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After eating our way through bags and bags of cheesy popcorn, we found one overall winner and another worthy runner-up that we’d be happy to snack on.
In a Nutshell
We taste-tested seven brands of cheddar popcorn you’re likely to find at your local supermarket or online. To find the very best ones, we tasted each without knowing which was which. We found one winner and one worthy runner-up that we’d happily eat the entire bag of.
What’s not to love about cheddar popcorn? It’s the perfect snack when you want something savory and cheesy but not too heavy. Yet cheddar popcorn can fall flat, especially when it’s not well-seasoned and lacks the strong cheddar flavor most people are looking for. To find the very best cheddar popcorn, our editors tasted seven brands you’re likely to find at your local supermarket or online. After eating our way through bags and bags of cheesy popcorn, we found one overall winner and another worthy runner-up that we’d be happy to snack on.
The Criteria
Cheddar popcorn should be deeply savory and richly cheesy. Each kernel should be evenly coated in a flavorful, cheddar-forward seasoning that mimics the funk of aged cheese. It should also be as close in taste and texture to freshly popped popcorn as possible: light and fluffy, but not tough, greasy, or chewy, and most definitely not stale.
Winner
Wise White Cheddar Popcorn
This popcorn checked every box for our tasters. It was soft and fluffy, without the hard, chewy texture of some other samples. It also brought the savory cheddar flavor we were looking for. Our associate visuals director, Amanda, commented on how cheesy it was, while our associate editorial director, Megan, noted that it had a buttermilk-flavored aftertaste. While our editorial director, Daniel, found it quite salty, he acknowledged that it helped bring the cheddar flavor to the forefront. Our associate culinary editor, Laila, called it the cheddar popcorn of her dreams, describing it as “salty, punchy, and intensely cheesy.”
Runner-Up
Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn
Smartfood’s popcorn had an excellent, fluffy texture and even seasoning. However, it had a mild, milky flavor profile and lacked the aged-cheddar punch of our winner. Even so, it had a deep savoriness I appreciated, despite my wish for a richer cheddar flavor. Megan agreed, saying, “I’d take more cheese.” Amanda also noted that while it was a pleasant flavor, she wished it were cheesier. Laila summed it up nicely: “It tastes good, but it isn’t salty or savory enough.” If you want a milder, more quietly cheesy option, or have young kids who might not like the sharpness of real cheddar, Smartfood may be the right choice for you.
The Contenders
- Boomchickapop White Cheddar Popcorn
- Lesser Evil White Cheddar Popcorn
- Smartfood White Cheddar Popcorn
- Skinny Pop Aged White Cheddar Popcorn
- Trader Joe’s White Cheddar Popcorn
- Utz Cheddar Cheese Popcorn
- Wise White Cheddar Popcorn
Key Takeaways and Conclusion
After tasting seven pre-popped cheddar popcorns, our editors found themselves leaning towards brands that balanced a savory, funky, cheesy flavor with a soft, fluffy texture. Our winner, Wise, lists cheddar as the third ingredient, just after popcorn and vegetable oil. It also includes a small amount of blue cheese powder, helping to build an even stronger cheese flavor profile.
Smartfood, on the other hand, lists it as its seventh ingredient, which may explain why its popcorn didn’t have the strong cheddar kick our tasters were looking for. Writing for Eater, Jaya Saxena notes that Smartfood changed its formulation in 2021, bumping its use of real cheese down its ingredient list from third to seventh. While we’d encourage the company to reconsider that decision, we still found their popcorn, as it’s currently made, to be a tasty, if milder, option.
Both our winner and runner-up use dehydrated buttermilk, which gives their popcorn a complex tanginess and additional depth of flavor.
If you want a deeply savory popcorn, Wise is your best bet. But if you’re looking for something milder, you’ll likely prefer Smartfood.
Our Testing Methodology
All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample one first, while taster B will taste sample six first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill out tasting sheets, ranking the samples according to various criteria. All data is tabulated, and results are calculated with no editorial input to provide the most impartial representation of actual results possible.
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Read the original article on Serious Eats
