What is the Best Oil to pop Popcorn in?

What is the Best Oil to pop Popcorn in?

Learn what are the Best Oils for Popping Corn and why they are the best. We discuss all of the most popular popcorn oils and tell you what the very best  is from both a taste and a Healthy Snack perspective!!

You can also click on this link to read our article on the Best Popcorn Kernels to really maximize the quality of and taste of your popcorn!!

What are your choices?

Most people don't realize that the oil the use to pop their popcorn in affects both the flavor of the finished snack food AND how healthy it is! Not only that but there is a lot of miss-information floating around as to what makes popcorn oil healthy or unhealthy or if it is even healthy.

Theater popcorn oil has made the news a lot due to the negative health aspect of movie theater popcorn. This all really stems from the Quantity of popcorn people tend to eat AND the quantity of the toppings (including the oil they pop it in) that they use. You can click on this link to read our article "Is popcorn Healthy?".

Here are the top 10 common choices for Oil (to use when popping popcorn):

1. Butter
2. Margarine
3. corn Oil
4. Vegetable Oil
5. Olive oil
6. Crisco
7. Peanut Oil
8. Canola Oil
9. Coconut Oil
10. No oil at all

Since most people don't know its possible, here is a video on how to make Popcorn with NO OIL at all!

The Best Popcorn Oil, in our opinion, is Tropical traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Why Gold Label virgin Coconut Oil by Tropical Traditions? – And NO I do not make a cent by recommending their product ( but I do make a few cents from Google if you click on one of their ads on this page but Google controls whose advertisement gets put here not me):

1) Tropical traditions Gold Label virgin coconut oil is MADE BY Hand. not by some nameless machine in a nameless factory.

2) Coconut Oil is NOT bad for you if used in reasonable proportions – and not only on popcorn, According to some of the websites cited farther down it is good for hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism and much more. The healthy aspect of coconut oil is because it contains lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, (see the research link farther down the page for more).

3) Coconut Oil makes your popcorn taste Great! That is why it is the Movie Theater Popcorn Oil of choice If you don't believe this try a side by side test. Make a batch with coconut oil and a batch with whatever else you want.

4) These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.

5) This Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is a truly unrefined coconut oil. This coconut oil is made  from organic coconuts. Coconuts that are used fresh (within 24-48 hours of harvest) from small family farms. Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is still produced by hand, using the wet-milling process of extracting the oil from fresh coconuts.

IF you refuse to believe all the analysis (that shows coconut Oil is not bad for you – that it is in fact good for you) on this page and on the links we have provided then the second best choice for would be Canola Oil! Just skip the animal fats, butter and corn oil (Corn Oil has Omega 6

The Health Benefits of Coconut Oil:

The Organic Facts Website states that:

"The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc."

You can read their entire page on the subject AT THE LINK ABOVE but to summarize, coconut oil IS GOOD FOR YOU. (as long as you don't go overboard with it). Yes,Coconut oil is a saturated fat, but it’s one that has good health properties (medium chain triglycerides for easy absorption, lauric fatty acid, etc.) and can tolerate high heat, making it a better choice than a trans fat or an oil that shouldn’t be heated to higher temperatures. I prefer and recommend organic because then the health benefits aren’t reduced by the potential for pesticides. That said, coconut oil, like any saturated fat (and food in general), must be consumed with portion control in mind—60 grams of saturated fat is the issue here, not the use of coconut oil.

WEBMD states that:

"Like all fats, coconut oil is a blend of fatty acids. Coconut oil contains an unusual blend of short and medium chain fatty acids, primarily lauric (44%) and myristic (16.8%) acids. It is this unusual composition that may offer some health benefits.

Additionally, "because they come from coconuts, they may contain beneficial plant chemicals that have yet to be discovered," says Mozaffarian, researcher and co-director of the cardiovascular epidemiology program at Harvard." you can click on this link to read their full report on our pick for the best popcorn oil - coconut oil.

OK thats the end of this article!!