dry it out. Good luck and thank you Nan for posting this recipe.
ReplyDeleteI am planning to make this for my daughters baby shower. How far in advance can it be made and what's the best way to store it.
ReplyDelete