Popcorn

Yum! The kids all love cooking popcorn. Ben always asks me to add heaps of kernels so that the lid lifts off the saucepan as they pop! We always cook popcorn the old fashioned way in a saucepan on the stove, firstly because it is so much fun, and also because popcorn out of those microwave popcorn bags is apparently really bad for you.

There are two major toxins linked to microwave popcorn. One is a nasty chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) which is in the grease-repelling "teflon" chemicals used to treat microwave popcorn bags. These chemicals react at high temperatures (like they experience in the microwave while cooking popcorn) and can be given off as vapours which cause all kinds of lung problems, but can also migrate into the popcorn oil and are absorbed into the body. It has a half life of 4 years and I thought I probably shouldn't be feeding it to my kids... blech!

The other major toxin linked to microwave popcorn is the synthetic butter flavour (diacetyl) which is found in butter flavoured microwave popcorn. This chemical is also believed to cause lung disease if inhaled and most major popcorn makers are now removing it from their products. Double blech!

Aah... popcorn in a pan



It's delicious eaten warm and just lightly sprinkled with salt!