Preheat oven to 250°F.

Heat a large pot with oil over medium heat. Once hot, add a few pieces of popcorn to test heat, wait until they pop, then quickly remove.

Add remaining popcorn, lift pot off the stove to shake & evenly spread the corn. Cover with a lid. Once the popcorn starts intensely popping, shake the pot gently once.

Once the popping stops (when you can count to 3 between pops), transfer popcorn to a large baking dish.

Remove any unpopped kernels, then transfer to the preheated oven to keep popcorn warm until ready to coat in caramel.

Heat a saucepan with high sides over medium heat. Add butter & heat until melted.

Add brown sugar, honey or corn syrup, cream of tartar, & salt. Stir until just combined.

Once it starts to bubble, simmer for 4 minutes – DO NOT STIR! If you see uneven coloring / cooking, carefully swirl the pot.

Remove from heat then quickly whisk in miso & vanilla extract until just dissolved, then whisk in baking soda. Once you add the baking soda, the caramel will foam and increase in volume.

Quickly pour straight over popcorn & toss until caramel coats popcorn as evenly as possible & starts to harden.

Spread popcorn on 2 baking trays.

Bake for 1 hour if using honey OR 45 minutes if using corn syrup, tossing every 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. Toss to release popcorn from pan & gently breakup any big chunks. Continue tossing until they start to cool & harden, then allow to cool completely. Transfer to airtight containers to stay crisp for up to 2 – 3 weeks!