Popcorn
The Academy Awards telecast is coming up this Sunday, which got me thinking about movies, which got me obsessing about popcorn, which made my mouth start watering in a very Pavlovian way. Popcorn is the stereotypical staple of the cinematic experience, and it is the simple snack that makes me out-and-out happy.
Why Popcorn
I’ve always been defenseless to crunchy, salty foods. Potato chips – specifically the salt & vinegar and jalapeño varieties – are near the top of my snack list too, but their caloric content has become less tolerable to my slowing metabolism.
Popcorn makes me feel much less guilty, though that mindset is a bit delusional when it comes to your butter-laden, cheese-dusted, and sugar-coated versions. Luckily, the air-popped variety is only around 30 calories per cup compared to the 60-125 calories of the others.
Popcorn is magic. Those hard, inedible, tasteless kernels transform into fluffy, airy puffs of tasty goodness in front of our very eyes. Check out the split-second process in the ultra slo-mo video below.
Finally, since we tend to associate popcorn with fun experiences, just the aroma of popcorn puts most of us in a good mood. So if you need a little pick-me-up, expose yourself to a bucket of culinary aromatherapy. It’s affordable, effective, and simply delicious.
