Chicago Style Popcorn

Chicago style popcorn is a mix of caramel popcorn and cheese popcorn. It was originally created in 1988 by Candyland, a popular candy and popcorn store based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Husband and wife and owners Doug and Brenda Lamb acquired the shop from its original owner Arnie while Doug was in college and continued to work at Candyland. When Arnie was getting ready to retire, the couple expressed interest in running Candyland and eventually purchased the shop in 1981. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Chicago Mix came about one Sunday at the shop when Brenda observed that popcorn shops were already selling mixed popcorn buy was not putting these on display and selling these as actual items. Brenda thought of mixing their popcorn with their best sellers – caramel, cheese and plain salted popcorn. They put it on the shelves and it just took off! At that time, there were no advertisements, there was no social media to post the products on. It just spread through the grapevine.

They called it the Chicago Mix, because Chicago was known for its popcorn and the couple had just gone back from a trip in Chicago. The Chicago mix was such a hit because of the combination of the sweetness of the caramel, the savory taste of the cheese and the neutral taste of the seasoned popcorn, which will make you want to eat more because it’s not super heavy and filling.

Another popular producer of this sweet and savory combination is Garrett’s in Chicago, but because of lawsuit issues, they no longer call theirs Chicago Mix but are instead calling it Garrett’s Mix.

Regardless, you can make your own Chicago style popcorn at home! Here’s how:

Make one batch of caramel popcorn and one batch of cheddar cheese popcorn.

For the Cheddar cheese popcorn:

• 1 1/2 cups coconut popcorn oil

• 3 cups popcorn kernels

• 2/3 cup Gold Medal Cheddar Cheese Signature Shake

Add the oil first, and then the popcorn next. Once the popcorns pop, empty the popcorn into a plastic bag or container, add Gold Medal Cheddar Cheese seasoning and shake to coat.

For the Caramel popcorn:

• 1 1/2 cups Corn Oil

• 3 cups Popcorn Kernels

• 1 1/2 cups Gold Medal Caramel Glaze Pop

Add oil and popcorn and heat.  Once kernels start popping, add 1 1/2 cups Gold Medal Caramel Glaze Pop and stir until completely popped.  Mix to cool.

Mix equal parts caramel popcorn and cheddar cheese popcorn together.

If you want to see how Chicago style popcorn is made, check out this video: