The final ingredient? The one that gives movie theater popcorn it's yummy, irresistible taste? TA DA: buttery flavoring, a 100 percent non-dairy, mystery chemical that merely mimics the taste of butter.Īnother slap in the face is that movie theater butter flavored topping has 20 more calories per tablespoon than real butter. What it does contain is partially hydrogenated soybean oil (a trans fat that's super bad for you: think heart disease), beta-carotene (a natural pigment that can also be made in a lab), tertiary Butylhydroquinone or TBHQ (a synthetic preservative that keeps the oily golden fluid from becoming rancid as it sits) and polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS (a silicone-based chemical that prevents, ew, foaming) and is actually, not kidding, the main component of Silly Putty. So, heads up if you have high blood pressure or want to monitor your sodium consumption for other health reasons.Īnd that butter flavored topping? It - warning, betrayal alert - doesn't have any butter in it at all. One teaspoon contains 116 percent of your recommended daily intake of sodium, based on a 2,000 calorie per day diet.

While Flavacol has zero calories and zero fat, carbs, protein, or vitamin and mineral content, it packs a wallop in the sodium department.

It contains only four ingredients: super-fine salt, artificial flavor and two synthetic yellow dyes that give the popcorn its vibrant buttery-ish color. Flavacol is a seasoned powder that goes on the corn before it's popped.

Movie theater popcorn seasoning