Flavacol: The Secret Ingredient in Movie Theatre Popcorn

If you’ve ever been on a quest to reproduce the taste of perfect movie theatre popcorn, you’ve probably stumbled upon Flavacol while researching the required ingredients. (And if you are still looking for the ultimate movie theatre popcorn recipe, click here!).

Used primarily by movie theatres, this popcorn seasoning is still mostly unknown by the public, and is usually sold in bulk for use in commercial-sized popcorn makers. But you can buy your own carton of this “secret ingredient” from us at CornPopper.ca!

What is Flavacol?

Flavacol is a butter flavoured seasoning salt manufactured by Gold Medal of Cincinnati, Ohio, made of extra-fine salt flakes. The original Flavacol contains only four ingredients: salt, yellow #5 and #6 (to give popcorn a butter-yellow tinge), and artificial butter flavour. Meanwhile, the Better Buttery version of the product contains an artificial sweetener in addition to these ingredients.

The salt flakes in Flavacol are produced using a method called the Alberger process, which creates pyramid-shaped salt crystals. Because these flakes have a greater surface area than the traditional cube-shaped salt crystals, they stick to popcorn better, and result in an even coverage.

How to Use Flavacol

When using Flavacol to make popcorn at home, you will find that a small amount goes a long way. Half a teaspoon added directly to your Whirley Pop stovetop popper or electric popcorn popper before popping is all it takes to give your entire popcorn batch that famous salty and buttery taste. We always recommend popping popcorn in oil, like our Real Theatre Popping Oil, for maximum flavour. If you have a hot-air popper, don’t despair, you can also sprinkle Flavacol onto your freshly made batch.

A 35 oz (2.1lbs) carton of Flavacol will typically last a very long time. If using a Whirley Pop popcorn popper, you can make over 250 batches of popcorn with one carton! Many popcorn lovers have noticed they use less butter on their popcorn when using Flavacol, because the popcorn already has a pleasant buttery taste. Hence, Flavacol can, if used sparingly, contribute to preparing a healthier batch of popcorn.

Health & Nutrition Information

Flavacol is high in sodium, and is otherwise a negligible source of nutrients; you won’t find any fat, carbs, proteins, vitamins or even calories in its content. It is also worth noting that Flavacol does not contain any iodine, a necessary nutrient, and should therefore not replace regular salt in your diet. We recommend using half a teaspoon or less per batch, which represents 1,370mg of sodium, or 57% of your daily recommended intake of sodium. Finally, Flavacol is Kosher and Pareve Chabad Tri-State Kehilah Kosher.

Buying Flavacol in Canada

While Flavacol is mostly sold in bulk by wholesalers, some retailers have started to carry it as the interest in the product has grown in recent years. At CornPopper.ca, we introduced Flavacol to our product line in 2014, and it since grown into one of our best-selling products! So if you wonder where to buy Flavacol in Canada, look no further: we are here to help! 

Be sure to check out our recipe for Movie Theatre Popcorn and Happy Popping!