What’s the difference between regular and gourmet popcorn? It’s easy to throw around the word, “gourmet,” to make something sound more enticing. But when you see the words, “gourmet popcorn,” on a label, what does this actually mean?
Some of the major differences between regular and gourmet popcorn are how they are made and their ingredients. Regular popcorn is typically manufactured in a factory or produced in large quantities. Both regular and microwave popcorn are also made with preservatives and other chemicals to help them last for longer periods of time. However, gourmet popcorn is typically hand-made in small batches, with none or less added preservatives.
At Popped! Republic, we do not add any preservatives to our Gourmet Popcorn while we are making it. You can typically count on gourmet popcorn to be made with natural ingredients and to always be fresh. At Popped! Republic, we make our popcorn by hand at our Baltimore location every day. Even though it may last several weeks when stored in a tight container or twist-tie, we believe in total freshness, so we try to keep our popcorn so it is fresh from our stores or online within one to two weeks tops. This way you are getting fresh, delicious popcorn hand-made with natural ingredients by our “Pop-stars,” whether you come into one of our locations or order online.
Another big difference between regular and gourmet popcorn is the toppings. Traditional store-bought popcorn usually only comes in butter, cheese, and caramel flavors and some of the chocolate flavors are more chocolate flavored and not made with real chocolate. With gourmet popcorn, the flavor possibilities are endless! Gourmet popcorn makers always keep popcorn exciting by experimenting to make new flavors or add new toppings. At America’s Favorite Gourmet Popcorn, we have many unique flavors like Caramel Apple, Chesapeake Style (with Old Bay seasoning!), Route 66 Ranch, Caramel with Dark Chocolate Drizzle, and many more! And when you think you’ve tried them all (and we challenge you,) we will try out a new flavor.
If you are interested in how we make our gourmet popcorn, our production facility in our Baltimore location offers tours of our production kitchen! We will talk about the different types of popcorn, take you through our production area, and show you the process of creating our unique flavors. With any luck, you may be able to help one of our popcorn experts as they make the days batches of Popped! Republic, America's favorite gourmet popcorn!
