article is from gluten free living.com
A.
of movie theater popcorn. The popcorn
kernels themselves are, of course, gluten
free. The oil and flavoring used to give
them that unique movie taste were also
gluten free in every case we checked.
All Flavacol brand popcorn, oil and
butter flavoring produced by Gold Medal
Products, a major supplier to movie theaters,
is gluten free. Todd Sunderhaus,
flavor technologist for Gold Medal, said
the company’s manufacturing facility is
gluten free and that all ingredients are
checked for allergens. When it comes to
gluten, the company has a zero tolerance
policy, Sunderhaus said.
Gold Medal does sell some products
that contain wheat, including funnel cake
and waffle cone mixes, but they are made
by outside companies and stored in a
separate room in the company’s warehouse.
“All the popcorn is gluten free,” Sunderhaus
said. “There is no issue or question
about that.”
Several major movie theater chains
also confirmed that their popcorn is
gluten free. Regal Cinemas, the largest
movie theater chain in the US, also sells
pop corn with butter topping that is gluten
free, according to marketing manager
Richard Grover. Regal has 552 theaters
in 39 states and Washington, D.C.
The butter topping at all 350 AMC
theaters in 30 states and Washington is
gluten free, according to Sun Dee Larson,
director of external communications.
Likewise, the popcorn in all Cinemark
theaters is gluten free, said James Meredith,
vice president of marketing and communications.
Cinemark has 289 theaters
in 38 states.
If the economy has you planning to
watch more movies at home, you’ll be
happy to know that most microwave popcorn
is gluten free. Read the label to be
sure.
If you really want to save money, you
can buy regular popcorn kernels in a plastic
bag for a fraction of the cost of prepackaged
microwave popcorn.
You can use the kernels to make
homemade microwave popcorn simply
by putting a quarter cup of popcorn and
salt or other seasoning to taste in a plain
brown lunch bag. Add 1 teaspoon of
olive or vegetable oil. Fold the top of the
bag over and staple it twice (No, the staple
will not ignite in the microwave. You
can also fold the top of the bag over
twice and skip the staples.) Gently shake
the bag and lay it down in the micro -
wave. Set the time from two to three
minutes depending on your microwave,
but stay there and remove the popcorn
when there are three to five seconds
between pops.
Some recipes for homemade micro -
wave popcorn omit the oil, which would
cut the fat content, but might also affect
the taste.
You can also make popcorn the oldfashioned
way. Pour just a bit of oil into
the bottom of a pot, add some popcorn
kernels, put the lid on the pot and turn
the heat to medium high. Shake the pan
when it starts popping or the popcorn
will scorch and burn. Stay near the stove.
Turn off the burner when there are three
to five seconds between pops and leave
the top on for a minute or two so the
kernels settle.
If you are feeling a bit nostalgic try
Jiffy Pop—it’s gluten free. This is the
brand that comes complete with oil and
kernels already in an aluminum pan. I
remember my parents making it on the
stove when I was a kid and it seemed like
sheer magic when the popcorn would
bubble up into a big silver ball.It’s hard to resist the smell and taste Movie theater popcorn is one
of my guilty pleasures. I have
always assumed it is gluten free but
wanted to know for sure. I hope I can
continue to enjoy this treat when I go
to the movies.
