Level Up Your Basic Buttered Popcorn With Just A Bit Of Truffle Oil

The snack aisle of the grocery store seems to go on for miles these days, but the most simple snack of them all still reigns supreme: popcorn. Whether you're into air popping, a stovetop purist, or prefer to heat your kernels in the microwave, a big bowl of fresh popcorn always hits the spot. This classic treat is inexpensive and easy to make. Plus, you can dress it up with both sweet and savory ingredients or, in the case of kettle corn, both. 

If you want to take your everyday popcorn up a notch to impress some guests, go beyond butter and salt and sprinkle on some truffle oil. The earthy, aromatic oil will make any movie night more gourmet. Popcorn has a mild natural flavor that works well with numerous ingredients like maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and even TikTok's favorite popcorn seasoning, chicken bullion. However, when you add a little bit of truffle oil, you get all the aroma and umami of expensive truffles in every handful of your puffy, crunchy snack. 

As a bonus, truffle oil tastes great with many other popcorn-friendly ingredients, so you can mix and match flavors to create the perfect appetizer.

Popcorn is pretty good alone, and a few tablespoons of regular melted butter can make it irresistible. Truffle oil, however, really elevates the whole experience. Added to popcorn, truffle oil gives it an entirely new flavor dimension. You won't only taste the delicious popcorn; you can also pick up the truffle aroma through your nose and the back of your throat.

Truffle oil is made simply by infusing pieces of fresh truffle in oil for some time and straining the truffle away to leave the flavored oil behind. You can buy many varieties of commercially made truffle oil, including bottles made from white truffles and black truffles. White truffles are typically more expensive and have a lighter aroma with notes of onion and garlic. Black truffles have earthier aromatics, and oils made with black truffles are a little stronger flavored. Keep this in mind when you're flavoring your popcorn, and only use a couple of drops. 

If you have a bottle of truffle oil in your cabinet, don't swap it out 1-to-1 with butter. You don't want to overdo it; a little truffle essence is all you need. If you accidentally go overboard and add too much oil, pop up a little extra popcorn and toss it in with the truffled stuff to disperse the flavor.

If you really want to get into that bowl of homemade popcorn, don't stop with truffle oil. Several herbs, cheeses, and spices — which you probably already own — work well with popcorn and truffles.

Parmesan cheese is one of the best picks for elevating your truffle-infused popcorn because it brings a savory, umami cheesiness to the mixture. You can also use grated hard cheese like pecorino romano or a few tablespoons of powdered cheese — even a tablespoon of cheese mix from a box of macaroni and cheese. A little melted peanut butter is also good with some truffle flavor.

Fresh herbs like chives, rosemary, tarragon, and thyme taste great with truffled popcorn. Give your herbs a fine mincing, then toss them into the bowl. Or, raid the spice cabinet for dried Italian seasoning, cumin, nutritional yeast, chili, garlic, and onion powder, and experiment with a mixture you enjoy. However, be sure to add your truffle oil to the popcorn first so there's something for your herbs and spices to stick to, then toss the popcorn in the bowl from bottom to top to mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Once you tinker with truffle oil and some spices in your popcorn, you'll wonder why you ever settled for boring buttered kernels.