The Good: Comparatively inexpensive, Great taste
The Bad: Not as healthy as I would like, Very messy
The Basics: Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn is one of the best basic microwave popcorns I have yet found!
As one who has been watching sodium intake, it has been a while since I last had microwave popcorn. More often than not, I pop my popcorn in a hot air popper that I have. I enjoy that and the results tend to be much healthier than microwave popcorn. However, with my recent stay at the Homewood Suites (reviewed here!), I ended up with some microwave popcorn that has been calling my name for weeks! Tonight, I decided I would review it.
My first popcorn review, them, is Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn. And it is good!
Basics
Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn, for those who are not familiar with the brand, is one of the best-established popcorn producers in the United States. A brand owned by ConAgra Foods, Orville Redenbacher makes popcorn and microwave popcorn. Over the last few years, Orville Redenbacher has been releasing flavors of popcorn. Butter Gourmet Popping Corn is one of the basic flavors of microwave popcorn that they produce.
Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn comes in in a folded paper bag sealed in plastic wrap. The 3.3 oz package pops up to be approximately 2 1/2 servings, though inexplicably the nutritional information is given in 1 cup increments (the bag makes 4.5 cups popped).
Ease Of Preparation
Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn is pretty simple to make. Remove the plastic wrap around the bag and unfold the paper bag without opening or puncturing it. Spreading the popcorn out by kneading the bag does not seem to have any adverse effect. The directions recommend two and a half minutes to pop this popcorn and in my microwave (reviewed here!), that came out just right.
At two and a half minutes, 90% of the kernels were popped and none of them were burned. Once the popcorn is popped, carefully remove the bag from the microwave, open it at the vented top (being careful not to let the steam burn you) and consume. You are, of course, free to put the popped popcorn in a bowl for easier dispensing!
Taste
Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn has a more subtle butter smell than most microwave popcorns. In fact, this was so lacking in smell outside a faint wiff of butter that I was worried it would not taste very strong at all.
What is so cool about Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn is that this microwave popcorn tastes delightfully buttery, but not excessively salty. Whatever Orville Redenbacher is doing, they are doing it right. On almost every kernel (I’d estimate 85% over the whole bag) had a yellow tint and a bold buttery flavor. There were no salty crystals, but this popcorn tasted wonderfully flavored and enough to easily recommend.
As the Butter Gourmet Popping Corn cools, the buttery flavor endures, but it makes the mouth drier to keep eating it. The dryness in one’s mouth is not accompanied by any aftertaste.
Nutrition
Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn is not at all all-natural snack and it is disappointingly unhealthy for those who are trying to monitor their sodium intake. Made primarily of Popping corn, palm oil and salt, there are several preservatives in this microwave popcorn. On the plus side, the preservatives appear to work; I could not find an expiration date on my bags!
Each one cup serving of Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn has 30 calories, twenty of which come from fat. There are three grams of dietary fiber, which is actually pretty good. Unfortunately, they are balanced out by 12 grams of fat and a whopping 260 mg of Sodium! The 2 grams of protein do not hold a candle to that! There is a smattering of Iron, but no vitamins or other nutrients. There is a dietary note that the Butter Gourmet Popping Corn is considered a 100% Whole Grain snack.
Storage/Clean-up
Kept sealed in its bag, Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn will remain fresh indefinitely. Once it is popped, though, you pretty much have to eat the popcorn as it cannot be reheated and it is pretty gross after a few days of sitting around.
Cleanup is best done fast. Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn has a buttery film to almost every piece. This leaves a slick residue on the fingers and unless you want to leave oily spots everywhere you touch, you should wash your hands as soon as you are done eating this popcorn. This popcorn’s oil does not congeal as much as some microwave popcorns, but it is still pretty gross if you sit around and think of it. With hot water, though, it washes easily off the fingers and hands. To get it out of fabrics, consult a fabric guide; it will stain lighter fabrics.
Overall
Orville Redenbacher’s Butter Gourmet Popping Corn is good, but it is not the healthiest option for those who are looking for a microwave popcorn to enjoy as a healthy snack!
For other salty snacks, check out my reviews of:
Cheez-It Cheddar Jack cheese crackers
Planters Flavor Grove Jalapeno Pistachios
Chex Mix Sour Cream & Onion
7/10
For other food and drink reviews, please click here to visit my index page!
© 2012 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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