Rural Route 1 Popcorn

Popcorn, popcorn, glorious popcorn.  If you read my blog with any regularity, particular my Friday posts (Snack Foods Friday!), you know full well how much I adore popcorn, both sweet and savory, and how I like to, uh, freeze it.  Yes, it has a dedicated label on my blog, and yes, it really is one of my favorite things ever.

But enough about me and popcorn.  Today we move to a Wisconsin based gourmet popcorn maker: Rural Route 1 Popcorn.  Unlike many in the gourmet popcorn business, their background is actually quite unique.  Most enter the space after making kettle corn and selling at farmer's markets, that sort of thing.  But Rural Route 1 Popcorn actually came in from the grain producing industry, a pivot they made when demand was dramatically decreasing for their primary crop: seed corn.  So they experimented with making popcorn, using many of the fields and infrastructure they already had for harvesting and processing seed corn.  The rest, I guess, is history.  

"Attention to detail and quality are the keys to the success of Rural Route 1 Popcorn, which is ear harvested and then hand sorted to select the most perfect ears. And, rather than choosing corn hybrids that have the highest yields, varieties are selected based primarily on taste and tenderness. This attention to quality, not quantity, assures excellent taste and delicate tenderness for the ultimate in gourmet popcorn."

This is a unique story because it means that Rural Route 1 Popcorn really focuses on the variety of corn and production of the base corn, which, well, is ultimately critical for good popcorn.

Today, Rural Route 1 Popcorn produces a large range of popcorn, including microwave popcorn, and assorted flavors of pre-popped popcorn, ranging from savory cheese flavors, to classic caramel corn, to all sorts of dessert concoctions with chocolate and nuts.  Popcorn is available in bags, buckets, tins, etc.

"The most popular specialty is Ivory Almond K'Nuckle, a creamy medley of popcorn, almonds and luscious white fudge. The success of this recipe has led to 3 other fudge covered delicacies, C.C.Winkle, R.C. Snakle and the latest, S.S Dunkle."

Some of the flavors have rather ... unique names. 

R.C. Snakle Popcorn.

"Sweet popcorn and cranberry bits (with a hint of raspberry) is blended into a creamy white fudge".

I received a box of the R.C. Snakle in a holiday package, so, cranberry was a good seasonal match.  I'm not a big fan of cranberry, but, white chocolate sounded good.

I really did not like it.

The popcorn was a bit soggy.  The coating was sweet ... but that is about it.  Just, sweet.  The little bits of cranberry were flavorful and it was interesting to have a chewy element in there, but ... yeah.  Would not get again.

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