6QT Stirring Popcorn Popper Maker with Nonstick Plate

We acquired our COSTWAY electric popcorn maker as a health play. While we LOVE traditional microwave popcorn, they come with those additives we occasionally vow to avoid. The COSTWAY couldn’t be easier to use! Add your oil, add your popcorn, fasten the lid, turn it on. That’s it. A normal batch has been taking about 5 – 6 minutes to prepare. After using it for several batches, I have these recommendations: Even though the instructions say to use two tablespoons of oil per cup of raw kernels, I find it better to use less than a full cup of kernels so the popped kernels have room to expand – something like 7/8 of a cup will do nicely. Also, don’t skimp on the oil. We tried one batch using less oil and it burned. The other recommendation is to turn the unit off when the popping starts to taper off. Don’t wait until there is zero popping or you’ll burn the batch. If you are adding some yummy flavors to your batch (butter, spices, etc.), you’ll do that in whatever bucket/bowl you dump your completed batch into – not during the popping. There is a little art to making a good batch of popcorn. We are better at this in batch six than the first batch. This was a really good purchase that is fun, useful, practical and easy to use.

Popcorn is a routine staple in our house. We often make it as part of our Sunday evening routine. We had been going the healthy route and making it with a microwave bowl to avoid using oil. We decided that we missed popcorn made with oil and tried out the Costway popper. We followed the directions exactly as stated in the user manual. The popper was very easy to use. The popcorn came out perfect, with only 2 or 3 unpopped kernels. The only reason I rated it a 4 is because the plastic lid, used to cover the air wholes after you are done popping, didn’t stay on very well. The lid is needed so you can flip the cover over and use it as a bowl. However, this is not not a big deal and won’t take away from making delicious popcorn.

Do we all remember using the Stir-Crazy popcorn popper from years ago? I don't... I didn't have one, but I do remember all of the fuss when it came out originally. This particular popper is an upgraded version of the original, compete with a non-stick heating plate. I have an air popper that I simply love. It has a container that all of the popped corn goes into instead of flying all over the counter. However, I find I have to run it several times to produce enough popcorn for my family, and the system regularly overheats. In addition, I always have to add butter after popping but I think I end up using more butter that way. Also, I find the more and more un-popped kernels end up in the container, which is frustrating but common to every air popper I've tried. This device is easy to use. I add the suggested 130 grams of popcorn to the cooking plate, evenly distributed. I then add about 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter, install the cover and turn it on. Within about 5 minutes the popcorn is ready. The result is perfectly popped corn with a great butter flavor and virtually no un-popped kernels. Flip the entire unit over (after installing the lid onto the cover,) and you have a perfectly sized serving bowl. To clean, simply remove the stirrer from the cooking plate. The non-stick design of the plate makes it easy to wipe out with just a towel. The base cannot be submersed or subjected to water else the electrical connections within would be damaged. The only "negative" item I can find with this product is its price. It appears to be more expensive that most all of the others in its class. However, I think the quality of the cooking plate and its non-stick properties may be part of that, plus the evenly distributed heat. Whatever the case, I'm glad I have this one and wouldn't trade it for another. Would I order this again? YES. Do I recommend it to others? YES. This is a great way to pop popcorn that's tasty and fully popped. I really like my air popper, but I think it's going into storage.

Our daughter is obsessed with popcorn. We had been doing the microwave popcorn bags and thought we would try this popcorn maker. She loves helping to make the popcorn! She climbs up on her stool to watch the kernels spin around and start popping. She gets so excited watching the kernels pop. This popcorn maker does a good job of popping almost all of the kernels and doesn’t take too long to make a batch of popcorn either. It makes more than a microwave bag so there is more for the family to share. The black cap that covers the vent holes on the lid after the popcorn is popped so that that lid can double as a bowl does not like to stay on though, so we just put the popcorn in separate bowls. Everyone has more than enough!

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I am a lifelong popcorn enthusiast, and this is the best way to make popcorn in my opinion. Our family's original Stir Crazy popcorn maker was this same style, with the heating plate and stir rod, with a dome shaped bowl. It tastes better than stove cooked in a pot, air popped, or microwave popcorn in my opinion, and it is probably the healthiest choice. My last stirring popper was a Hamilton Beach, which was made well, but broke after a few years of frequent use. That one had the disadvantage of a taller, cylinder shaped bowl, instead of this dome. The popcorn is less likely to get stuck when spinning and almost full on this one, and the heat of the popper is more likely to pop all the kernels and have less waste. I did notice right away though, that this popper heats a lot faster and hotter than the Hamilton Beach one. The advantage of the HB was that it almost never burned any popcorn, even if you walked away and forgot a few minutes. This one though, gets hotter and pops faster, but can burn a few popped corns on the bottom if you wait too long to take it off. Also, you should unplug to let it cool down. But it's super simple with just an on/off switch. The popping bowl can double as a serving bowl with the black lid put on. Our favorite oil to use is coconut oil. Unless you use a LOT, it doesn't add a strong taste, but a reasonable amount of coconut oil to pop and then just salt it, and you don't even need to add butter, and it tastes delicious! Of course, extra butter for the most savory experience. Very pleased with this new popper and glad to be able to save money on popping kernels and not using microwave popcorn with unnecessary extra ingredients.