Popcorn Indiana

Sometimes, you just want a bag of something satisfying to munch on while you sit on the couch.  For me, popcorn, or ideally, kettlecorn, ranks very high on my list of munchie favorites.  Nothing beats fresh popped popcorn, or the amazing kettlecorn from the farmer's market in my hometown, but I keep trying packaged varieties hoping to find one that is a good substitute, for when I'm too lazy to pop my own ...

Popcorn Indiana makes a wide range of popcorn products, starting with a slew of "classic" popcorns, ranging from simple (butter, salt), to savory (white cheddar, american cheese, bacon ranch), to sweet (classic kettle corn, cinnamon and sugar).  Then they have some "exclusive" flavors like sriracha or hot cinnamon.  They also make a healthier "fit" line, or the complete opposite, several caramel flavors and "drizzlecorn".  And they also make popcorn chips in a variety of flavors.

Everything I've tried has been good, but I won't generally go out of my way for it.

Kettle Corn

Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn.

• Original Kettlecorn: Meh, not sweet enough. [ This is kettle corn, not caramel corn, so it isn’t that sweet.  But it also doesn’t have much salt either.  Mediocre. Not enough sweet & salty to keep it addictive. ] [ Not bad.  Salt level is very low though, more just like likely glazed popcorn.  Some pieces have lot more sugar than others. Its ok, but not great.  Better frozen. *** ]
• Cinnamon Sugar Kettlecorn: Decent cinnamon flavor, slightly caramelized pieces from the sugar, not bad.
• Hot Cinnamon: Sugary coating, like a red hot candy melted onto popcorn.  Good cinnamon flavor.

Chip'ins

I like popcorn.  I like chips. And I was pretty into Popcorners, a cross between chips and popcorn.  So when I saw that Popcorn Indiana had a similar product, I wanted to try some out.  Available only in savory flavors, like Jalapeño Ranch or Hot Buffalo Wing.

White Cheddar Chip'ins.

Close up of a White Cheddar Chip'ins.

These were exactly like Popcorners.  I would never be able to distinguish between them.  Decent white cheddar flavor, nice crunchy chip, slight popcorn taste.  I again liked the form factor.

Not bad, not great.

Drizzlecorn

And, I saved the best for last.  The ever-so-decadent drizzlecorn!  This is their base kettlecorn, already a bit sweet and salty, then drizzled with even more goodness, like dark or white chocolate, peanut butter, and other delicious things.

Dark Fudge Peppermint Drizzlecorn.

Ok, this sounded downright amazing: "rich, dark, chocolaty fudge that’s been sprinkled with the perfect amount of natural, cool, refreshing, peppermint".  Even if I didn't love the kettlecorn on its own, this sounded VERY promising.

Unfortunately, it sounded better than it was.  It was very one-dimensional.  It was kettlecorn, and it was drizzled with dark chocolate, and there were little bits of peppermint, all as promised, but the flavors just didn't pop.  It was sweet, but not sweet enough to be a real sweet treat.  The chocolate was indulgent, but there wasn't enough.  And really, what I wanted, was some salty counterpoint to balance it.

It did have the strange effect of being *almost* good, so that I kept eating it, strangely addicted to wanting to find a good bite of it.  So, at some level, they did make an addicting product ...