The copy on the back of this bag tries to make a virtue out of the use of a special, ancient variety of corn that grows in small kernels, on small ears and stalks. Fine. I like big, fluffy popcorn kernels like everybody else does, but I'm willing to keep an open mind for something different. If these small kernels are tasty, precious little nuggets, bring it on!
But they're not. They don't taste any better than standard popcorn. They're just little.
The real dealbreaker, though, is that a huge fraction of them are under-popped--not quite the "old maids" that didn't pop at all, but still with the hard core left intact. I hate that. Trader Joe's once tried to sell a popcorn that was intentionally just "partially popped" for those who like that (is it still available? I haven't noticed it lately); I don't think that was the goal here, as nothing on the bag says that that's what they're going for. Either it's a flaw of the corn variety they picked, or I just got a bad batch. Either way, I didn't like it.
I also didn't find anything especially admirable about either the oil or the salt, despite how they're highlighted in the promotional copy.
Will I buy it again?
No.
TJs already sells a baffling assortment of popcorn! I tried this at the tasting station and wasn’t impressed, no unpopped or partially popped kernals but they probably just didn’t add those to the tasting cup.
ReplyDeleteCertainly didn’t notice the proclaimed difference from GJs website:
“each petite popped piece is crunchy—without the hard hull of conventional corn—presenting a light, clean taste and a silky texture that almost melts in your mouth”
Ummm. Not so much.
I’ll pick up the olive oil one i like next time i need popcorn. Or actually just make it fresh myself!
Ttrockwood
PS
Why hasn’t TJs come out with nutritional yeast popcorn?? That’s the most amazing combo probably ever.
I LOVE THIS POPCORM. We grew up eating popcorn like this every night. I'm gonna buy a pallet of the stuff
ReplyDelete