Poppin' Easy

[sudsmaster]

The other day I was in a spending mood - a bad state to be in at a place like Costco. Anyway, I saw a new gadget there, a Cuisinart Easy Pop electric popcorn maker.

Heck, I thought, I remember making my own popcorn. I'm tired of the microwave stuff. It's kind of evil.

So for $39.99 I walked out with one in black (and a lot of other stuff I don't really need, except for the crew socks)... Also picked up a jug of Orville's popcorn kernels...

It's not bad. Actually it's pretty good. I like being able to use my own vegetable oils in it, rather than the saturated palm oil that modern microwave popcorn uses (well, at least that got rid of trans fats, but it's still not as healthy as mono and poly unsaturated oils).

The machine also comes with a little recipe book for making various flavored popcorn. Right now I'm happy with just veg oil, some salt, and maybe a little melted butter or trans-free soft marg (ICBINB).

After the first batch I went online to look for reviews. Apparently there have been a few iterations of the gadget, and the early models didn't vent steam and the popcorn came out soggy. Not a problem with this one. Overall I'm pleased with it but will have to see how long it lasts.

http://www.cuisinartwebstore.com/detail/CUI+CPM-900BK

 

[frigilux]

I love gadgets. This looks like an updated version of the ones we had back in the '70s. I, too, have had it with microwave popcorn. Enjoy!

 

[toggleswitch2]

old maids= never been popped.

Cool! Enjoy!

Havn't used my air-popper in years. Must be buried with kitchen stuff that is in storage.

Also have a glass container for popping corn in the nuker-- sans beurre et l'huile-- (without and butter and oil). Tag sale for a buck ("quid") dontcha know?

Catamount Glass Co. Microwave Popcorn Popper

Every now and then, I run into something that is really kind of cool, even though I don't have much use for it. Like this thing, for examp...

davescupboard.blogspot.com

 

[xraytech]

Nice to see they are making this style popper again, I have an old Penncrest popper like that, works great

 

[yogitunes]

I have one that stirs the kernels along the bottom until they pop, haven't used in years, now you got me thinking, I have to go dig it out, tonites movie night for the kids, think I'll do it old fashioned!

mom always made it on the stove with a cast iron skillet and a high lid and swirl it on the gas stove and watch as it sparks across the grid....those were they days

 

[twintubdexter]

don't cha just love the smell?

Corn popped in an oil popper not only tastes better, it smells so much nicer. Microwave corn just doesn't smell the same to me. My next door neighbor who splits his time between here and Boston was best buds with Paul Newman. Paul's brother Arthur lives near me (in a vastly different house) and is a very fine individual. He is constantly supplying us with tons of "Newman's Own" food, most of it popcorn. I have a whole cupboard full of it and it tastes like cardboard, but it makes a nice donation to the AID's center here.

That Cuisnart popper sure looks cool.

 

[yogitunes]

Does anyone remember JIFFY POP, pop corn, I could never get it to work right, must be all in the wrist...lol

 

[j2400]

Hot oil is the only way to pop pop corn. Period.

Jiffy Pop? If you mean that Jiffy Pop in the aluminum pan, I still see that from time to time locally. I've never tried it...I'm too cheap.

 

[sudsmaster]

I remember, when I was a kid, TV nights (such as a Walt Disney special or a re-run of Wizard of Oz) would bring out the popcorn and orange juice. For a long time I had to have OJ with popcorn!

I also remember trying to make popcorn on my own... it's a big bother with the large pot and the oil smoking and the popcorn burning, etc... It takes time and skill to make it just so on a stove. The automatic popper has yet to burn a kernel, and they all seem to pop just fine.

So far I've tried safflower oil (OK, not much taste) and peanut oil (OK, a bit of a heavy taste). Next up I'll get some corn oil and try that. After all, it is popCORN.

Clean up is a breeze. The container does take up a lot of space in the dishwasher, but then that's what we have dishwashers for! The hot plate and stirrer clean up fine.

I've noticed that the stirrer seems to have some computer logic behind it. It will hesitate before starting, and then if it encounters an obstacle it seems to stop, pause, and then rotate in the other direction. Or maybe I'm just imagining this. But it would probably be a good idea!

I might even break the real butter out of the deep freezer for the next batch...

 

[j2400]

There may not be computer logic. I had a West Bend "Stir Crazy" that surely had no computer electronics, and I seem to recall that sometimes it reversed for no real reason. Although, I don't recall it happening once running.

Of course, it's quite possible that new poppers have a computer...everything else does these days.

 

[j2400]

Stove popping actually isn't that hard...at least for me now.

I used to have a lot of trouble, and I tried several stove poppers sold at Goodwill. (Those ones with the stir rod run by a crank.) They never worked for me. Then, I thought to try a heavy aluminum pan. Those modern poppers have very thin metal. That pan works wonderfully...it seems almost as fool proof as an electric popper.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Saw this handsome little devil in Costco. Surprized the bowl is plastique. HAHAHAHA I epxected glass....

 

[whirlcool]

Does anyone remember those air popcorn poppers? They were all the rage in the 70's.

I remember Jiffy Pop when it first came out about 1957 or so. My parents tried it once or twice. They turned on the gas and put the Jiffy Pop on the stove and promptly left the room. A few minutes later the Jiffy Pop container was all swollen up. Imagine their surprise when they opened the container to see nothing buy black popcorn kernels.

 

[mayguy]

I may of brought a couple bags of microwave popcorn here and there, and don't care for them.

I've done air popper since in the 80's. A couple of years ago, Mom got her hand on a stove top crank type popper for us, and I been really happy with that.

 

[sudsmaster]

I never much cared for air-popped popcorn. All dried out and tasteless. But it was the rage in part because of the "fat is bad, carbs are good" mantra that the nutritionist establishment was pushing at the time.

But if you have an air popper, hang onto it. I understand it's the bee's knees for roasting fresh coffee beans, if you ever get into that.

Whatever you do, don't try using a pressure cooker to pop corn... lol...

 

[autowasherfreak]

I don't like air popped, and one bag of microwave isn't enough at time, so I bought a Stir-Crazy popper off of eBay about three years ago. It's the best popper I've ever had. I also have one of the stove top poppers with the crank. A big bowl of popcorn, and a good movie perfect combination.

 

[davek]

Coconut oil

Don't dog the coconut oil. Not only was it superior to the Trans Fats that replaced it, but I think that coconut oil is much healthier than its level of saturation would have you believe. It's supposed to be one of those foods that better for you than it ought to be.

I worked at a theater during the changeover. The poppers were much easier to properly clean after coconut, too. Corn oil would leave a sticky residue.

 

[joeekaitis]

I miss Jolly Time solid popping oil but this is the next best thing:

1. Plug in your West Bend Stir-Crazy cornpopper and let it preheat for a full minute without the dome.

2. Put a whole stick of Nucoa margarine on the heating surface and let it melt until it stops sizzling.

3. Dump in a cup of popcorn (2/3 cup of Orville Redenbacher; a full cup really WILL blow the top off).

4. Remove the butter melter cap and put the dome in place. Let it pop 'til it's finished. Put the cap back on, pull the plug, turn it over and EAT!

 

[sudsmaster]

I have some cans of coconut "milk" (mostly coconut oil) that I use to add flavor and body to various stews and sauces (essential for a good curry, imho). Goes great with beans.

I'll have to look up the health aspects of coconut oil. I'm sure it's far better than trans fats, which are probably responsible for a lot of heart disease in this nation. But the gold standard for "good" fat is probably still extra virgin olive oil.

I also have an avocado tree that is starting to produce well (after 10 years!) and it's a real treat to be able to eat one on almost a daily basis (although this year's crop is about done now). I understand avocado oil is also a very healthful oil.