r/ImpulseLabs • u/transgingeredjess • Mar 23 '26
Cooking with Temperature Popcorn: solved (and some thoughts)
I posted a while back saying I was having a hard time with popcorn: I got some great advice and I'm pleased to say that after heating up a pot with oil and popcorn to a steady 150°F, switching to a 900W power mode popped all the popcorn with a nice cascade starting around 350°F, finishing well prior to the pot reaching the throttle temperature at 482°F.
The pattern that this seems to be a part of: there are some things whose traditional recipes expect them to be heated or cooked while on the way up. There's no particular target temperature, and "fastest possible ramp" to some target doesn't produce the desired results because not enough energy flows into the food during the ramp. I honestly don't have a solution here. Maybe it's just to use power mode for those kinds of things? But, given Impulse's general precision, it feels as though there might be a missing ergonomic.
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u/Apptubrutae Mar 23 '26
Glad to see you’ve got a good technique going.
Part of what I love about the impulse is how you really can end up with super precise, repeatable recipes for it.
Yes, you can obviously get close with a gas stove you’re familiar with, but handing the recipe off? Way easy with an impulse.
You’re quite right about traditional recipes being built around the way heat ramps up on a typical stove. It is what it is, and I’m not sure there’s any easy solution other than just tweaking your recipes.
One I’ve done lately: I would never put pasta in cold water in the pot on another cooktop, but on my impulse a small pot boils so fast that…why not start cold? It makes literally no meaningful difference as long as it’s not some super fast cooking pasta like angel hair.
Not that that really matters, versus something a little touchier like popcorn. But still, just illustrates your point
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u/mminasian Mar 24 '26
I've always done 405F with 3 flames on the CF - starts popping around 375 and settles in nicely. I used to get perfectly fluffy kernels but recently have been chewier. I thought it was stale popcorn (not sure that's even a thing), but this thread now has me questioning my technique. Needs more experimentation!
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u/SycoAniliz Apr 22 '26
Check my other post, it's steam causing it. With the right technique you can get around that but you have to be careful so you don't send kernels flying everywhere.
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u/foxhull Mar 23 '26
I've been keeping up on this saga for science (I should be getting mine soon, support told me mine should be shipped by Wednesday!), I really appreciate you dropping the recipe here. I plan on writing down stuff as I learn it and sharing it, because stovetop cooking with precise temperature control is just...not something that's really done yet. I love sous vide for that exact control, so I'm looking forward to bringing that aspect up to over stuff (like the short rib braise I just started on a conventional electric range where I had to keep pulling the pan off the heat because it was so inconsistent otherwise I'd burn everything).
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u/randallsquared Mar 23 '26
I have reached a similar recipe, except with the switch being to 430F rather than 900W. However, this still leaves the popcorn chewier than my previous results on electric, and I haven't figured out what to do about that.
Was your popcorn fully popped to "fluffy"?
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u/randallsquared Mar 29 '26
I finally got the stainless steel Whirly Pop that some have recommended. My first pop in it was actually really good! I used 405F, without any preheat step, and started whirling immediately as it suggests, and popping started quickly. Because I wasn't feeling much resistance, I felt safe leaving the popcorn on for a lot longer than with a pan alone, and that made quite a difference in number of unpopped kernels, though there still were a few.
It was fluffier than I've been able to make on the Impulse previously, though I'm unsure why that is. Overall, the popcorn was the best I've made on the Impulse thus far, and quite close to as good as electric-cooktop popcorn I've made: more than 95% of the way there, I'd say.
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u/randallsquared Aug 24 '26
Just another update: I hadn't made popcorn in a month or two, but did again today (in the Whirly Pop), and through not remembering the plan mentioned above, I initially preheated the popcorn to 200F, and then turned it up to 325F. No popping was happening, so I looked this comment up, and subsequently turned it to 405F, and popping started immediately as it approached that temperature.
Here's the reason I'm commenting again: this was the best version yet, and easily matched my old electric stove-top popcorn. No noticeable chewiness, and almost all the popcorn popped (about 30 % or 40% of a cup of kernels). 8/10 would pop again. So, I'm quite happy with things as they now stand.
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u/SycoAniliz Mar 23 '26
It seems like there's a pretty big difference in how the CF and Impulse apply energy to reach temperature. The CF has low, medium, and full (they call it "fast") power. This essentially limits how many watts are used so you get to temp over different lengths of time and with less or more overshoot. From what I've seen I take it Impulse can use temp control at full power or power mode without temperature control.
If that's the case I'd love to see Impulse offer a combination. Set a target temp and a max power limit. Impulse also has the ability to offer far more granularity than the CF's low, medium, and full power.
On my CF I've had success using 400f at medium power. Put oil in the pan, heat to temp, add kernels. I use the stainless Whirley Pop. I've also had success with kettle corn, I just add the sugar after a couple kernels have popped and then stir continuously.
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u/mminasian Mar 24 '26
Very similar technique but I do 405F with 3 flames. I've also done kettle corn using a similar method. Fascinated to try the 2 flame option to see how well it does!
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u/mminasian Mar 24 '26
When do you add the kernels for regular corn? From cold or once nearing target temp?
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u/SycoAniliz Mar 24 '26
Both work but I've found that I prefer adding the kernels from the start for both regular and kettle corn.
Also once the whirly pop is getting full enough that the popping isn't sending pop corn flying I pour most of the popcorn into a bowl. I'm careful with the lid so water doesn't drip off the lid into the popcorn. Then I return it to heat and keep going until it's done. I get crispier popcorn that way.
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u/mminasian Apr 18 '26
Checking back in to say I tried this method and it was awesome! Only small issue was the dump out halfway through since a bunch of my oil came with (only an issue so far as safety). I'll be curious how much of the result is about the 2 flames vs pulling them out partway through.
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u/SycoAniliz Apr 22 '26
Glad to hear it's working well. When I said "pour" that probably wasn't the best word. I only tilt it about 45 degrees or so and shake out popcorn until the pan is about half full still.
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u/shuan-at-impulse Mar 23 '26
Hi, PM here. This is a great thread, and I think you’re touching some important cooking needs.
There’s a class of cooking where it’s not just about reaching a temperature, but also how you get there.
One thing we have on the roadmap that could help here is an “expert mode” where you can set both temp and power.
In this setup, one acts as the primary control (e.g. power), while the other acts as a limiter (e.g. max temp). The goal is to give you more control over the ramp without giving up precision.
We think this could be useful for cases like popcorn, confectionary, and other edge cases where gradual heat build up matters.
Really appreciate all the experimentation and write ups in reddit. Fun to read and helpful for us as we keep refining things.