A perennial children’s favourite for snacks and for birthday parties. It is a special type of dried corn, and may be bought ready-popped, either plain, toffee-coated or candy-coated. Popping your own corn, though, is very simple and much more fun.
To pop corn: Heat 1–2 tablespoons oil in a pan, just enough to film the base, and add enough popcorn to cover half the base of the pan in one layer. Shake over high heat until popping starts, then cover with a lid. Shake pan from time to time as long as popping continues (if you remove the lid you will have popcorn all over the room!). When all corn has popped, toss with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with salt.