Gourmet popcorn is made in seven steps: measure the kernels, oil and sugar; pop; coat, with kettle sugar in the pot or caramel in a mixer; cool and break the clusters; sort out unpopped kernels and burnt pieces; pack by volume or weight; and code each bag or tin. Two steps decide both quality and cost. Coating sets the flavor and the yield: caramel cooked to its temperature and tumbled evenly, so there are no bare pieces and no sticky lumps. And cooling before packing: popcorn bagged warm sweats, and caramel corn that picks up moisture goes chewy and sticks together. Popcorn is light and bulky, so a maker counts output in gallons or bags, and checks fill weight so a 1-gallon tin holds the same weight every time. Cheddar popcorn brings milk into the allergen line, and caramel corn made with butter does too. In the example below, an Ohio popcorn maker runs a December day of gift-tin popcorn.
The short version
- Seven steps: measure, pop, coat, cool and break, sort, pack, code.
- Coat evenly: caramel to its temperature, tumbled until every piece is covered.
- Cool fully before packing, or caramel corn goes chewy and sticks.
- Sort out unpopped kernels and burnt pieces.
- Pack by volume, and check fill weight so every tin is the same.
- Allergens from the recipe: milk in cheddar and butter caramel.
- TaroStack records each batch with its yield and lots, and what went into each tin. More below.
The seven steps
| Step | What happens | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Measure | Kernels, oil, sugar or caramel ingredients | Weights, ingredient lots |
| 2. Pop | In the kettle or popper | Batch count |
| 3. Coat | Kettle sugar in the pot, or caramel tumbled in a mixer | Caramel temperature |
| 4. Cool and break | Spread on tables, clusters broken | Time |
| 5. Sort | Unpopped kernels and burnt pieces sifted out | Weight removed |
| 6. Pack | By volume into bags or tins, fill weight checked | Check weights |
| 7. Code | Lot and best-by on each bag or tin | Lot, best-by, count |
The business's numbers are in popcorn business plan, and the tins and bags in how to package popcorn for sale.
An example: a December tin day
Copper Kettle Popcorn, a made-up popcorn maker in Columbus, Ohio, fills one-gallon three-flavor gift tins in December: kettle corn, caramel corn and white cheddar. One day's caramel corn:
| Step | What happened |
|---|---|
| Measure | 24 batches: kernels lot PK-1102, butter lot BU-1128, brown sugar lot BS-1120 |
| Pop | 24 kettles, about 2.5 gallons popped each |
| Coat | Caramel to 250°F, tumbled 3 minutes a batch with the corn |
| Cool and break | 15 minutes on the cooling table, clusters broken by hand |
| Sort | 4.2 lb of unpopped kernels and dark pieces out |
| Pack | 180 tin sections of caramel corn, a third of a gallon each, every tenth weighed |
| Code | Lot CC-1205, best by Feb 5 |
Sixty gallons of caramel corn filled 180 tin sections, enough for 180 tins once the kettle corn and white cheddar sections went in the next day. Every tenth section was weighed, so a scoop that started packing loose was caught in the first hour. The white cheddar is made without annatto so the tin can keep its label, and its milk goes on the allergen line. How long the December tins take against the hours available is in takt time formula.
Get the run sheet
Download the popcorn production run sheet. Two sheets: a blank run sheet to print for each batch, with the seven steps, the check at each and its target, and spaces for the actual reading, the time and initials; and the same run filled in from the example. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A gift tin holds three batches made on two days. When a butter lot is recalled, the trace runs from the butter to the caramel corn to every tin that holds a section of it.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack records each flavor as a batch and each tin as a batch that uses them.
Batches with lots. A day's caramel corn is a batch from its recipe, taking kernels, butter and sugar off stock with their lots, and records what it made.
Tins from batches. Filling tins is a batch that uses the three flavors and the tins, so each tin's lot links back to the caramel, kettle and cheddar batches inside it.
Where it went. Each shop's and customer's order records the tin lots it got, so one recall report runs from the butter lot to every tin.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which flavors went into a tin | Not recorded | A tin batch that uses them |
| Which butter went into a day's caramel | Written, maybe | Lots on the batch |
| Which customers got a tin lot | Invoices | One recall report |
| What a tin costs | A guess | True cost from the batches |
Recipes, batches, lots and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.