Popcorn made over the campfire is, hands down, the best popcorn to eat. It is even better than movie theater popcorn. I guess it is the combination of fresh air and the crackling wood on the campfire, along with the sound of those little kernels popping and the smell of the fire mingling with the smell of the fresh popcorn.

After going on a camping trip, popcorn made at home in a popper or in the microwave is a disappointment. While it’s still good, it’s nothing like the campfire stuff.

To make campfire popcorn even better, use coconut oil. My preferred brand is Amish Country Coconut Oil. Even though I usually have to have butter on my popcorn, I don’t need or want it when the popcorn is made with Amish Country’s Coconut Oil. Just pop with the coconut oil, sprinkle the popcorn with some salt, and enjoy.

Even though I now can’t say enough good things about how much better popcorn is with the coconut oil, I was skeptical at first. I wouldn’t even try it until one of my husband’s co-workers sent a jar home with my husband with instructions for me to “just give it a try.” (yes, I can be a tiny bit stubborn at times).

After having it one time, I was hooked. Now I have my brother and sister-in-law using it too although they were also skeptical about it making a difference in the taste. But after I made it for them during our last camping trip together, they went to the store and bought their own jar of coconut oil.

While I’m on the topic of campfire popcorn, here’s a few tips on making it.

- Use good quality white popcorn. Yellow popcorn has a lot of hulls and isn’t as tender. My favorites are Rural Route 1 white popcorn and Whole Food’s organic white popcorn.

- Wear an oven mitt or high heat glove (such as a welding glove) on the hand that is holding the popper over the fire because it gets pretty warm while holding and shaking it over the fire. Have a second mitt handy to aid in opening the popper lid after the corn is popped.

- Make sure the popper is designed for use over the campfire and has a long handle on it. The one I own is pictured here. The only downside to it is that it’s kind of small, but the upside is that the popcorn pops really fast - once it gets heated up it only takes a minute or two to make a batch so it doesn’t take long to make a big bowl. And, it’s nonstick so cleanup is fast. I wipe the inside out with a dry paper towel to remove any remaining oil and then with a damp paper towel. The outside gets wiped down with damp paper towels too.

- Arrange the firewood so there is piece that is laying flat or slightly angling down for you to move the popper over. It’s important to keep the popper moving when making popcorn over the fire; otherwise it will burn.

- Remove the popper from the fire while the popcorn is still popping fairly vigorously. The residual heat will finish the popping process and prevent the corn from burning. If the popper is left in the fire until the last few kernels are popping, the popcorn will probably be burnt by the time you get the popper out of the fire, opened up, and the popcorn poured into a bowl.

- Make sure the fire is burned down to hot, glowing pieces of wood. That is best time to make popcorn over the fire and also the best time to make pudgie pies and roasted marshmallows.