Maple Butter Popcorn
Popcorn, maple syrup, and butter, stirred together in the pot you popped it in.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 3 oz
- cal / oz
- 140
- protein
- 3 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 13 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- Campfire coals
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Popping corn | 1/3 cup | yields about 4 cups popped |
|---|---|---|
| Oil for popping | 2 tbsp | any high-heat oil |
| Maple syrup | 1/2 cup | real syrup, carried in a leakproof bottle |
| Butter | 1/2 cup | ghee if you are out more than a couple of days |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Heat the oil in a lidded pot over the fire or stove. Add three test kernels and wait for them to go.
- Pour in the rest of the corn, lid on, and shake the pot every few seconds until the pops slow to one every couple of seconds. Dump the popcorn into a bowl or a clean stuff sack liner.
- Wipe the pot, drop in the butter, and melt it over low heat. Pull it off the flame before it browns.
- Stir the maple syrup into the melted butter until it stops separating.
- Pour the mixture over the popcorn, add the salt, and turn it over with a spoon until every piece is coated.
- Eat it now. It goes soft within the hour.
The original was a home recipe: melt butter, stir in syrup, pour it over popcorn someone else already popped. On a trip you have to do the popping too, so this uses one pot for both jobs. Pop first, empty the pot, then melt the butter in it. That order matters, because sugar hitting a hot dry pot burns fast.
Ghee is the swap worth making in warm weather. It behaves like butter here and does not need a cooler. Maple syrup is heavy for what it is, so this is a car camp and basecamp dessert, not something to carry up a hill.
Packing
Corn and salt in one bag. Syrup and oil in separate leakproof bottles. Butter in a small screw-top tub, or ghee if it is warm out.
Variations
- Brown sugar and a splash of water in place of maple syrup if you would rather not carry a bottle of liquid.
- A pinch of cayenne or chili powder in the salt cuts the sweetness.
- Pop the corn at home and carry it in a trash-compactor bag if pot space is short.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/sweet-maple-popcorn