Our team is dedicated to finding and telling you more about the products and deals we love. If you love them too and decide to purchase through the links below, we may receive a commission. Pricing and availability are subject to change.
There’s just something about movie theater popcorn that makes it taste amazing. It’s salty, it’s buttery — it’s a real treat. However, no matter how many times you’ve tried adding butter and salt to your popcorn at home, it never tastes the same. Even the bagged “movie theater butter” microwave popcorn can’t get it right. So, what’s the secret? The flavor all comes down to one ingredient: Flavacol.
You’ve likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it. Essentially, it’s butter-flavored salt. It’s a really fine, bright orange powder that adds that buttery flavor you crave and the signature yellow color. If the yellow dyes don’t freak you out, it’s downright delicious.
The trick is to combine your Flavacol seasoning with an oil — coconut oil, vegetable oil or even olive oil — while popping your corn. The oil prevents the powder from burning and distributes it a bit, so you coat all of the kernels with the buttery, salty flavor.
So, where do you get Flavacol? Amazon carries a 35-ounce carton of it for less than $10. However, after a few taste tests, I suggest getting the Flavacol seasoning and butter-flavored popcorn topping combo for $18.95. If you ask for extra butter on your popcorn at the movie theater, this butter-flavored topping (aka butter-flavored soybean oil) is for you.
Also, keep in mind that a little Flavacol goes a long way. You can always add more if you think you need it.
My personal trick is to mix two tablespoons of whatever oil I have with one teaspoon of Flavacol in a pot over medium heat on the stove. When the oil is hot, I add just a couple of kernels to the pot and put on the lid. Once they’ve popped, I add two tablespoons of more popcorn and put the lid loosely back on.
After all the kernels are done popping, I pour the popcorn into a bowl. Then, I add the butter-flavored topping. If you really like salt, you could taste test it and add a little more Flavacol if you think it needs it.
Seriously, you can have real movie theater popcorn every day. It’s so easy and definitely a game changer for movie nights at home.
The trick is to combine your Flavacol seasoning with an oil — coconut oil, vegetable oil or even olive oil — while popping your corn. The oil prevents the powder from burning and distributes it a bit, so you coat all of the kernels with the buttery, salty flavor.
Pour half of the butter or ghee over the popcorn, cover, and shake the pot to coat. Pour the remaining butter or ghee over the popcorn and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon finely ground kosher salt, table salt, or popcorn salt. Cover again and shake. Serve immediately.
The flavor all comes down to one ingredient: Flavacol. You've likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it. Essentially, it's butter-flavored salt. It's a really fine, bright orange powder that adds that buttery flavor you crave and the signature yellow color.
The top secret of movie theater popcorn is the flavor, which comes from Flavacol most of the time. This is a flavoring that's added to the oil, giving the popcorn its distinctive taste.
It's a personal preference—and there are certainly people who eat both and wouldn't even notice the difference.” AMC, Regal, and Marcus theaters use coconut oil, while Cinemark opts for canola, and other regional chains use a blend.
Other theaters cook their kernels in a mix of oil and real butter, helping to maximize that butter flavor and fine salt taste before the actual popcorn kernels are popped. However, many don't know that the main reason for the taste of that movie popcorn is a topping called Flavacol.
Movie theaters use butter-flavored oil, which has a lower water content than butter so it makes popcorn less soggy. Real clarified butter has the same effect.
there IS a “secret ingredient”. Or, more precisely, a sort of “trade secret”; and that's Flavacol. What's in it? “Salt, artificial butter flavor, FD&C Yellow #5 Lake (E102) and Yellow #6 Lake (E110)”.
The trick is to combine your Flavacol seasoning with an oil — coconut oil, vegetable oil or even olive oil — while popping your corn. The oil prevents the powder from burning and distributes it a bit, so you coat all of the kernels with the buttery, salty flavor.
Pop Weaver Popcorn Kernels - Weaver Gold 50-lb Bag - Butterfly Style Popping Corn. This is the brand and type AMC theaters use for their popcorn. It is formulated to pop larger with more crevices to “grab” the seasonings.
Flavacol is as bad for you as regular salt but worse, as it doesn't even contain iodine, regular salt's redeeming nutritional feature; it is, however, vegan and gluten-free (as salt tends to be), as well as kosher and halal certified.
In researching the brand, I found out that Orville is actually the brand of popcorn that most big movie chains carry — so it's no surprise that this one capture that movie theater magic so closely.
At about 35 calories per cup, air-popped popcorn is a whole grain and offers 1 gram of fiber per cup. But these benefits can be nearly canceled out. A large tub of movie-theater popcorn can ring in at more than 1,100 calories and contain 1,500 milligrams of sodium and 50 grams of saturated fat.
Flavacol is a seasoned powder that goes on the corn before it's popped and it's made of four ingredients: salt, artificial butter flavor, FD&C Yellow #5 Lake (E102), and Yellow #6 Lake (E110). The latter two give popcorn that bright, appealing yellow color that movie theater popcorn is known for.
Movie theaters use butter-flavored oil, which has a lower water content than butter so it makes popcorn less soggy. Real clarified butter has the same effect. To make it, melt 2 sticks butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave.
there IS a “secret ingredient”. Or, more precisely, a sort of “trade secret”; and that's Flavacol. What's in it? “Salt, artificial butter flavor, FD&C Yellow #5 Lake (E102) and Yellow #6 Lake (E110)”.
Introduction: My name is Merrill Bechtelar CPA, I am a clean, agreeable, glorious, magnificent, witty, enchanting, comfortable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
