Bounce. The Air Up There. In Love and War. Blue Streak. What do all of these films have in common? There were all hideously terrible movies that I saw in a movie theater, and they all were made much, much more tolerable with the addition of popcorn.
I love popcorn. Love it. So salty and buttery. I’ll pop it at home in the microwave. I’ll eat prepackaged bags of it. And I’ll lick my fingers raw to get those last delicious remnants of that glorious yellow syrup provided by movie theaters everywhere. The self-serve butter station at movie theaters was the greatest thing to happen to movies since movie. There’s nothing better than sitting down to the latest Bret Ratner abomination with a bucket of Cherry Coke and what Stephen King refers to as a “heavy bag.” Popcorn so loaded with butter it might as well be classified as a soup.
One area of popcornery that I am constantly neglectful of is kettle corn. I like kettle corn, but I never eat it. I don’t know why. It has just never been able to find a permanent spot in my mental filofax of snack options.
Really. I only ever encounter the stuff at flea markets and fairs, and let’s be honest, kettle corn can’t really compete with corn dogs and deep fried Oreos. It just can’t.
This week, I had a few bags sent to me by G.H. Cretors, and as my deep fryer is currently on the fritz, I was able to give the popcorn my full attention.
G.H. Cretors has a history in popcorn dating back to 1885, and currently has five popcorn products up for consumption: Caramel Corn, Kettle Corn, Cheese Corn, Caramel Nut Crunch, and Chicago Mix (a combination of Cheese and Caramel corns). Their products are all natural, non-GMO, and Kosher, if you care about those things.
I got to sample some Kettle Corn and some of the Chicago Mix.
The Kettle Corn was great. The sweetness level is light and in excellent balance with the sea salt, and the sugary shellac provides a pleasant crispness. If you like kettle corn, this is it. I had to wrestle the bag away from my wife. She was going at it full DeLuise.
As a man of science, I took to the bag of Chicago Mix a little more methodically. First, I separated the Cheese from the Caramel and sampled them individually.
The cheese corn was a solid effort, but I didn’t find it much different than any other cheese powder-coated popcorn product. It was cheesy and salty. What else would it be?
The caramel popcorn was also good on its own. The caramel coating was indeed nicely caramel-y. It was appropriately sweet and offered a great crunch, though nothing teeth-jarring. But again pretty similar to most caramel corns.
Trying them in equal parts together didn’t really do it for me. It ended up being a nebulous mash of indistinct flavors, mostly dominated by the caramel. That seems scientifically predictable as the caramel coating is denser than the cheese coating. Right? Seems reasonable. Given a choice, I’d just buy the flavors individually.
Obviously G.H. Cretors earns bonus points for being all natural and not using mutant corn. No one wants to stare at a list of impossible to pronounce ingredients when they are about to sit down for a delightful home cinema experience. I don’t think the Chicago Mix will take away all of the pain of a Trapped in Paradise or a Penelope Cruz, but the Kettle Corn will definitely get you through any scene with Salma Hayak.
(Editor’s Note/Disclaimer: We received these G.H. Cretors Popped Corn samples for free from the PR company that represents this popcorn maker.)
(Nutrition Facts – 1 1/4 cups (28g) – Kettle Korn – 130 calories, 7 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Chicago Mix – 140 calories, 8 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fiber, 10 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.)
Other G.H. Cretors Popped Corn reviews:
Read Food Traveler
Buttermilk Press
Item: G.H. Cretors Popped Corn (Kettle Corn and Chicago Mix)

Price:Â FREE

Size: 7 oz. (Kettle Corn)

Size: 6.5 oz. (Chicago Mix)

Purchased at: Received for free from G.H. Cretors

Rating: 8 out of 10 (Kettle Corn)

Rating:Â 7 out of 10 (Chicago Mix)

Pros: All natural. Non-GMO. Kosher. Great salty/sweet balance in Kettle Corn. Available outside of dirt malls. Kevin Bacon playing basketball with African tribes. Science. Classy old timey package design.

Cons:Â Unnecessary flavor mixing in Chicago Mix. Martin Lawrence. Salma Hayek.
The Chicago mix sounds kind of odd, caramel and cheese? Caramelised onions maybe… I’m usually really into contrast but that doesn’t sound like my kind of thing.
The best popcorn I tried was a Tesco brownie one, all chunks of popcorn, almonds and chocolate – brilliant.
I. Need. That!
I love, love, love GH Creators Chicago popcorn. And I’m in Canada. Not remotely near Chicago. I also think the ratio of caramel to cheese is perfect. In fact, I’ll usually take the caramel 2-1 over cheese and then have to buy another bag of caramel to make sure I have enough caramel goodness. I now need to see if I can find the Tesco brownie popcorn. Sounds more like a yummy dessert that would even get you through “The Notebook”.
The Chicago Mix popcorn was originally a creation of Garretts popcorn shops in Chicago.
If you are ever in Chicago, go to Garretts and try it. I bet you will love it. I don’t think a premade, premixed, bagged version can even come close to the real thing.
I was lucky enough to to get this in my Christmas gift basket at work. As mentioned above I felt the ratio was perfect, and I also enjoyed the caramel over the cheese flavored bits. Lol, one of the kernels actually got stuck at the back-end of my tongue near my tonsils during a chow-down and it was nightmare trying to hack it up. But several glasses of water and forceful coughs later the sucker finally gave. Still, a small price to pay for this kind of quality.
I’ve tried this twice now, but the 2nd time was only after suspicions that there is something in this popcorn that is NOT listed in the ingredients that has affected my kidneys and bladder big time. It was the only food I ate Sunday night and first thing Monday morning I was in sooo much pain and agony when going pee, that I just drank water all day to flush out whatever toxin may be causing it. I didn’t eat anything until 11pm Monday night when I had about 1. 5 cups of gh cretors chicago mix and omg, this morning I’m in double the pain and agony when going pee. And my pee has never had an odor to it, and both days, my first pee after eating this popcorn, has a really foul smell to it! So this is leading me to believe that there is an UNLISTED Ingredient(s) in this popcorn mixture that is very HARMFUL to the Kidneys and Bladder and I’m going to be doing an Investigation, starting with a Urine Sample! Just wondering if anyone else has had Pain or a Foul Odor from their 1st pee after eating this popcorn??? Sounds crazy, but not many people take note if their pee smells or not after eating certain foods, or hurts like they have a bladder infection after eating certain foods. I know it’s from this popcorn bcuz both days, besides water, it was the only food source I consumed!
Yes sir I know what I mean it has affected my intestines and bowls
Yes ive had multiple rashes on different parts of my body, went to natural path only to discover I have many food sensitivities and toxins inside me releasing out of my skin I have been addicted to Chicago mix all summer and I have been questioning it myself as well as other foods and nitrites etc
I’m certain that my skin irritations are from a combination of these but it’s the 1 St thing I cut out , as I’m a very healthy pure food eater!
I was looking up ingredients right now for that reason when I saw your post ?
I bought a small bag of it. It was great in taste now here enlys the problem it’s mostly air. I paid a fortune for the crap on my lunch break had maybe 2 handfuls if that. May be its a health thing where their trying to limit your intake but seriously for that price at that quantity they won’t get another dime of mine.
I bought this popcorn at Costco twice it was OK! This it’s all cheese no carmel corn ? Very disappointed.
Cathy