How To Make Rum And Caramel Popcorn To Give Your Movie Night A Caribbean Flair
Hosting a movie night at home is incomplete without a bowl full of popcorn perched on your lap or on the coffee table that you dip into to munch on the appealing crisp while watching your favourite rom com or suspense thriller.
And if you are fond of the fine foods experience, you are bound to experiment with different popcorn flavours ranging from cheese and butter to the more gourmet notes of cinnamon sugar or truffle parmesan. Popcorn is a movie night staple and when you are hosting an evening that is a slightly themed affair you can introduce culinary elements reflecting the motif of the party into your favourite movietime munching.
One such variation that will truly prove to be a sensational taste for your palate is rum and caramel popcorn, which can be prepared especially when you are hosting a Caribbean themed movie night at home.
When you gather around your TV to watch pirates battling it out on the high seas or simply tune into any film genre but want that appeal of the tropics to dance on your taste buds, this flavour of popcorn can be your go to.
Rum And Caramel Drizzle
Biting into popcorn that is a mix of cheese and caramel flavours is a singular pleasure. The contrasting notes of the sweet and bitter caramel and the slightly heavier cheese mix are what make this pairing stand out.
Such is the case of the rum and caramel drizzle too, which mixes two very bold flavours in an irresistible spread that coats your quintessential movie snack.
Making It
Prepare a rum and caramel drizzle at home by bringing together sugar and water in a saucepan and pouring in a generous proportion of dark rum into the sticky sauce. Melt sugar to make a light amber coloured caramel which retains sweeter notes to achieve a toffee-like taste.
An intense dark rum added into this sweet and slightly bitter sticky syrup balances the sauce out because the lighter caramel prevents the whole dressing from becoming too overpowering.
Add just a pinch of salt to the sauce to elevate the caramel and rum flavours that come through more potently because of the salty taste.
Making this sweet and bitter popcorn is a slightly more elaborate affair which would require you to first drizzle the sauce over the popped corn kernels before popping them into the oven for a few minutes.
This step ensures that the syrup sticks to all the popcorn so it gradually hardens and acquires that crispy texture which is so integral to caramel flavoured kernels.
Celebrating Caribbean Flavours
Rum, made out of the molasses produced when sugarcane is processed, is a spirit which has origins in the Caribbean islands. The first traces of the liquor point to sugar plantations where sugarcane was distilled and its byproducts such as molasses were used to prepare a rather potently flavoured dark liquor.
Today, rum popularised as a Caribbean delight has acquired numerous social and cultural connotations that have turned it into a must have whenever you are hosting a themed event which celebrates the flavours of this region.
With the rum and caramel drizzle, what you can achieve at your themed party is the perfect pairing of two ingredients that are rooted in the Caribbean shores. The popcorn coated in this bitter and sweet, sticky syrup is reminiscent of the cobalt seas and the delightful small islands which make up this region. Moreover, rum added to the popcorn also introduces a light buzz into your appetiser to add a bit more boozy fun into your party.
While making the rum and caramel drizzle, ensure that you use good quality dark rum whose bitter, deep notes ooze right into the caramel sauce to give it a distinctly potent flavour and an equally inviting brownish golden hue. Enjoy the caramel and rum popcorn by mixing them with other varieties like cheese or a tangy tomato or even sour cream and onion for a flavour break between two compelling movie scenes.
