479 White Cheddar and Black Truffle Popcorn

I am continually amazed by my level of self-restraint.

I've had this popcorn for about a week now, and I haven't eaten the entire box. Damn. This might not seem like a big feat, but I have two prime factors riding against me. The first is my large appetite, indifferent to the gourmet, that pit of desire in my belly that makes me want to devour anything and everything. And the second factor is how incredibly rich and well-crafted this popcorn is.The popcorn in question is 479 Popcorn, and was graciously sent to me by Caroline Yeh of the company itself. This is gourmet popcorn, and while I generally scoff at popcorn as a snack, preferring the less cumbersome and teeth-sticking potato crisps, this truly represents smart food for the Smartfood set.

Of the five flavors I was sent, I was both genuinely terrified of and intrigued by the black truffle and white cheddar popcorn. While "Ebony and Ivory" crooned in my ears, I set about getting to know this popcorn in a more intimate fashion.

Truffle oil is a fascinating ingredient. Able to give the simplest of dishes a rich and deep flavor in the most sparing amounts, each variety coats the mouth with a earthy, salty taste- what we now know as "umami."This being the black truffle oil, I was expecting a very dominant flavor, with the white cheddar acting as padding for the starchiness of the corn. The flavor was balanced, extremely so, and was less of a coating or seasoning than an infusion. Each piece of popcorn had a luxurious and silky cheddary flavor, one that I'd actually associate as white cheddar. It was sharp and buttery, with a slight tang. The truffle oil was the star of the show. It accentuated upon the saltiness and crumbly sour flavor of the cheddar and yielded a very garlicky, earthy scent. Surprisingly, it also brought out the corn's scent and gave a pungent delight to the entire snack.This was an extremely excellent combination of flavors. I was highly impressed at how seamlessly the oil eased into the natural flavor of the popcorn and cheese without adding a strange texture or taste on top of the rest. It was integrated really well. I am increasingly excited to eat the next few flavors in the box because of this positive experience, and definitely can't wait to write more about them.

Disclaimer: No couches (or chaises!) were mussed, molested, messed up, macerated, or mucked on during the photography of this review.