Your movie theater butter has no butter in it, but it does have partially hydrogenated soybean oil (a.k.a. trans fats), beta carotene (a coloring, makes carrots orange), tertiary Butylhydroquinone or TBHQ (synthetic preservative that keeps the color and texture from changing as the product sits), polydimethylsiloxane ( ...

A: Ultimate Butter has a stronger butter flavor while the Movie Theatre Butter is suppose to taste like the popcorn available at movie theatres. If you like butter go with the Ultimate Butter option.

Even the bagged “movie theater butter” microwave popcorn can't get it right. So, what's the secret? The flavor all comes down to one ingredient: Flavacol. You've likely never heard of Flavacol because, really, only movie theaters use it.

One former employee said that it was just warmed canola oil. Another explained that the butter in his theater was "'butter flavor,' which is oil with artificial butter flavoring and coloring in it." So the type of "butter" will vary from theater to theater, but it will always be fake butter.

Movie theater popcorn butter isn't actually butter, but a combination of chemicals that give off a buttery taste. According to Extra Crispy, that buttery taste is created by Flavacol, “the yellow powder that gets added during popping to give your popcorn that yellow buttery color,” and other chemicals.

“One of the worse things to add to movie popcorn is butter,” Lisa Young, PhD, RDN author of Finally Full, Finally Slim agrees. “It's got lots of unnecessary calories, and it is most likely an oily butter flavor. It's processed and contains no nutrients but lots of calories.” So, what should you have instead?

According to Extra Crispy, that "butter" is actually made with Flavacol and Butter Flavored Topping. If you've ever wondered just what it is about movie theater popcorn that gives it that special, yellow color, you can chalk that up to Flavacol, which is basically just a type of seasoning salt that goes on the popcorn.

We can't believe it's not butter! Unfortunately, that tasty butter isn't doing much good for our bodies. In fact, that “butter” isn't actually butter at all. You might want to sit down for this one. Movie theater popcorn butter isn't actually butter, but a combination of chemicals that give off a buttery taste.

According to Extra Crispy, that "butter" is actually made with Flavacol and Butter Flavored Topping. If you've ever wondered just what it is about movie theater popcorn that gives it that special, yellow color, you can chalk that up to Flavacol, which is basically just a type of seasoning salt that goes on the popcorn.

While butter flavor is involved, there's no actual butter in most movie theater popcorn. Instead, these two key ingredients give movie theater popcorn its signature taste and smell: popcorn popping oil and popcorn seasoning. Yup, it's that simple.

Keep in mind that the health benefits of popcorn can be lessened or negated if you add a lot of butter and salt to the snack. Both of these added ingredients can cause the saturated fat in popcorn to soar, sometimes between 20 and 57 grams. It's important to remember to eat your popcorn plain for the most benefits.

Other theaters cook their kernels in a mix of oil and real butter, helping to maximize that butter flavor and fine salt taste before the actual popcorn kernels are popped. However, many don't know that the main reason for the taste of that movie popcorn is a topping called Flavacol.

"Tub butters often are the worst; they are usually loaded with unhealthy oils that make them more spreadable," explains Moushumi Mukherjee, MS, RDN, of Dietitian Moushumi LLC. Oftentimes, companies use these oils to increase a product's shelf life and meet consumer demands.

The 10 Best Healthy Popcorn Brands of 2022, According to...

• How We Chose.
• Skinny Pop Original.
• Lesser Evil Himalayan Pink Salt.
• Quinn Aged Parmesan and Rosemary.
• Boom Chicka Pop Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn.
• Bjorn Qorn.
• Pipcorn Truffle Mini Popcorn.
• Newman's Own Organic Touch of Butter.

Popcorn is made up of strong aroma chemicals that go into the air when heated. Other food industries actually add these chemicals to their food to make the aroma more appealing! So, remember when you're stuffing your face with popcorn even before the movie starts, it's not your fault, it's SCIENCE!

Butter flavor is often created by isolating compounds like diacetyl, acetyl propionyl, or acetoin. These compounds can be sourced from butter, soybeans, or other oils. Mixing any of these compounds with water and other ingredients creates a rich buttery flavor that many consumers have come to know and love.