Miso Caramel Corn

I had a chef instructor at the CIA once ask the class, “who here is from the heartland? If you don’t know what the heartland is, you’re not from there”.

I proudly raised my hand, as did several others, and we watched our classmates look mystified by what this heartland club was all about.

The Heartland is the industrial and agricultural core of the US, and is built from the heart of the Midwest, encompassing North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan,

Stephanie and I will both humble brag about growing up in the heartland. She spent her youth in Minnesota, and I in Indiana. I am literally from the hometown of Orville Redenbacher, in Valparaiso, Indiana. We always had popcorn in our house. To this day, my mom still has a designated pot for making her nightly popcorn. Over 389.69 million tons of corn were grown in the United States last year. A staggeringly impressive amount of crop.

When I sat and thought about this one simple ingredient, I could not help but get carried away at how easy-going corn is. Popcorn can be consumed in a variety of ways, but in its purest delivery we see it with salt, with butter, or with salt and butter.

Stephanie will surely ask, “How can we make it better? What can we add to increase the benefits?” And therein lies the fun for me. Our goal is not to alter the kernels themselves, but to adjust and ramp up how we serve it. Popcorn becomes the vehicle for the added benefits. What immediately comes to mind is miso. Miso butter specifically.

Miso is umami at its purest definition. It’s unexpectedly darn good. Salty, earthy and simply the punctuation you didn’t know you were looking for.  Miso has the means to deliver something transcendent.

Stephanie says:

What I like about miso is that it’s a fermented food (soybean) that is supportive of a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Fermented foods contain probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria for gut health. Miso also has a high nutritive value, since it comes from fermented soybeans, contains amino acids, isoflavones, and vitamin E (Saeed et al, 2022). In this recipe we take the traditional addition of butter and add miso. This is a great snack on its own or take it a step further and make the sweet salty miso popcorn balls.

First, miso popcorn. Sure, microwave popcorn will work in a pinch, as will an air popper. Heck, for those in the Jiffy Pop cult, you could even throw a tablespoon of miso in that crazy foil topped pan and give it a swirl. If you have yet to try cooking popcorn in a pot (with a lid!) on the stove, we encourage you to do so. This classic preparation is truly a game changer. A good rule of thumb is,  the ratio when popping on the stove is, one cup of kernels will yield approximately four cups of finished popcorn. To prevent burning, use olive oil or coconut oil to pop your popcorn, or if you use butter, keep the heat at medium.

Four cups of finished popcorn will benefit from ¼ cup of butter melted, and a heaping tablespoon of miso paste. Simply melt the butter and miso paste together. Mix well to combine and add to your finished popcorn. Tossing this all together in a large bowl is an art form all in its own. As most miso pastes have a salty flavor, you may find that no additional salt is necessary.

On to the caramel corn! This is a great variation on a classic. Miso butter is still the star here, but we add seeds and other ingredients for layers of texture and flavor. Sweet and salty, with countless unexpected benefits.

Pop your popcorn and set aside in a large bowl or sheet tray.

Use your favorite butter (salted or unsalted), or plant-based butter. As far as miso is concerned, there are three types, white, yellow, and red. White is the mildest, and a great intro to miso. Yellow is aged a bit longer than white and has a nuttier stronger flavor. While red miso is aged the longest, and has a deeper earthier flavor to it, almost “barny” in nature. The more miso you have in your diet, the more you will gravitate towards a deeper flavored miso. Bottom line, choose which you personally enjoy the most.

This can be enjoyed in smaller pieces like caramel corn, shaped into popcorn balls, or spread into a pan and cut like cereal treats. A great snack throughout the day, or on the trail.

Miso Caramel Corn

For the popcorn:

• 1/4 cup butter, coconut oil, etc. (not required if air popping with a popcorn maker)
• 1/3 cup popcorn kernels (this yields 10 cups of finished popcorn)

Once popped, transfer popcorn to a VERY large bowl and set aside.

Caramel:

• 8 oz butter (salted or unsalted)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon miso paste
• 1 tsp gochujang (omit if spice is not desired)
• ½ tsp baking soda

Garnish:

• ½ cup seeds (pumpkin, chia, hemp, flax, sunflower, any combo will do)

Furikake if desired.

Caramel Method:

• Preheat oven to 230°F
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add honey, maple syrup, miso paste, gochujang, and brown sugar. Stir until just combined.
• When it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR
• Add seeds to popcorn
• Remove caramel from heat then quickly whisk in vanilla and baking soda. When you stop whisking, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.
• Quickly pour straight over popcorn and seeds. Toss until caramel cools and starts to harden.

Spread popcorn on two parchment lined baking trays. If you do not have parchment, lightly oil the pans first.

Bake for 60 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so. Caramel will remelt for the first 2-3 tosses – tossing coats popcorn more evenly with caramel. A

Remove from the oven, leave to cool. Gently break into pieces and serve. Store in a sealed container for up to three weeks. Storing it in the freezer or refrigerator will prevent the caramel from staying crispy. It is best to keep this at room temperature.

References

Saeed F, Afzaal M, Shah YA, Khan MH, Hussain M, Ikram A, Ateeq H, Noman M, Saewan SA, Khashroum AO. Miso: A traditional nutritious & health-endorsing fermented product. Food Sci Nutr. 2022 Sep 15;10(12):4103-4111