Learning to Cook : Learning to Teach

Had someone told my father 25 years ago that I would someday write a weekly column on basic cooking techniques he surely would have laughed in disbelief. Both of us remember all too well those first meals we shared after my older sister married and just the two of us were living together.

They were often multi-course dinners, but not in the sense you would expect. I never seemed to be able to get things to come out cooked at the same time, so we often found ourselves eating what should have been a one-plate meal of meat, starch and vegetables as three different courses.

Perhaps it’s because of these memories that I enjoy trying to make cooking easier for others. I’m certainly proof that although we’re not all born chefs, we can learn not only to master the basics, but discover that cooking is a creative and enjoyable challenge.

During the past three years this column has covered close to 150 different techniques--some I was familiar with, others new to me. In researching these topics, I’ve been continually amazed at the variety of ways experts will do the same task. I try to determine the best approach, even if it isn’t always the quickest or easiest.

Making homemade caramel corn is a case in point. Many of the recipes I found omitted baking the caramel-covered popcorn--a step I found necessary to get a really good end product. During baking, the popcorn becomes more evenly coated with the caramel and after cooling it’s crisper.

Any type of nuts--peanuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, macadamia or a combination--may be added, if desired. Stir the nuts into the hot caramel mixture just before pouring it over the popcorn.

Remove any unpopped kernels and place the popcorn in a buttered metal bowl. (A glass bowl was used for photography purposes, but metal is recommended because it retains heat and the caramel mixture won’t cool as quickly). Keep the popcorn warm in a 200-degree oven while preparing the caramel.

Combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then boil, without stirring, 5 minutes or until the mixture measures 255 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Remove the mixture from the heat, add the baking soda and stir well. The candy will foam as the baking soda reacts chemically to neutralize the acid of the caramelized sugar.

Pour the caramel mixture over the popped corn (Step 1) and toss with buttered forks (Step 2) to distribute the caramel evenly. An extra pair of hands comes in handy at this step.

Spread the mixture onto two ungreased baking sheets (Step 3) or jellyroll pans and bake at 200 degrees for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool the caramel corn completely before breaking it into clusters (Step 4) and store in a tightly covered container to prevent it from becoming sticky.

CARAMEL CORN

14 cups popped popcorn

2 cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup butter

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Remove any unpopped kernels from popcorn. Place popcorn in buttered metal bowl and keep warm in 200-degree oven.

Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Boil, without stirring, 5 minutes or until mixture reaches 255 degrees on candy thermometer.

Remove mixture from heat and add baking soda (candy will foam). Stir well.

Pour mixture over popped corn and toss with buttered forks to distribute evenly. Spread onto 2 ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 200 degrees 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Cool caramel corn completely. Break into clusters. Store tightly covered. Makes about 3 1/2 quarts.

Note: If desired, 1 cup nuts may be added to caramel mixture just before pouring over popped corn.