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Dump Dangerous Diacetyl by Making Your Own Microwave Popcorn

lighterfootstep.com — Doesn't microwave popcorn smell great? It should: it's chemically engineered to do so. Think that delicious smell is fresh butter? Think again. Many conventional microwave popcorns use diacetyl, an additive, to simulate real butter. And that's a problem.

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  • allaboutdatiki, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10D-I-Y organic microwave popcorn ... brilliant!
    Lets just hope that the nuked brown paper bags don't emit a poisonous gas ...
    • mobislink, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Did any one else see a woman's naked ass on the lower right of the web page with a smiley face drawn on it.
    • fgsfds, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Did anybody know that Diacetyl is a completely organic additive that is a natural byproduct of fermentation?
      Go on, look it up. I'll even give you a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacetyl
      "Organic" is not a synonym of "safe".
    • MrSidnet, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1and "natural byproduct of fermentation" is not a synonym of "safe" either.
      Look at the retarded things people do with alcohol.
  • Jumile, on 10/10/2007, -13/+9Ever since the advent of the microwave oven our lives have been filled with convenience meals and snacks that can be nuked (I know TV oven dinners were around before but not on this scale). Even the term 'nuke' says it all - it's not good. I've been no different to most, but I am making efforts to wean myself off microwaved meals and snacks. But those engineered flavours and smells are everywhere and in everything we buy in a packet. Whatever happened to au naturale?
    • robbiedo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Air Popped popcorn. Spray a little Pam and shake on some grated Parmesan cheese, and some cayenne to the cheese if you want a kick.
      • wageslaven, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2"Spray in Pam"? Uhm, no. NO thanks. I'll skip the new-jersey petro-chemicals thanks.
        • cheesehead, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I just put raw popcorn in a paper bag. Can't remember how long it takes. You'll know if it was too long
    • cquinnd, on 10/10/2007, -4/+22"Even the term 'nuke' says it all"

      Only if you are the type of person who believes every marketing term is connected in reality to the use of a buzzword for a completely different application of technology. You are probably also opposed to the idea of a nuclear family, or nuclear magnetic resonance scanners, without understanding that neither has anything to do with nuclear energy.

      It's not the microwave that is the problem. It is the quality of the food put into it, and the effort made to prepare it.
      The same could be said for anything you decide to cook on an electric or gas stove, down to cooking over a wood fire.
      • chedabob, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3You misunderstood what he said. He was saying that "Nukes" are bad, ergo microwaves are bad because they share the same nickname, regardless of how little the technologies have in common.

        Also, when have you ever made anything remotely healthy in one?
        • Baelorn, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1You can steam vegetables in the microwave, you can also simply use it for defrosting. There are a lot of "good" applcations for a microwave...most people just don't use them. It's like saying muclear bombs are good since they generally aren't used.

          btw I know I suck at analogies...I also know I don't care.
    • melonhedd, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1ATOMS!!!!!
    • LeeMaple, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6Haven't owned a microwave for 5 years.. I cook food.. Popcorn was meant to be made in a pan with oil.
      • mstoneburner, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Oh please. I bet you don't own a TV and plow your own fields with a plow towed by your 15 wives, too, right?
        • LeeMaple, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0No I own 3 TVs one projector and 4 computers, I'm not a farmer and luckily I only have one wife... who could take 15 women.. But seriously microwaves can gargle my balls, what food have you ever prepared in a microwave that tasted better than making it the hard way....
        • fgsfds, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1To LeeMaple: Food that I would have otherwise been unable to eat?
          Most workplaces don't have a stove or oven (Or at least not one you can use to cook food without OSHA going into seizures), and sack lunches are often not an option.
        • LeeMaple, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0To fgsfds: Luckily I work from home, the OSHA has no jurisdiction here.
      • Leadhyena, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2That's how I make it, LeeMaple, and I have a microwave oven. Just like the taste better. Plus, kettle corn is the bomb, and it is really easy to make in the pot.
    • Scrappy1850, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8put your birkenstocks back on and change your bong water. your computer monitor is using up the planets resources, MAN.
  • Waterrat, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9 There is nothing wrong with microwaving food if you do it in glass containers.
    However,it's the pre-packaged foods that I don't buy...And this includes microwave popcorn with fake butter.
    • super_duper, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2There is nothing wrong in microwaving food in plastic containers. It is a HOAX. On the internet, it's spread so wildly because someone stuck Johns Hopkins University on there for credibility.

      Very small amounts of chemicals are found to leach out, but it's in extremely small quantities, not enough to harm you.

      Source: http://www.jhsph.edu/PublicHealthNews/articles/Halden_dioxins.html
  • DeskFlyer, on 10/10/2007, -3/+32The REAL way to make popcorn is to throw some kernels in a kettle with some coconut oil and cooking it up on the stove. :)
    • LeeMaple, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9I use safflower oil, might have to try the coconut. I love making real popcorn for people the first time and their eyes go wide and they say "This is better than the movie theater.." Popcorn not made on the stove is a travesty.
      • woozlewuzzle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I've found that using only a little coconut oil (teaspoon or maybe a little more) along with vegetable oil (make the total oil amount 3 Tbsp) to 1/3 to 1/2 C of popcorn to give good flavor from the oil without having so much cholesterol from the coconut oil. I believe the cocnut oil smokes at a lower temp, too - so mixing keeps the air in the kitchen a little clearer.
    • jpbleuu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7i must agree. making popcorn on the stove is about 1000 times better.
    • UlicBelouve, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1We do a similar method, only you take a scoop of kernels, place them in a brown paper bag, fold, microwave the bag and then add seasoning AFTER they are done. Uncle got the kernels from somewhere nice, and they are just as good as on the stove (and we have done that method for many years before)
    • darny, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3"Fake way" (paper bag + microwave) tastes the same, sometimes better, and you don't need oil.

      Air popped corn, made using another "fake" method tastes pretty good too.

      Microwaving isn't fake. Just new.
    • onovanday, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1the Whirley Pop on the stove rocks. I use a touch of grape seed oil - high smoke point, won't burn, nearly flavorless. Ends up very much like air-popped corn.
    • imbetterthanu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Indeed. This is the method we use: Large metal bowl. Mix in 3 tablespoons of peanut oil (high smoke point), 1/2 cup of kernels, and 1/2 teaspoon of popcorn salt (yes...add the salt before popping). Cover the top of the bowl with foil and poke ~ 8 holes in the top. Turn stove on med-high and shake the bowl constantly. The corn is done once the popping stops. Add melted butter afterwards if you'd like.
  • bullsfan03, on 10/10/2007, -16/+7Chuck Norris CAN believe it's not butter...
  • Dmaulchris, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2Yay + five lung cancer.
  • robbiedo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Jackie Chiles been wanting to get him some of that popcorn money.
  • floyd427, on 10/10/2007, -1/+25Good Eats did a good episode on making your own popcorn, microwave and otherwise. Alton Brown rocks the culinary science
    • liquidjamm, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Alton Brown is the man!
    • yodaj007, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Alton Brown suggests using peanut oil, if I remember my Good Eats correctly.
  • banderbe, on 10/10/2007, -11/+3Uhm, just buy microwave popcorn without butter flavoring. Problem solved. Idiots.
  • drmsucks, on 10/10/2007, -2/+11Don't eat the staples!
  • bightchee, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I have ditched microwave popcorn after two things occurred: Newman's Own discontinued its white cheddar cheese microwave popcorn and I discovered where to order the white cheddar cheese powder for myself. Now I air-pop all my popcorn.
    For all others who may be interested: http://www.annies.com/products/cheese_powder_white_cheddar.htm
    • TheCosmicFool, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Something tells me Annies powder stock is about to experience the digg effect
      • bightchee, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I've got plenty to survive a shortage. Honestly I don't eat it that often and one large packet is enough for two or three large bowls of popcorn. Enjoying good cheese popcorn seems to have been a life-long passion of mine and this is the best I can do on my own at home.
  • 1jaxstate1, on 10/10/2007, -13/+9Dang we need to buy organic popcorn now? What a bunch of pussies we've become.
  • airencracken, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Whirlypop ftw.
  • emanl, on 10/10/2007, -9/+2Diacetyl can't be that much worse than butter.
    • sovereign3, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8Butter might make you fat, but at least it doesn't give you cancer.
      • emanl, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's a lot easier to eat too much fat than it is to eat too much diacetyl. Diacetyl naturally occurs in fermented beverages where people don't like it, and then others like to put it artificially on other products. Go figure.
  • mandarin, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5you sure the staples wont spark?
  • neel360, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11"It's a serious lung disease which, until recently, has only been known to effect popcorn factory workers. "

    Affect [verb, trans.]: have an effect on; make a difference to
    Effect [noun]: a change that is a result or consequence of an action or other cause

    There's a difference, people. Come on!
    • sovereign3, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You should note that "effect" can be used as a verb in some contexts. However, this is not one of those occasions.
    • MLisa, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Thanks for the affect/ effect info! More useful to me than the popcorn news.
  • misteral, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Er... you don't need Organic kernels to do this. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember having a microwave at home. Buy your favorite regular 'ol Orville Redden baker's, the type you'd usually use for the air popper and follow the rest of the instructions. Toss 'em in a brown paper bag, nuke and voila!
  • hydrokayak, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I buy all of my popcorn from my local Boy Scout troop. Being an Eagle Scout myself, I see the need to pay a little extra for my corn. It's free of diacetyl too, which makes it better still.

    • Tanjent, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Thanks from a Scouter and father of a Scout.
  • randomizer9, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I prefer the good ol' fashioned electric popper with the clear top that you flip over when its done, great for serving a horde of movie-watchers.
    • CTRaider, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1When I fist got married my mom gave me the one I grew up with. Eventually the heating element (stretched wire spring) broke, I stretched it a little more so it could still work. It had been seasoned over the years and I didn't want to get a new one. That's what my kids grew up on. Unfortunately the thing finally went so I went back to the stove top popper with the coconut oil. YUM.

      BTW, you can get some great varieties of popcorn that has many different flavors. Some or more sweet or earthy in flavor.
  • zarex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8There's nothing wrong with regular microwave popcorn, even with the diacetyl. It takes extreme levels of this agent many years to have an effect - just like many natural and artificial food components.
  • bib4tuna, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2i have a hot air popcorn pumper from the 70s--you know, the yellow base with the amber colored horn coming off the top.

    now thats some good popcorn, no oil either so its not as bad for ya.
    • FizixMan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Same here. Really is the best kind. No mess of an oily paper bag, almost no preparation. The only thing I use the microwave for is melt some margarine.

      It seems to me that the hot air poppers have been long forgotten despite their superiority.
  • Vanadium, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Ugh... diacetyl is not a "pollutant" as the article implies. Diacetyl is quite natural and is frequently found in beer production. One of the first "off" flavors you learn in beer judgeing is diacetyl. In some particular styles diacetyl is actually a desired characteristic. Diacetyl is produced naturally during the fermentation process. See the wikipedia article for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diacetyl
    • WoollyMittens, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2So that will teach you when you are brewing popcorn??? WTF? Beer?
    • Haapi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Beer production? I'm a dead man.
    • Leadhyena, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Vanadium, this is misleading. The problem is with _heated_ diacetyl, not the liquid form found in beer. The boiling point of this chemical is 88C, which is easily reached in the microwave, and the steam that comes out of the bag is in face dangerous for your lungs. People who get the "Popcorn lung" have irreparable scarring that can only be repaired currently using transplantation. I'd call that pollution.

      Oh, and it's judging, not judgeing. Digg gives you a good spell-check; please use it!
      • fgsfds, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Exposure is the main factor. There are only a handful of known substances for which there is no safe exposure limit, and those tend to be a result of the body being physically unable to remove them from the system.
        There is only one currently known confirmed instance of a consumer contracting Bronchiolitis Obliterans as a result of consuming popcorn, which would tend to suggest that they were a statistical anomaly with either VERY heavy usage or a VERY low personal threshold.

        The risk to you, personally, is statistically indistinguishable from zero. You are VASTLY more likely to drown in an inch of water in your own bathtub than suffer ill effects as a result of popcorn consumption.
        However, it's use as a food additive should still be banned as a result of the needless risk to the workers. You have the right goal, but a stupid reason for why.
  • 09F911029D74E, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11If I don't eat industrially produced microwaved popcorn, the workers will have died in vain.
  • TheGeek27, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Goddamned alarmist nutbags. One dude gets sick from popcorn fumes, and everyone is running to the hills, claiming the sky is falling. They just happen to leave out the detail that this guy was eating 2-3 bags of popcorn every damn day. And that much of anything is of course going to end up having some negative side effects.

    Everyone, calm down. Enjoying some microwave popcorn every now and again isn't going to kill you.
    • mikeeeeeee, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Not only was he making 2-3 bags a day for YEARS, he would always inhale the steam right after microwaving it. So as long as you don't inhale ridiculous amounts of microwave popcorn steam, you're safe.
  • eliasg, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I always buy the non-butter microwave popcorn, which also smells great when you take it out of the microwave.
  • elleanee, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2this is a great, however nuking the popcorn is a bad idea. popping the corn in a kettle with a little olive oil at the bottom is the safest way to make popcorn. buying organic corn is important so you don't end up with GMO corn (dangerous sh*t). also, use real butter on it. some people mistakenly think that toxic crap, country crock, is better for them. read the label and you'll see just how full of weird chemicals it is.
    • CTRaider, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1All out agreement here.
      Butter = cream & salt. Now that is something I can pronounce!
    • Thepirateking, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Not olive oil. Coconut oil. Use Coconut oil and you don't need butter, just some sea salt and your good to go.

      That's not to say that putting butter on it will taste bad...It's just extra.
    • Orat, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Microwave ovens do not "nuke" anything. They excite liquids and some solids in food with nonionizing radiation, causing the food to heat up, albeit often unevenly. The term "nuke" generally refers to the effects of ionizing radiation and it appears from the context of your statement that this is what you believe microwave ovens produce. My apologies if I am wrong.

      There is nothing wrong with GMO corn, and certainly nothing in it that is going to harm you. There is a lot wrong with your apparently uninformed perspective of it. Even Europe, which is notoriously anti-GM food, has approved GMO corn for human consumption.

      Information > Ignorance
    • mstoneburner, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Support your argument that GM crops are "dangerous *****."
      • fgsfds, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1They can't, as that would require formal evidence. Currently, no studies have shown that GMOs are any more dangerous than any other organism, and so they have nothing but conjecture to support their beliefs.
        Is it *theoretically* possible for a GMO to be less safe than the organism it was modified from? Yes, but the chance of it is negligible excepting by intent. Dogs are the oldest known example of a GMO, and corn may or may not be another. Then there's broccoli, cauliflower, and etc...

        Don't get me wrong, I'm quite glad that the public is expressing it's concern over the risks of GMOs as it insures that proper controls are put in place to prevent negligence and/or malice from causing a disaster. However, I'm quite frustrated that 'old news' risk factors like meat processing and factories where corruption and negligence runs rampant are all but completely ignored. People don't care enough, and they don't match the level of caring to the level of risk. (Hence why America has spent over a trillion tax dollars flailing about in an attempt to combat a threat that has cost a scant number of lives - terrorism , and next to no tax dollars trying to stop a noteworthy risk factor - drunk driving.)
  • teethman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I have never seen diacetyl in the listed ingredients. Whats up FDA?
    • woozlewuzzle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It is probably listed as imitation butter flavor or something similar
    • fgsfds, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The requirements for artificial ingredients are stricter than the ones on natural additives. Diacetyl is completely natural.
      Of course, with the information age at hand there is no longer a physical space limitation on what information can be provided. Mandating that EVERYTHING present in the product be listed online would be a reasonable reform.
  • CTRaider, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1BTW, you can get some great varieties of popcorn and they have different flavors. Some are more sweet or maybe even earthy in flavor (but nothing has been added to the corn).
  • mojo31979, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Wow, a man ate 2 bags of fake buttery popcorn everyday for 10 years, and he died at the tender age of fifty-something!
    • bingobongony, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1EXACTLY. At least SOMEONE on Digg has common sense. This guy probably inhaled more microwavedpopcorn that the factory workers. This guy's case does not cause ANY alarm for consumers. The guy ate approximately 7500 bags of popcorn over a 10 year period, and inahled deeply when he opene the bag.

      I can say with a whole bunch of certainty that the number of people on this planet who do the same is...ZERO.
  • paralleljay, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Who the hell thinks microwave popcorn smells good? It smells like burnt rubber.
  • HiddenCanuck, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0dang it. air pop it man. tastes 1000 times better.
  • darny, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I make non-microwave popcorn in my microwave all the time.
    Contrary to the article, you don't need a staple and the olive oil. Drop the kernels into the bag (i don't use organic either, pfft), flatten it out (kernels shouldn't be on top of one another_), and proceed to make 1/4" folds at the mouth of the bag until she's all sealed up. You need not fold too far down, maybe about 2" or so (keep in mind you're not building a swiss watch). The bag may open while popping, but i usually don't experience any spillage.

    Enjoy!
  • bingobongony, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I only got as far as "You'll also be avoiding genetically modified corn stocks and the ugly payload of pesticide residue which comes in every bowl of store-bought popcorn." before I had to stop reading!
    OH NOES! Genetically modified! It must be EVIL! EVIL I tells ya!
  • WoollyMittens, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I don't understand what's so hard about heating corn in a pot? It's just as fast as the microwave kind. :P
  • GabrielS, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Another advertisement makes the Digg frontpage.

    Way to go guys. This will really help Web 2.0.
  • Vertex01, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0WOW!!!!!11

    I thought that that smell was the fresh butter that magically appeared on my popcorn, are you telling me it was actually a chemical!?!?!?!?!
  • Bishoco, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Air Popper FTW
  • Nurjle, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Advertorial. Buried.
  • stageidea, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0This story would of been interesting if it had been up last week but they announced on Monday that Orville Redenobocker and Act II where removing Diacetyl from their products
  • Langford, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It seems to me that putting it in a little bag yourself is unnecessary and weird, you can get clear popcorn popping containers that let you watch the progress through the microwave door. Honestly, it takes almost no time at all to set the thing up. Better yet, instead of a microwave, you can use an air popper that ejects the popcorn into a bowl. That way you can pick at the freshly popped corn as soon as it shoots out. Heck, none of this is rocket science, you can easily just pop in a covered skillet. You'd be surprised how fast you can fill an entire paper grocery sack that way.
  • NewPunk, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Mmmmmmm, popcorn *runs down to kitchen to make some in the microwave*
  • petebert, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0my wife recently bought me a 80's style hot air popcorn popper, in addition to making great popcorn by adding my own melted butter my kids think its great to watch it blow popcorn all over the place
  • KingGorilla, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0What?!?! That stuff smells like sht!
  • chozsun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Oh hum... thanks to Alton, I have been doing homemade microwave popcorn for years.
  • epimer, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Diacetyl what? Stupid trivial names not making any chemical sense.
  • cathyyingling, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Weaver Popcorn Company has ALREADY eliminated diacetyl from the flavoring in its microwave popcorn brands, Pop Weaver, sold at mass market retailers, discount stores and select grocery stores nationwide; and Trail's End, sold through Boy Scout councils. So people who are concerned about diacetyl have an option available in stores now.
    - Cathy Yingling, for Weaver Popcorn
  •  

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