Doing Business / THINGS THAT GO POP : Local Popcorn Maker Spices Up the Business

Popcorn has come a long way since the days when the spiciest addition was butter and salt. Today’s fancy flavors include jalapeno pepper, Romano cheese and garlic.

Cal Corn Inc. makes more than two dozen varieties of flavored popcorn to supply its mail-order business, temporary stores and its dozen Popcorn Palace and Candy Emporium outlets in shopping malls across Southern California.

The Irvine confectioner air-pops about 25,000 pounds of popcorn a week in huge kettles. Some of it is set aside for purists who prefer just butter and salt. The majority, however, is divided into two assembly processes--one for seasoned popcorn, one for candy-coated.

The kernels that are to be seasoned are sprayed with the various seasoning blends. Added to a base of corn oil are such combinations as cheese and jalapenos, cheese and garlic, sour cream and chives, tomato and basil.

To make the candy-coated flavors, sugar, corn syrup and flavorings such as cherry, macadamia butter crunch, cookies and cream, or cinnamon oat bran are mixed, heated to 300 degrees, then tumbled with air-popped corn to give it an even coating. A bit of soybean oil and lecithin is added to keep the pieces from sticking together. The whole batch then goes to cooling trays, where whirring fans and quick workers keep it moving until it reaches room temperature.