Popcorn: sweet vs. salty?

April 20, 2012, 5:07 PM GMT+0

That favourite of cinema snacks – how do you eat yours? 46% Britons say sweet, 15% salted is best

When it comes to that favourite of cinema snacks – how do you eat yours?

When considering how they like to eat their popcorn, almost half of the British public say they prefer it served sweet, while under 1 in 6 prefer the puffed corn snack to be salted.

  • Sweetened popcorn wins out, with 46% saying they prefer sweet to salted
  • 15% say they favour salted popcorn
  • 12% both sweet and salted popcorn equally
  • And 26% say neither

Sweet is favoured by the highest percentage of all age groups, with salty popcorn appealing to under 1 in 5 people in each category (with the exception of people aged 25-39 where salty was voted best by 25%).

Older generations don’t seem to like sweet or salty popcorn as much as younger people, either. While just 9% of young people aged 18-24, and 11% of 25-39 year olds, say that neither option appealed, around three times as many (28%) of 40-59 year olds, and four times as many with 44% of those aged 60 and over said that neither salty nor sweet was their popcorn serving of choice.

Uncovered health benefits

If you’re partial to a tub once in a while at the cinema, then go right ahead – but if you’re looking to eat popcorn on a regular basis, health experts suggest that actually, neither sweet nor salty is best, favouring the plain, homemade version as an all-round more balanced snack.

Research from Joe Vinson, professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, USA, shows that popcorn (sadly without salt or sugar) may contain just as many nutritious antioxidants as fruits and vegetables, may help combat cancers, and ease digestion.

See the survey details and full results here