Soda Popcorn Flake
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine sugar, glucose, and water in a large pot.
Cook the mixture until it reaches 300°F (150°C).
Combine and set
Remove from heat.
Add popcorn and soda. Mix thoroughly.
Place back on low heat to warm the kettle.
Pour the mixture onto a slab.
Spread it as thin as possible.
Once cooled, break into small pieces.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Forms the crisp, brittle sugar structure that holds the popcorn together.
- Glucose
- Limits sugar crystallisation, keeping the set candy smooth and glassy rather than grainy.
- Popcorn
- Provides the light, crunchy body that the brittle sugar coats and binds.
- Soda
- Aerates the hot syrup so it foams slightly, giving a lighter, more brittle texture.
The step that matters
Spreading the mixture thin on the slab. The hot mixture sets quickly as it cools, so it must be spread thin before it hardens. Thick pools stay soft in the centre and trap heat, while thin layers cool evenly into a crisp, brittle sheet.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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