We all liked a lot the homemade popcorn, the girls just couldn't stop eating and kept calling me the best mum. So, it was worth the effort, at least for this reason.
Besides, this popcorn is really good and it's nowhere near the one bought from the shop - the toast flavour is stronger and you can always decide what you want to use for frying - the favourite oil or butter. I tried once with butter before, popcorn is delicious, but it tends to burn more quickly. You could make clarified butter (Ghee), this won't burn and so you could use it for popping the corn.
This is how the popping corn looks like, so make sure you don't just get any kind of dry corn - it has to be specified that it's used for making popcorn.
For 1 cup unpopped kernels you need a big Dutch oven (or a heavy-bottomed pot) approximately 7 litres in volume.
If you don't have such a big pot, use a deep saucepan with a tight-fitting lid - but in this case, reduce the amount of popcorn kernels.
So, heat some oil in the pot or saucepan.
Meanwhile, measure and prepare the popcorn kernels.
Once the oil is heated up, add popping corn and salt.
Quickly stir with a spoon and cover with the lid.
Let it over medium to high heat and wait.
The show is about to start in a few minutes - the kernels start popping and you can see this nice process through a glass lid.
My little Maria was delighted to watch it :)
The pot will be soon filled with popcorn and when the popping stops, turn off the heat and remove the lid.
Then transfer popcorn into bowls and just enjoy. While it's hot, it might feel a bit softer, but after it cools down, it becomes crispy and delicious. Adjust the salt to your own taste.
My girls' little hands kept stealing the popcorn and there was barely enough left to take the final picture :)
Enjoy!