Pop Art: Clary's Popcorn Crafts Creativity
Shira Nanus

It’s a beautiful Wednesday morning in Madison, and State Street is buzzing with the excitement of a new day. Ken Clary, owner of Clary’s Old Fashioned Gourmet Popcorn, has already started heating up the kettle at his 105 State Street location. Shortly after pouring the essential ingredients—½ cup of oil, salt and the kernels—the sounds and smells of fresh white popcorn fills the store. As the popcorn begins to spill over the sides of the kettle, the warm aroma of light butter and a pinch of salt wafts onto the block, triggering the taste buds of passersby on their way to work.

It isn’t long before the first customer of the day enters. Clary, a middle-aged man whose warm smile shows the years of friendly customer interaction, reaches for a medium size bag and fills it up with the light, white popcorn with extra butter.

“Did I guess right?” Clary asked.

“Of course,” the customer, responded briefcase in hand. Perhaps on his way to work, the customer is already devouring mouthfuls of Clary’s crisp popcorn, popped to perfection—a few moments of pure bliss.

Clary has been popping in the 100-block of State Street for nearly 14 years. The store's first location was in McFarland; a year later, Clary moved to Madison on West Mifflin Street. Business wasn’t great, but when Clary was presented with a location on State Street, he thought he’d give popcorn one last try.

“I was coming in on a prayer here, trying to keep my head above water,” Clary said. “I was 100 steps from this door to that door, and it was like day and night. I was off the beaten path there, so it meant a lot to get on this street.”

Clary’s continuous desire to serve Madison locals his invigorating and unique tastes of popcorn has kept his State Street locations, a second at 511 State St. run by Anette Pfeiffer, bustling with excited customers every day.

So what is it about Clary’s popcorn that makes people continuously come back for more? For starters, anyone who has tried the delectable treat will vouch that its flavor and freshness make the popcorn a mouth-watering addiction. Clary has put years of suggestions and experimentation into improving the flavor of his popcorn varieties, all of them from-scratch recipes. It all started with the kernel: Clary visited the local corn wholesaler, Badger Popcorn, and chose a hybrid white hull kernel that produces light, fluffy white popcorn. Badger Popcorn delivers about 20 bags of kernels a week—1,000 pounds a month—making Clary’s white popcorn his number one seller. Clary said white is by far his biggest product—“Just like ice cream, vanilla’s the biggest seller. I think it's true here, too.”

Just as ice cream parlors offer tons of different flavors to choose from, so too does Clary’s popcorn. For those seeking to expand their popcorn palate beyond white, Clary said he has the largest variety of flavored popcorn in town, offering distinct tastes that are sure to fit everyone’s buds. Caramel corn and cheddar cheese corn are two of Clary’s most popular products. The cheesy flavor and crunchy caramel provide a delicious experience when eaten separately and together. Clary is always experimenting to improve their savory tastes even more. “We’ve improved on them, we’ve experimented with stuff—the caramel is better than it used to be," Clary said. "It’s all scratch recipes. This gives us leeway and we can do some experimenting. Different flavors, more combinations of current flavors and also coming up with other products.”

Many of these flavors are so exotic it can be impossible to turn a taste down. Clary carries cinnamon corn, white cheddar corn, peaches 'n' cream corn—in fact, Clary sells more than 20 different products. These fun flavor combinations came from all different places—some were suggestions from customers or employees, and others were mistakes when ingredients were accidentally mixed together, such as the jalapeño corn. Some products further came about when Clary thought he would try mixing two flavors together. Krazy corn is a combination of white, cheddar cheese and caramel corn creating a superb crunchy mix. Two of Clary’s other most popular products are also combinations: Badger corn is a mix of red colored corn and white, while Packer corn combines yellow and green corn.

Clary doesn’t just sell colored popcorn—he masterfully creates flavors to correspond to each vibrant color of popcorn. A mouthful of Badger corn provides an irresistible, crunchy mix of cherry and vanilla. A friend mentioned the idea of adding flavor to colored corn to Clary years ago, saying rainbow popcorn was an eye-appealing product that would be even better if it also had flavor. Clary found the idea intriguing and began implementing flavors into the rainbow product: orange popcorn is orange flavored, red is cherry, yellow is banana and so on. The idea was a huge hit for Clary and his colored-coated popcorn, especially the rainbow corn product, which suddenly was both eye-appealing and mouth-watering.

A product like rainbow corn takes time and dedication—two things Clary continues to be devoted to. Each flavor of colored popcorn needs to be made separately. Pfeiffer, a lively and energetic redhead, makes the rainbow corn at the 500-block location, leaving the door open for customers to inhale the smells of the different flavors as she prepares them throughout the day. Pfeiffer prepares the flavors in a certain order as well, starting with the lightest color—white (vanilla)—and ending with the darkest—green (lime). Unlike cheese popcorn, which only needs to be mixed in the kettle for two minutes, rainbow popcorn takes nearly seven hours to create. Although making rainbow corn is a long process, Clary said the end result—a variety of delicious flavors—is worth the hours it takes to create it.

First, Pfeiffer boils water to 280 degrees; then she adds the ingredients—including 2 ½ pounds of butter. The white corn, which has been popped previously in the kettle, is added to the pot where it is saturated in the syrup. It is crucial for both the flavor and texture that the popcorn doesn’t burn and is taken out at the right time. 

When Clary first entered the popcorn business, it was his creative vision to perfect every detail from temperature to time to the specific amount of each ingredient. Although he is always looking for new flavors, he feels the art of popcorn making goes beyond just color coating white corn. According to Clary, it is about being original and innovative with his product and continuously perfecting this process to ensure the best quality of popcorn.

So what if the smells that pour out the doors of Clary’s two locations don’t lure someone in for a taste? Then the incredible array of colored popcorn varieties displayed in the storefront window are sure to make a person stop and re-think their afternoon snack. Clary’s windows are vibrant, with bags of Badger corn, Patriot corn—red, blue and white—and many other products. While making many different batches a day and stocking them on the shelves, Pfeiffer said, “You go through it as fast as you make it.”

The experience of Clary’s Popcorn provides a true discovery to popcorn's many delicious and unique flavors. Clary's products are memorable for their distinct flavors and tantalizing smells that always bring people back for another bite. As Clary continues to improve his products, in return, his products continue to trigger people’s taste buds. With Christmas around the corner, Clary and Pfeiffer have spent time creating Clary’s green and red Christmas popcorn mix. As always, Clary encourages everyone to stop in and ask for a taste, and to experience the excitement Clary’s popcorn offers.