Popcorn Machine

Ok, so this product delivers on its sole purpose…to create quality popcorn. Sure the lid design is flawed, but if you insert the peg in the hole and pull the inside of the pan towards you with one hand while pushing the lid away from you towards that hole with your other hand, you will master the whole putting-of-the-lid-back-on-the-pan issue that seems to concern people more than the quality of popcorn this item produces.

For my needs, I’m only looking to get the best tasting plain popcorn. I use extra virgin coconut oil at the lowest possible temperature setting on my glass cooktop. The extra virgin oil has a strong coconut flavor, so it is perfect for popcorn. You can use a refined coconut oil instead, but that will be flavorless. I have used the stir crazy electric popper, but since that has teflon, I won’t go there. Plus you cannot control the temperature of an electric popper, so if you are focusing on the healthiest way to make popcorn, consider a stainless product such as this.

As far as the healthiest oil to use, that is a subjective discussion. Some say coconut oil is the way to go, but many people will say otherwise due to its high saturated fat content. The dangers are not with the very very minor hydrogenation of non-hydrogenated oil when it gets heated. Rather, it is in relation to the smoke point of the oil. Olive oil is great for use at room temperature. Once you surpass the smoke point of olive oil in cooking, you lose all the health benefits. Extra virgin coconut oil is better, but you need to do your best to not exceed the smoke point, hence my preference for a stove top popper in which you can control the burner temp. Refined coconut oil has an even higher smoke point, but does not give any flavor benefit when popping.

And now for the whole stainless steel discussion. Think what you want about the lack of mainstream CNN-headlined proof with Alzheimer’s research. Go ahead and get a foot bath, and see what black specks come out of your body signifying the heavy metals that have just been detoxed from your body. For me, that is proof enough. Regardless of proof (or lack thereof), I will stick to stainless steel over naked aluminum any day of the week. Now here is my quandary. Sure, the pot is stainless, but what about the lid? When I first cleaned the product, I finished drying every nook and cranny with a paper towel. And what did I notice? Gray/black dust was picked up by the towel. So I washed a few more times and the dust was nowhere to be found. Now I made a batch of popcorn and before washing, took the paper towel first to the lid (no dust) and then to the inside of the rim of the pot. Guess what I found? More of the same dust. Sounds like aluminum oxidation is occurring where the lid meets the rim of the pot. Of course that is my unproven and subjective opinion only. Do I want that residue attaching to my food and entering my body? Of course not. Will I give up the great popcorn this product delivers because of that? Not anytime soon, that’s for sure. Unless of course the black dust is actually visible on my popcorn.

For anyone who has asked in the past, this pot does have an aluminum/stainless clad flat bottom that sits perfectly atop my flat-top stove. There is no rocking whatsoever. I cannot speak at to whether this will work on an induction cooktop.

Rating: 5 / 5

I bought this popper for my husband, who eats popcorn nightly, to replace microwave popcorn. He loves the popcorn popped this way as well as the reduced calories. The grandkids like to help make it more then they like to eat it. Grandpa lets them turn the crank. It is good quality stainless and the gears are made of metal instead of plastic. I am very satisfied with this purchase.
Rating: 5 / 5