JOLLY TIME

The kernel

JOLLY TIME started in Sioux City in 1914 and never left popcorn. That sentence is rarer than it should be. The company still talks about moisture, hybrids, and the Midwest crop year. You can buy microwave bags, including Blast O Butter, and you can buy kernels. Both belong in the Atlas because both are still corn, not a licensing program.

The pot

The microwave line is louder than the heirlooms. Butter flavor, a big flake, a bag that sounds like a parade. If that is the eat you want on a Friday, take it. The kernels are the more interesting half of the record. They pop reliably on a stove and they taste like yellow popcorn that was handled by people who still think of themselves as a popcorn company. Hulls are present. Expansion is good. Old maids are on you if the pot is shy.

Hulls

Who it is for: Midwestern pantries, people who grew up with the name, and anyone comparing a family company to a conglomerate SKU. It is also for the person who wants a microwave bag that is allowed to be indulgent. We do not assign virtue points for restraint. We assign scores for corn.

How we score

Editorial, 0.0 to 5.0. Kernel, hull, usefulness, honesty of the pitch. This listing sits at #08 with 4.0. Farm varieties outrank flavor labs. Read the full method on the about page.

The record

Rank eight, above Orville, because JOLLY TIME never stopped being a popcorn house. Tiny But Mighty remains number one. When you are done with the butter bag, put an Iowa heirloom on the same shelf. The state can hold both.

The oldest name on this list still doing the work in Iowa. Blast O Butter is a classic. The kernels are the sleeper.

Brand site: jollytime.com. Also in the JOLLY TIME brand file.