Channel 4's Food Unwrapped teams up with Joe & Seph's to crack the secret of caramel popcorn!

Popcorn connoisseurs Joe & Seph’s featured on Channel 4’s, Food Unwrapped, as Andy Oliver and John Whaite set crack the secret of caramel popcorn, by answering the question “How do they get the caramel on popcorn without it getting soggy?”.

Presenter John Whaite popped the question to Joseph Sopher, director of Joe & Seph’s where they pop 1,600 kilos of corn a day! On the hunt for the secret of a crispy coating John was surprised by the size of the popcorn itself, this is down to the type of corn used at Joe & Seph’s, called Mushroom Corn. This type of corn expands to 35 times its original size when popped. This gives the gourmet popcorn brand more area to coat in delicious caramel.

But here's the real trick: to prevent the popcorn from turning soggy, Joe & Seph's secret ingredients cause the liquid caramel to expand and thicken, taking on a whipped cream-like texture so it’s no longer liquid when put on the popcorn. 

John asked, "does this now thick caramel coating mean this corn keeps its crunch?" The answer is a resounding no! Joe explained that this stage of the process prevents the popcorn from shrinking, while the next step involves cooking the caramel-coated popcorn in the oven to remove all moisture and achieve that irresistible crunch.

Once cooked, the hand-separated, delectable caramel popcorn is ready to be devoured, leaving us with a satisfyingly crunchy treat!