“This is perfect for roasting [coffee] beans. You dont have to worry at all about gears (it doesnt have any), you can see exactly how dark the beans are (even when it is very smoky, you can lift up the rubber and peak inside), it is easy to clean, and feels like it will last a long long time. I highly recommend it.
…in fact it may even work as a popcorn popper. I may have to try that sometime.” - Amazon Customer
@thismyusername you can get the green beans online, even Amazon sells them. I would not use this for roasting coffee unless you plan to do it outside. Roasting coffee makes a lot of smoke, and it kind of smells like burnt popcorn. I used to have an air roaster that was vented right into my kitchen exhaust and it still smelled like shit while I roasted. I finally just decided to roast outside, but I could not do it on days that were below 60 degrees otherwise it would throw off the roasting. Then you have to separate the beans from the chaff. Bottom line is trying to use this to roast coffee is a fucking mistake.
Yay, new product variety! It's always a good thing, right?
According to my calculations based on Amazon pricing, one would need to use this 5 times in order to save money over just buying jiffy pop. I'm not sure I would actually achieve that...
@mehdaf stovetop popcorn really doesnt take that much longer than microwave popcorn and does tastes a lot better.
That said, you dont need a special popper. Just any pot with a lid will do. Just shake it occasionally. (Shake the Pot, not what your mother gave you...unless your mum gave you the pot).
@OnionSoup To build on this, stovetop popcorn is all about the technique. My wife learned from my friend's wife who was an absolute master. She uses 1/3 cup of coconut oil (ok, it's actually either 1/2 or 1/4 but I can't remember so I averaged them) and places it in the pot. After a couple of minutes, she adds a couple of kernels of popcorn. Once that pops, the oil is hot enough. Add the rest of your popcorn. Let pop. Don't shake too much. When there starts to be like 3 or 4 seconds between pops, pop that beast off. Salt, fake butter, enjoy.
If you're ambitious, you can shake out all the unpopped kernels and toss them back in before the pot cools down.
That's solid recipe work, I'm glad I didn't text my wife to confirm any details.
I don't think I've ever mehed so heartily. I'll stick to my microwave like a human, thanks. 20 buck for this? if I was some kind of microwave fearing hippie, I'd just use an air popper for less money. I appreciate you selling more kitchen stuff, but I aggressively don't want this.
@boygenius1991 ive been using a stovetop popcorn maker for 4 years and would NEVER go back to microwave... all you need is coconut oil, popcorn and flavacol. Delicious with no hydrogenated oils - it's totally worth it, I promise. /salespitch
Seriously? You guys know the whole "microwave popcorn" thing is a scam right?
Take a plain paper bag. Dump some kernels in. Stick it in the microwave. Wait till the popping stops. Done. Dump in butter or cheese or whatever. Like 10 cents a bag, and no grease and unpopped kernels.
@droopus And for the true microwave popcorn experience, toss some small pieces of Saran wrap in there, so you can get that unnerving feeling of faintly tasting plastic under all the salt and "butter".
@Foxborn I remember the first time I did it..it was like I had discovered a huge secret. I've tried a few of the unusual kernels and the black ones aren't half bad actually. B)
i bought and had the screen that said we sold 1 of these, does that mean i was the first to buy? i don't know how to do screen capture on this sweet 15" acer chromebook i'm lovin' (yet)
@awk I had one that I used frequently, but hated that the steam would build up inside the lid/bowl and condense, making some of my popcorn soggy. A pan on stove with a vented lid doesn't cause that kind of disappointment.
Dear Meh.com staff. I have a glass stove top and I have to be make sure the bottom of the any pot is smooth so as to not scratch the glass stove top. Can you please post a pic of the bottom of the pot. Thanks.
@Odysseus1001 I also am not keen on aluminum but i guess the icky coating takes care of that. I.ve been looking at the SS ones $70 + has me trying 2 find a way to justify. might try the bag in micro again i haven't had much luck w that
@Odysseus1001 Didn't notice this thing was non-stick. Can safely say of all the things I've managed to get stuck to a pot, popcorn has never been one of them…
A pot ... with a crank. Meh, you do realize as a civilization we have achieved better?? Landing on the moon....self-parking cars....bluetooth speaker docks. (Ok...maybe not that last one.) And you would have us seriously consider spending good money on some 19th-century drek?? What's next -- push reel lawnmowers?? Or maybe in keeping with the food theme, a crank ice cream maker, or a crank meat grinder?? Meh....very meh.
@UncleEdZed Maybe if they had a bluetooth popcorn maker w/ an app so you can run it from your phone. Ah yes, I can smell it now, coming home to fresh made popcorn. Or possibly a burned down house.....
Heat up a little oil in the pot. Add a few slices of jalapeno (that pickled stuff works great!) to flavor the oil (which in turn flavors the popcorn. Fry those for a little bit, but don't let them burn. Remove from oil.
Add some popcorn kernels. When done popping, sprinkle some of that sharp or white cheddar seasoning.
Then, eat all of it. In one sitting. And don't share with anyone else. Trust me, you won't want to.
This is the seasoning stuff I'm talking about:
Just a heads up, frying jalapenos in oil like that can make your eyes burn if you're not careful. Be smart.
These make without a doubt make the best popcorn. We were just thinking of getting one since we wore ours out. I just got lucky! I recommend using peanut oil. When I used to go to the Amish auctions we would bring home popcorn from Yoder popcorn. If you like white tiny popcorn here is the link http://www.yoderpopcorn.com/
Models: 00003-01-ZIP, 00005-01-ZIP (FOUR leading zeroes? You're kidding, right? What, does your model-number guy get paid by the digit? How many bytes have to die to satisfy your lust for redundant, gratuitous, pointless zeroes? WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END?)
These fuckers were really planing on a lot of different colored poppers.
@Ignorant they have to have lots of code numbers after all 7000 chihuahuas choked to death last year on popcorn. All at the resida cinima showing of lady and the tramp.
a one star Amazon says that the holes in the glass potentially allow hot kernels and oil to escape. Sounds like a potential Michael Bay film right in your kitchen!
Meh is slipping no mention in the write up about being a necessity during the zombie apocalypse. Not to mention keep the kids occupied during ice storm weeks. But then again a stash of jiffy pops wørks as well
I can see this being used for keeping my nacho cheese warm with some stirring going on. And then the cat can lick the lid when I check the temp. This really would work well in my convenience store.
Honestly, the idea of a stove top coffee roaster or a propane coffee bean roster. Would spin my prop. I do have more useless crap around then is even legal. I have a sick need to buy this shit. Going to meh every day is part of my therapy. So far it's not helping. Fortunately this little jewel is not happening. But you can never, never have enough coffee paraphernalia filing up cabinets and drawers. Never. Bring it on. Green beans can be had hundreds of places.
@Bkmack you can roast coffee beans in †his. it's got the turny thing so the beans won't burn. good toy for when you're cooking over a one burner propane stove because the power is out.
I have one of these and love it. I have used it to roast coffee beans before, but primarily I use it to make popcorn. LOVE popcorn and I can use whatever oil I like (coconut oil is great) and it's delicious. $22 does seem like a lot. I see these in thrift stores all the time for $5-7.
@henare I used a chopstick to vent the lid. When I was a kid, my dad poked four holes into an metal pan lid and that was the popcorn pan. Good exercise for us kids, shaking the heck out of that pan.
Actually the most fun way to make popcorn is with no lid. Everybody stands around the campfire and tries to catch the kernels as they are ejected from the pan... Seriously, just shake the pot. You know when it's done by the pause between pops, same as microwave popcorn, no clear lid needed.
Once when using a product similar to this I saw the aluminum had actually come off the pan and stuck to the piece of popcorn. Don't eat aluminum-it's just not a good way to go.
I use a saucepan and a lid -like Henare wrote and organic sustainable palm oil [non-organic is like the worst product on the planet...it's destroying Malaysia...look it up]. That popcorn is delicious....PS: 90% of popcorn is GMO-buy organic!
Yup, you can roast coffee in these. If you are roasting inside, you better hope your vent-a-hood exhausts into the outside world. The darker you roast, the more smoke you generate... For some help, go to sweetmarias.com
Good people over there and a great selection of green beans.
Another way to roast is with another kitchen gadget you might have lying around - an air popcorn popper. Just make sure it is hot enough (1200 watts or hotter) otherwise you will only toast the beans.
Switched to Pot-on-the-stove and will never go back to Microwaved or Blow-dryyyy popcorn.
HOW TO: Big heavy-clad pot. Set it on the burner at medium-high. Pour in a "healthy" amount of Canola oil (perhaps a bit less than 1/16 of an inch... we're actually deep-frying those kernels) Heat until the oil gets thin and runny when you tip the pot. Generously coat the bottom of the pot with kernels. Put the lid on with it vented as wide as you can without letting kernels jump out. No shaking required if it is the right pot. When the popping has slowed to about one per second or two, take it off the burner and salt to taste. No need to add butter unless you prefer drinking your popcorn.
@RedOak As someone, somewhere above mentioned, a good trick is throwing in a couple kernels with the oil; once one pops, it's time to dump them all in.
@Mellaine I'd expect any heavily clad bottom pot would work. The heavy bottom seems to spread the heat and prevent scorching (no shaking required). In our case it is a very solid stainless pot with a heavily clad bottom.
These are great for sugar corn, which is basically kettle corn. That is a family treat on my mom's side that goes back generations, we still have my grandmother's whirley pop. I like the stirring mechanism for sugar corn, makes it harder to scorch. Recipe enough oil to coat the bottom of your pain, I like OR buttery flavor popping oil scant 1/2 cup of popcorn, maybe more if using a minature variety scant 1/2 cup of sugar salt to taste, usually 1/8-1/4 tsp heat the oil, the throw in salt/popcorn, after first few kernals pop, then add the sugar. crank until popping slows as you normally would. Make sure the bowl you pour into is glass or metal. the hot sugar will melt plastic or melanine. let it rest for 3-4 minutes, then shake gently to break it up. From our family to Meh's.
I don't really like popcorn much, but I still have a few tricks (including how to make it so that I do like it). I just pop in a big ol' pot with some oil and some shaking, not one of these fancy contraptions, though I'm sure they're handy.
Tip one (pop it in butter): If you want buttery flavor, you can use ghee as your popping fat. It's clarified butter, and it has a much higher smoke point than normal butter.
Tip two (half-pop it): This I actually enjoy. It's got crunch to it instead of the nothingness texture of fully popped popcorn. Boil the kernels for a bit before you go to pop them, maybe a half hour? Maybe longer? I don't really pay attention. Near the end get your pot/oil all hot and ready, because it seems to work best if the kernels haven't dried off too terribly much. Dump your kernels into a strainer and give a little shake, because you are about to throw them in hot oil, don't be too much of a dummy! Toss in the pot and lid it up quickly. They'll partially pop, just opening up a bit and letting something resembling popped corn peek through. But, they will (or should) be chewable. Crunch, crunch.
Tip three (pop something else): Amaranth is fun to pop. You don't need any oil. It's a tiny little grain, and makes a tiny little popped grain. Nice in with granola or on cereal, or… I'm sure there are other uses. I kind of just like watching it pop though.
When did the Review Highlights start showing up in the specs post? I like this feature. Is @moose looking those up and adding them manually? Or did a dev make a fancy auto-grabber for the 'most helpful' reviews?
Specs
Condition: New
Warranty: 1 Years Zippy
Estimated Delivery: 2/25 - 2/27
Shipping: $5 or free with VMP
What’s in the Box?
1x Zippy Pop 5.5qt Popcorn Maker
1x Instruction manual
Pictures
Red
Black
Throw stuff in, who cares
Snacks
Price Comparison
$49.99 at Amazon (42 reviews, sold by Amazon)
Review Highlights
…in fact it may even work as a popcorn popper. I may have to try that sometime.” - Amazon Customer
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Estimated Delivery
Monday, January 28th - Monday, February 4th
oh @snapster you are a tricky one aren't you? :)
Now where do I get raw coffee beans?
@thismyusername For $22 it should stir itself.
@MrsPavlov You're right.
I can stir a lot of things for less than that.
@thismyusername you can get the green beans online, even Amazon sells them. I would not use this for roasting coffee unless you plan to do it outside. Roasting coffee makes a lot of smoke, and it kind of smells like burnt popcorn. I used to have an air roaster that was vented right into my kitchen exhaust and it still smelled like shit while I roasted. I finally just decided to roast outside, but I could not do it on days that were below 60 degrees otherwise it would throw off the roasting. Then you have to separate the beans from the chaff. Bottom line is trying to use this to roast coffee is a fucking mistake.
@gak0090 What would you suggest for getting into roasting your own beans? A modified pop-lite type air popper, maybe?
@jaredblane Yes. A great way to try roasting own beans ~$10-20. Do it outdoors, for there will be smoke (fire-alarm alarm). See http://legacy.sweetmarias.com/airpop/airpopmethod.php
Seeing what sale popped up tonight
@AttyVette There are some kernels of truth in the reviews.
Of all the things that the world doesn't need in the slightest… this ranks pretty damn high.
Yay, new product variety! It's always a good thing, right?
According to my calculations based on Amazon pricing, one would need to use this 5 times in order to save money over just buying jiffy pop. I'm not sure I would actually achieve that...
@mehdaf stovetop popcorn really doesnt take that much longer than microwave popcorn and does tastes a lot better.
That said, you dont need a special popper. Just any pot with a lid will do. Just shake it occasionally. (Shake the Pot, not what your mother gave you...unless your mum gave you the pot).
@OnionSoup To build on this, stovetop popcorn is all about the technique. My wife learned from my friend's wife who was an absolute master. She uses 1/3 cup of coconut oil (ok, it's actually either 1/2 or 1/4 but I can't remember so I averaged them) and places it in the pot. After a couple of minutes, she adds a couple of kernels of popcorn. Once that pops, the oil is hot enough. Add the rest of your popcorn. Let pop. Don't shake too much. When there starts to be like 3 or 4 seconds between pops, pop that beast off. Salt, fake butter, enjoy.
If you're ambitious, you can shake out all the unpopped kernels and toss them back in before the pot cools down.
That's solid recipe work, I'm glad I didn't text my wife to confirm any details.
@otherstalin A bit of trivial info: The average of 1/2 and 1/4 is actually 3/8 -- not 1/3.
Really?? Zippy Pop? How blatantly can you rip off Jiffy Pop?
@Fartstick Quite blatantly, apparently.
@Fartstick
@thismyusername who posted first? see below
@jml326
@thismyusername i got it up 30 secs sooner
@jml326 that's what HE said...
@Fartstick ewwwwww
@Fartstick i dont keep'em waiting
I love the third five star review
Yeah, just not really into this one. I'll be back tomorrow!
No induction - no bueno
I still prefer JIFFY POP. The kids think it is the BOMB!
(nostalgic)
@mfladd This too
@mfladd We take Jiffy Pop camping. I always take an extra because the first one burns. Good times.
Way to tease the deal, @snapster!
I would be all over this if I had an extra $22.
@conandlibrarian i would be all over this if i had a billion dollars.
I'll stick to my brown paper bag and a touch of oil with popcorn kernels in the microwave
@Foxborn how much do you put in lunch
sized bag?
@ceagee 1/4 cup light drizzle of oil and a touch of salt
@Foxborn Thanks for the tip!
Pfff, stop buttering up everyone with stove top hoky. Air poped popcorn is where it's at. Nice try meh, kernel luck next time.
I don't think I've ever mehed so heartily. I'll stick to my microwave like a human, thanks. 20 buck for this? if I was some kind of microwave fearing hippie, I'd just use an air popper for less money. I appreciate you selling more kitchen stuff, but I aggressively don't want this.
@boygenius1991 logic has no place in this forum, intruder!
@boygenius1991 ive been using a stovetop popcorn maker for 4 years and would NEVER go back to microwave... all you need is coconut oil, popcorn and flavacol. Delicious with no hydrogenated oils - it's totally worth it, I promise. /salespitch
@troy Totally agree. Try peanut oil also. I bought 2 because of the fantastic price.
@troy We use a stovetop popper (a Whirly Pop) and it makes the most delicious popcorn.
If I didn't have a Whirly Pop, I'd be buying this tonight. Microwave popcorn is nowhere near as good.
@suzika Whirly Pop from Aldi. Best deal ever!
Seriously? You guys know the whole "microwave popcorn" thing is a scam right?
Take a plain paper bag. Dump some kernels in. Stick it in the microwave. Wait till the popping stops. Done. Dump in butter or cheese or whatever. Like 10 cents a bag, and no grease and unpopped kernels.
This is a true life hack.
@droopus but how will I get my daily servings of oil, additives and preservatives????
@droopus And for the true microwave popcorn experience, toss some small pieces of Saran wrap in there, so you can get that unnerving feeling of faintly tasting plastic under all the salt and "butter".
@droopus I do this (see above) I haven't gotten to try all the different types Kernels
@thismyusername Pills.
@Foxborn I remember the first time I did it..it was like I had discovered a huge secret. I've tried a few of the unusual kernels and the black ones aren't half bad actually. B)
I've been wanting one of these. (yes, really.) feared-witchy-ape
i bought and had the screen that said we sold 1 of these, does that mean i was the first to buy? i don't know how to do screen capture on this sweet 15" acer chromebook i'm lovin' (yet)
@DMlivezey if you have a key that looks like this:
Then it is CRTL + that key... or CRTL +
if you don't have a key that looks like that, it's usually CRTL + F5.
https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/183101?hl=en&rd=1
@thismyusername I had no idea how to take a screenshot on my Chromebook. Thanks!!!
@thismyusername yup, Ctrl + that boxes looking thing is it - thanks!
So I can stop shaking my pot on the stove and turn a crank? Seems like six of one, half a dozen of the other. I'll stick to my old pots.
@jml326 i have a cast iron Griswold bowl that is awesome to make popcorn with. i cover it with a glass lid I already have.
Speaking of Zippy, why wasn't the Zika virus renamed the Zippy virus after the effects were known?
@cercopithecoid
@cercopithecoid
This one works for current primaries
// what lies BEYOND Sriracha maple bacon? //
Sriracha maple bourbon bacon, of course
No thanks, I already have one of these:
It lets me keep all the stove burners free so I can melt four enormous pots of butter.
@awk This is why straws were invented.
@awk We use a chaep version of this at my house. wifey loves it, she uses it weekly. so much better than a stupid pot on the stove
@awk My wife bought me one of those last year. I used it once.
@awk I had one that I used frequently, but hated that the steam would build up inside the lid/bowl and condense, making some of my popcorn soggy. A pan on stove with a vented lid doesn't cause that kind of disappointment.
Please be careful people. I feel a Zippy summoning spell happening. You no not what you do!
@mfladd - You need Twinkies with taco sauce for that spell.
I bind you Zippy from doing harm.
Maybe all of those zeroes are placeholders to avoid the next Y2K-type debacle.
Dear Meh.com staff. I have a glass stove top and I have to be make sure the bottom of the any pot is smooth so as to not scratch the glass stove top. Can you please post a pic of the bottom of the pot. Thanks.
So, according to some random site about non-stick, this contains the "budge cookware" version of non-stick, which the manufacturer itself gives a 4-6 out of 10: http://www.thecookwareadvisor.com/what-do-you-mean-its-not-teflon/
How about the stainless steel version of the Zippy Pop, Meh? I'd buy that one (if, you know, the price were right).
@Odysseus1001 I also am not keen on aluminum but i guess the icky coating takes care of that. I.ve been looking at the SS ones $70 + has me trying 2 find a way to justify. might try the bag in micro again i haven't had much luck w that
so even though we aren't suppose to ask......
@Odysseus1001 Didn't notice this thing was non-stick. Can safely say of all the things I've managed to get stuck to a pot, popcorn has never been one of them…
Not induction-compatible. Meh indeed.
A pot ... with a crank.
Meh, you do realize as a civilization we have achieved better?? Landing on the moon....self-parking cars....bluetooth speaker docks. (Ok...maybe not that last one.)
And you would have us seriously consider spending good money on some 19th-century drek??
What's next -- push reel lawnmowers?? Or maybe in keeping with the food theme, a crank ice cream maker, or a crank meat grinder??
Meh....very meh.
@UncleEdZed Maybe if they had a bluetooth popcorn maker w/ an app so you can run it from your phone. Ah yes, I can smell it now, coming home to fresh made popcorn. Or possibly a burned down house.....
Iffy Pop. And $22 with that. This meets the standard of meh shittiness, but the price is way high. I would expect two of them to cost $7
@tsm - Points for Iffy Pop!
Not to be confused with
Unless you use the brown bag method, microwave is BAD for you. They added so much crap, they took away the healthy part. Still, MEH!
I use a Jiffy Pop pan hanging on my wall as a Redneck Fire Detector. Bet you can't do that with this gizmo pan.
OK, AWESOME recipe time!
Cheddar jalapeno popcorn:
Then, eat all of it. In one sitting. And don't share with anyone else. Trust me, you won't want to.
This is the seasoning stuff I'm talking about:
Just a heads up, frying jalapenos in oil like that can make your eyes burn if you're not careful. Be smart.
@luvche21 - What? No yogurt?
@KDemo even I have some restraint when it comes to yogurt! :)
These make without a doubt make the best popcorn. We were just thinking of getting one since we wore ours out. I just got lucky! I recommend using peanut oil. When I used to go to the Amish auctions we would bring home popcorn from Yoder popcorn. If you like white tiny popcorn here is the link http://www.yoderpopcorn.com/
Yummy!
These fuckers were really planing on a lot of different colored poppers.
@Ignorant they have to have lots of code numbers after all 7000 chihuahuas choked to death last year on popcorn. All at the resida cinima showing of lady and the tramp.
497 Mehs in a row...569 altogether. Can I make it 3 more days...time will tell...
@SteveL I have difficulty getting past 100.
I click the meh button each day but it always seems to not register once every 100 clicks or so and starts me over. :(
Pure evil.
a one star Amazon says that the holes in the glass potentially allow hot kernels and oil to escape. Sounds like a potential Michael Bay film right in your kitchen!
If it was like 1952 I'd be all over this.
Thank god these didn't sell out before this EST guy woke up. Normally all the great stuff is sold out. Why can I only buy 3?
I am Zippy and I approve this message. And some of those other messages also. And that squirrel.
Meh is slipping no mention in the write up about being a necessity during the zombie apocalypse. Not to mention keep the kids occupied during ice storm weeks. But then again a stash of jiffy pops wørks as well
I can see this being used for keeping my nacho cheese warm with some stirring going on. And then the cat can lick the lid when I check the temp. This really would work well in my convenience store.
@Not_Ken_M It's not NSF
@cranky1950 it is NFW jose.
This will cause a disturbance in the force. At the very least it will cause Webster's dictionary to add another clarification to the word "useless."
@jasonToon Great write-up, but please ignore my opinion. Abbreviating liters like that Size: 5.5 Quart (5.2Lts) is a bit sketchy.
Honestly, the idea of a stove top coffee roaster or a propane coffee bean roster. Would spin my prop. I do have more useless crap around then is even legal. I have a sick need to buy this shit. Going to meh every day is part of my therapy. So far it's not helping. Fortunately this little jewel is not happening. But you can never, never have enough coffee paraphernalia filing up cabinets and drawers. Never. Bring it on. Green beans can be had hundreds of places.
@Bkmack you can roast coffee beans in †his. it's got the turny thing so the beans won't burn. good toy for when you're cooking over a one burner propane stove because the power is out.
I have one of these and love it. I have used it to roast coffee beans before, but primarily I use it to make popcorn. LOVE popcorn and I can use whatever oil I like (coconut oil is great) and it's delicious. $22 does seem like a lot. I see these in thrift stores all the time for $5-7.
umm, you need a saucepan with a cover and a spoon.
@henare I used a chopstick to vent the lid. When I was a kid, my dad poked four holes into an metal pan lid and that was the popcorn pan. Good exercise for us kids, shaking the heck out of that pan.
Actually the most fun way to make popcorn is with no lid. Everybody stands around the campfire and tries to catch the kernels as they are ejected from the pan... Seriously, just shake the pot. You know when it's done by the pause between pops, same as microwave popcorn, no clear lid needed.
Once when using a product similar to this I saw the aluminum had actually come off the pan and stuck to the piece of popcorn. Don't eat aluminum-it's just not a good way to go.
I use a saucepan and a lid -like Henare wrote and organic sustainable palm oil [non-organic is like the worst product on the planet...it's destroying Malaysia...look it up]. That popcorn is delicious....PS: 90% of popcorn is GMO-buy organic!
Yup, you can roast coffee in these. If you are roasting inside, you better hope your vent-a-hood exhausts into the outside world. The darker you roast, the more smoke you generate...
For some help, go to sweetmarias.com
Good people over there and a great selection of green beans.
Another way to roast is with another kitchen gadget you might have lying around - an air popcorn popper. Just make sure it is hot enough (1200 watts or hotter) otherwise you will only toast the beans.
@snapster nice try, you can't guilt me into buying one. 😀
No thanks. I already have a microwave.
@dannyjoe08 but microwave popcorn sucks
@troy this could be said of all popcorn.
seems like this http://www.target.com/p/hamilton-beach-electric-popcorn-maker-with-stir-arm-73302/-/A-15080241#prodSlot=medium_1_23&term=popcorn+popper would be a better thing for the lazy types, like me
It seems like this entire product is all about the lid. Why don't they just sell the lid? I don't need another pot taking up space. I want this lid.
No Georgia Red. . . for that alone, meh.
Switched to Pot-on-the-stove and will never go back to Microwaved or Blow-dryyyy popcorn.
HOW TO:
Big heavy-clad pot. Set it on the burner at medium-high. Pour in a "healthy" amount of Canola oil (perhaps a bit less than 1/16 of an inch... we're actually deep-frying those kernels) Heat until the oil gets thin and runny when you tip the pot. Generously coat the bottom of the pot with kernels. Put the lid on with it vented as wide as you can without letting kernels jump out. No shaking required if it is the right pot. When the popping has slowed to about one per second or two, take it off the burner and salt to taste. No need to add butter unless you prefer drinking your popcorn.
@RedOak As someone, somewhere above mentioned, a good trick is throwing in a couple kernels with the oil; once one pops, it's time to dump them all in.
@brhfl not necessary in my experience. You get pretty good at judging oil readiness by watching its viscosity.
@RedOak What is a heavy-clad pot? Cast iron?
@Mellaine I'd expect any heavily clad bottom pot would work. The heavy bottom seems to spread the heat and prevent scorching (no shaking required). In our case it is a very solid stainless pot with a heavily clad bottom.
@RedOak Thank you for the recipe. My family love's popcorn. I agree with air popped popcorn. It is like eating the styrofoam packing material.
These are great for sugar corn, which is basically kettle corn. That is a family treat on my mom's side that goes back generations, we still have my grandmother's whirley pop. I like the stirring mechanism for sugar corn, makes it harder to scorch. Recipe
enough oil to coat the bottom of your pain, I like OR buttery flavor popping oil
scant 1/2 cup of popcorn, maybe more if using a minature variety
scant 1/2 cup of sugar
salt to taste, usually 1/8-1/4 tsp
heat the oil, the throw in salt/popcorn, after first few kernals pop, then add the sugar. crank until popping slows as you normally would. Make sure the bowl you pour into is glass or metal. the hot sugar will melt plastic or melanine. let it rest for 3-4 minutes, then shake gently to break it up. From our family to Meh's.
I don't really like popcorn much, but I still have a few tricks (including how to make it so that I do like it). I just pop in a big ol' pot with some oil and some shaking, not one of these fancy contraptions, though I'm sure they're handy.
Tip one (pop it in butter): If you want buttery flavor, you can use ghee as your popping fat. It's clarified butter, and it has a much higher smoke point than normal butter.
Tip two (half-pop it): This I actually enjoy. It's got crunch to it instead of the nothingness texture of fully popped popcorn. Boil the kernels for a bit before you go to pop them, maybe a half hour? Maybe longer? I don't really pay attention. Near the end get your pot/oil all hot and ready, because it seems to work best if the kernels haven't dried off too terribly much. Dump your kernels into a strainer and give a little shake, because you are about to throw them in hot oil, don't be too much of a dummy! Toss in the pot and lid it up quickly. They'll partially pop, just opening up a bit and letting something resembling popped corn peek through. But, they will (or should) be chewable. Crunch, crunch.
Tip three (pop something else): Amaranth is fun to pop. You don't need any oil. It's a tiny little grain, and makes a tiny little popped grain. Nice in with granola or on cereal, or… I'm sure there are other uses. I kind of just like watching it pop though.
@brhfl Thank you for sharing. I am going to try it this weekend. You must be a chef.
Secretive grave manager. http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/0c9109c71ea0524d9fe840f91fabd67bb94a26a9/r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/07/18/1374199482001-KY-GRAVEMARKERS-1-1307182207_3_4.jpg
When did the Review Highlights start showing up in the specs post? I like this feature. Is @moose looking those up and adding them manually? Or did a dev make a fancy auto-grabber for the 'most helpful' reviews?
@Thumperchick Yeah that's me. It'll come and go as needed. Glad you like it!