Stovetop Popcorn Maker – 6.5-Quart Popper Pan with Wooden Crank Handle and Internal Kernel Stirrer by Great Northern Popcorn (Black)

I finally wore a hole in the bottom my old aluminum popcorn maker like this one. It was light and conducted heat very well so I was skeptical about this one being made of stainless steel. It took two or three uses of this new one to get used to it, it was heavier and just a little slower heating up, but these minor negatives are easily offset by the features it has: 1: the stainless steel handles the high heat I like to use much better than the aluminum. The popped corn is less likely to burn and there is no more scrubbing burned on carbon like I always had to do with the aluminum pot. 2. This pot is extremely well made. The pot is a little heavier but the lid is very well secured and is almost impossible to detach while shaking during popping unlike the old one where I had to be careful the pot didn't fall off when handling it. 3. It is very well constructed,; set screws on the bevel gears, easy to clean stainless steel, and has a very solid handle/spinner. 4.. I'm not sure if the lid is stainless but it is heavy duty, and finally, the pot holds maybe 20% more popped corn so when I make my normal amount it dumps out easily and not all packed in like the old popper. 5.Much easier to clean.This popper is much heavier than the aluminum ones and I'm up in years and not very strong so it takes more effort to hold & dump it with one hand, so keep this in mindI make popcorn 4 - 5 times a week and I wish I bought this years ago. Get the stainless steel one. This popper is well worth the money!

This review is for the stainless steel version, not aluminum.We make popcorn a lot, sometimes daily. We make it in the microwave in a pinch, but I believe in making popcorn on the stove. This popcorn popper makes better popcorn than our heavy-bottom pot and is a lot easier to handle. It's lightweight and the hinged top makes using it a breeze. For large batches, you can keep one side unhooked, give the pot a shake and dump popped popcorn into the bowl then continue popping the rest. If you're even slightly into cooking, using this popcorn popper is as easy as the microwave and the result is 1000 times better. Worth the money and will last -- we bought ours almost 4 years ago and have given it plenty of use. It's still shiny and pumping out perfect popcorn. Highly recommend.

I love this popcorn popper!!! I've been using it a couple of times a week for over a month now, and no problems whatsoever, other than "user error." The first week I used it, I followed the instructions and started out on medium heat on my electric range. I popped corn twice that week, and it turned out absolutely delicious and crunchy, with not even one unpopped kernel. The next weekend, I forgot to start out on medium heat, and used my "over-easy egg" temperature of medium-high instead. Big mistake! I had a small volume of totally black popcorn, and a house full of smoke. I scrubbed forever, and never did get all the burnt popcorn off the bottom of the pan. Nevertheless, the pan still works great and I have popped perfect popcorn every week since then with no trouble whatsoever, and not a single old maid yet.I didn't experience any problems with a loose lid. In fact, it was quite difficult to snap on when I first received the popper, and I resolved never to remove it. However, I had to remove it after the burnt corn incident, and have removed it to wash it thoroughly several times since then, and have had no problems reattaching the lid. No problem with both sides popping open when pouring the popcorn out either. I love the solid, sturdy stainless steel construction, not to mention the fact that I don't have to worry about leached aluminum. I listened to another reviewer and only turn the crank clockwise, and have had no problems with the cranking mechanism either.I don't understand the methods of those who claim it takes 15 minutes to pop their corn either. I use just barely a tablespoon of oil to 1/3 to 1/2 cup of kernels, set it on the burner, cranking occasionally until I hear the oil start to sizzle. As soon as I hear a kernel pop, I turn the crank continually, and have a pot full of perfect popcorn within less than 2 minutes of that time.In the old days, we popped corn in a kettle by shaking it over the burner. Very tiring and noisy! With mixed results. Also, hard on those electric ranges! Mine now wouldn't stand up to that friction without the burner becoming detached. The crank makes popping corn a breeze! Later on, I received an air popper as a gift, and decided very shortly that air-popped popcorn wasn't even worth eating. I tried microwave popcorn quite a few times, and found it fairly tasty, but have issues with the health concerns of both the chemical coatings of the bag and the effects of microwaving. Haven't owned a microwave in over two decades. At that point, we switched to Jiffy Pop, which I actually liked quite a bit. However, the results were very uneven. We always had tons of old maids, and frequent burned popcorn or low volumes. Finally, I switched to pre-popped organic popcorn in the bag. This stuff, I actually like quite a bit, especially the cheddar variety. And nothing is easier than just opening a bag and pouring melted butter over it. However, I wanted to be more sure that I was getting organic corn and to be able to buy my own organic toppings.I was actually shocked at how much better popcorn from this popper is than the organic pre-popped. Or anything else I've tried. It rivals and beats out the theatre popcorn, which now has so many additives that it tastes artificial and makes my mouth burn. This popcorn is so much crunchier and tastier!I tried it with organic coconut oil the first two times, but didn't like the flavor. Also tried it with the Amish popcorn, which was OK, but I prefer yellow popcorn. Since then, I have been popping the Eden Organic popcorn, also available on Amazon, and using corn oil. I top it with plenty of fresh butter from pasture-grazed cows, Frontier organic cheddar cheese powder, which I also bought from Amazon, and Himalayan sea salt. Absolute popcorn heaven! Now all I have to do is find some organic corn oil.I must say I treasure this popper so much that I have ordered another one, so that I can have a pristine one without all the black burnt spots on the bottom. After being spoiled by the ease of pre-popped popcorn, I thought it would be too much of a chore for me to ever pop my own on a regular basis, and continued to have my doubts after I ordered this popper. But this is so incredibly easy and so quick, and so incredibly tasty, that I am sure I will never eat any other popcorn again! I've doubled my popcorn consumption since I received it, but feel great about eating a healthy snack popped to perfection!

This thing makes great popcorn. I'm not going to count the number of unpopped kernels it leaves, there aren't a lot, far fewer than with traditional pan-popping, but seriously. It works well, allows you to use the minimum necessary amount of oil (I like coconut but any will work), and doesn't make popcorn so dry the salt won't stick to it like air-popping does.The downside is that it's built like a brick, if the brick were made of sand. The pot itself is sturdy and washes well, but the lack of handles on the body can make it fiddly to clean due to the size of the pot itself. The lid is where the genius is, as far as the process goes, but it's also where stuff falls apart. The "wings" that open on either side were falling off within days of purchase, as the metal dowels holding them in place aren't secured by anything, so they just slide out while washing and are a pain to get back in. Also, the nut retaining the bolt that holds the stirring mechanism loosens and can fall into your popcorn. Think biting on a random unpopped kernel sucks? Wait until you bite into a metal retainer nut.That said, with a little bit of Loctite and some minor crimping of lid where the metal dowels slide though with a pair of pliers, and all is good.I strongly recommend this style of popper for great, theater-style popcorn, but prepare to be creative to keep the thing working, or look for a more resilient version if you're worried.