Popped Gourmet Popcorn - Salted Caramel product reviews

New Zealand seems to have a multitude of 'classic popcorn' (butter, more butter or extra extra butter) but I feel we've been let down in the gourmet popcorn category. I was refreshed to see Popped Popcorn and all of their delicious flavours and after trying it I truly believe we should be seeing it in all gourmet supermarkets in New Zealand. Let me tell you why.

When this arrived hubby and I quickly tucked our son into bed (so we wouldn't have to share) and settled down with a great movie, a blanket and our bowl of Popped Popcorn. As enthralling as the movie was, we both had to pause the movie after the first mouthful to discuss just how delicious it was. The balance of salty and sweet is spot on and the bag size was perfect for two people enjoying a movie together. Amazingly it did last until the end of the movie.

We've checked out the website and all the other delicious flavours and it only makes us more keen to make an order. We would however love to see this in supermarkets. Although it's easy to order things online I feel like food is easier to buy in store or as a part of an online grocery order. If you're after something that's just that little bit more special to share with your special someone give this one a go, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I was super excited to get a bag of this to try out and it was something that disappeared quicker than a magpie with a silver spoon because a friend came over and she tucked into it as well. We both agreed it was one of the better popcorns we had tried but the price put us both off a bit. Still, it was really tasty and easy to eat while we watched a movie. Well, we ate this while we watched half a movie. The second half of the movie was watched without any popcorn left. hahaha. :)

I was planning on trying to use some of this in some snack recipes or something but it wasn't meant to be. Just too tasty, it vanished before we really knew it was gone, and I am kicking myself for not requesting more of the other flavours so we could have at least finished the movie with some snacks in hand.

I thought about buying some online and then remembered a past incident when I bought snacks online from an American candy company that is now in deep water money-wise. They took my order and my money, but more than a year down the track I am still waiting to see if my lollies and twinkies will ever arrive. That experience has really put me off trusting companies that sell food online so I think I will wait and see if they come back to any of the shows in Hamilton, then I will buy up big.

I was really excited to try this different brand and flavour of popcorn. I am normally one who likes the plain buttered ones and I'm not normally into sweet popcorn, but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and give this a whirl. I wasn't holding high hopes that I would enjoy this but my goodness was I really proved wrong. This popcorn has to be the yummiest popcorn I have ever tried. I found it to be the perfect mix of sweet and salty which will be the salted caramel mix and I was pleasantly surprised.

The serving size I think is just right as its a good size to tuck away in the pantry or to take along with you on a picnic. You only need a small amount as I found it quite rich so there is definitely enough in the packet to share with others, or to last you a few sittings if you want to eat it all yourself.

I found the packaging to be quite plain and felt like maybe it needed something a bit more dramatic to catch your eye especially if it was to be on a supermarket shelf among other competitors.

All in all I found this to be a nice tasting popcorn, I feel the price of $7.50 a packet is reasonable for the amount of serves you would get for the bag and I definitely would purchase again and would be keen to try the other flavours.

I like a well flavoured popcorn, I've tried sweet and salty, I've tried caramel and I've tried various salted caramel treats, so why not this...? The label is basic and simplistic, lets you know the company and flavour as well as contact details and websites should you choose to order more of this treat. I would have liked to have been able to see what the exact ingredients were and I couldn't find anything but a generic idea of what is in all the popcorn varieties, something perhaps that could be added to future packaging...

My nine year old swooped onto the bag and shoved some in his mouth, then promptly declared that he didn't like the taste at all. My seven year old took some a little more tentatively after her brothers reaction and after trying declared that she also didn't like the taste of the popcorn. My five year old, however, adores this popcorn and keeps asking for more and more of this popcorn, claiming its sooooo yummy. I find these to be very chewy and all the pieces are well coated with the caramel mix, flavour wise they're not the best flavoured popcorn I've ever had and these make a nice treat to snack on. My youngest and enjoyed these slowly.

Popcorn is always such a great, and usually healthy snack food that we quite often have at our house. When I saw the salted caramel popcorn from 'Popped' come up for review I was excited to get the opportunity to try it, salted caramel is a flavour I first tried almost a year ago now and although at first I wasn't sure how the combination of salt and caramel would work, once I tried it I found that it was truly amazing, hence why I couldn't wait to try it out as a popcorn flavour.

I loved that the popcorn came in a clear package so that I was able to see the contents, with a product such as this, this is always handy as you can see exactly what you are getting before purchasing, the fact I could see how well coated in caramel the popcorn was gave it a huge thumbs up from me as I have had so many experiences with so called caramel corns being barely coated in the yummy caramel coating you expect.

My family and I each had a handful of this popcorn to try and we all loved it, with miss 3 and my partner asking for more, both whom were highly disappointed when I said "no" as I needed it for a special dish. My partner who was wary of the flavour to begin with absolutely loved it and agreed with me that the salt really balanced out the flavour of the caramel making it not to sweet. Miss 3 told me that it tasted like "caramel sauce" and asked to add some to her ice cream after dinner, something we have previously done with popcorn!

As much as we could have all polished off the remainder of the bag right there and then I wanted to make a caramel popcorn rocky road slice using the rest. To make the slice I simply chopped up some marshmallows and jelly snakes, and mixed these into some melted milk chocolate along with the remaining popcorn. I pressed the mixture into a tray lined with baking paper and left it in the fridge to set before cutting it into pieces.The result was amazing and everyone who tried it including my work colleagues and a group of friends who had come for dinner couldn't stop raving about it and asking for the recipe. They loved the addition of the popcorn to the standard rocky road mix, and said it was the star of the slice, they loved the flavour of the caramel and again said the salt helped to balance out all of the flavours. I can imagine this going great as a topping on some chocolate cupcakes, something I will have to try out one day!

As far as popcorn goes this is utterly delicious and by far the most amazing popcorn I have tried, it is super crunchy and fresh, and doesn't contain a whole heap of unpopped kernels, something which is important to me as I have 3 year old whom I don't want choking. The caramel is beautiful and smooth, with a buttery melt in your mouth taste, it is sweet but the salt really balances the flavours out. If you are a fan of caramel corn I suggest you order some of this, I know I definitely will be placing an order one day soon, and can't wait to try some of the other flavours in the range, the problem will be deciding which one to get!

The "salty and sweet" combo has been showing up in a lot more products in the last few years... not that the flavour combo is new in any way, just that it has been gaining appeal in the wider market and has expanded outside of the "salted caramel fudge" genre. It's now to be found in everything from ice-cream to... well... popcorn!

I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of the salty/sweet combo... the result of my cultural upbringing is that "sweet" is my "treat" and nothing is going to shift that. Having said that though, I do admit that in this case I found myself slowly but surely snacking my way through an entire bag without really clicking to the fact I was reaching the bottom of the bag a lot sooner than I thought I would. Perhaps not helped by the fact I was binge-watching my childhood hero show, MacGyver, which I still find quite enthralling to this day despite learning that most of the "science" in the show was utter codswallop.

So... how did this popcorn stack up? I have to be honest and say that while I didn't find anything about disagreeable, and the fact I ate it without restraint indicates it had none of the issues I normally find in salty/sweet combo foods... it also didn't really register with me as anything amazing. It gets a lot of credit for getting past my initial apprehension and prejudices - that really does take some doing, I assure you - but it just didn't strike me as anything I would spend this kind of money on. For the same price, I would be far more inclined to select one of the more esoteric flavours in the range.

Overall, a solid "just above average" for me, but then I admit to being quite picky when it comes to snack foods like this. Happy I tried it, and would gratefully welcome it as a gift from someone else, but not likely this is one I would select again if given the choice between it and others in the range.

When I first saw the price of this product I thought it would be way out of my range - but once I had opened it and found out just how far it goes, I revised my opinion. It was enough for six of us as a dessert item, and, because it is quite rich, you don't need as much as you might expect. The six of us did finish the packet, but we had certainly had more than enough apiece to satisfy any sweet cravings.

I had a range of popcorn-loving volunteers ready to taste and give their feedback, ranging in age from four to 70. Miss 12 homed in on the packet as she adores sweet popcorn. I often make popcorn for visitors as it is generally a healthy alternative to cakes and biscuits, but mine is always savoury with butter or herbs providing the extra flavour - sweet popcorn is far too challenging for me to try at home. We served it with fresh fruit (mandarins and bosc pears) and the combination worked very well. One person decided to have his dipped in whipped cream but the rest of us were not at all interested in that sort of combination. However, he bravely announced that it was delicious. Each to their own taste I guess.

The taste was quite sweet but the salt prevented it from becoming too sickly. The caramel flavour predominated, giving it a slightly smoky aftertaste. It is certainly a luxury item, and not something I would serve every day, but it is perfect for a special dessert, especially when the main meal has been quite spicy. I would tend to buy it when I had visitors as the popcorn and fruit combination works really well and only the minimum of preparation is needed.

The two youngest were keen to voice their opinions. The rest of us did not realise it, but Miss Four still had several pieces in her hand when she got into the bath and she then promptly dropped it in the water. This did not faze her at all; she simply fished it out and ate it anyway, assuring us that it had not spoiled the flavour one bit! Mr Six ate his slowly and commented that he would not be able to eat much as it was a little too salty for his taste. Miss 12 and the three adults all enjoyed it just as it was, but we all agreed that there was a limit on the amount we could eat.

We thought it would be good on a tramp for that moment when you suddenly get a sugar low; it is light in weight, too, so would not make your pack too heavy. Miss 12 thought it might be a good thing to take to the movies too - the adults agreed with her but we all commented that you might need to take a packet of wet wipes as well to deal with all those sticky fingers!