West Bend Stir Crazy Popcorn Machine Electric Hot Oil Popper Includes Large Lid for Serving Bowl and Convenient Nesting Storage, 6-Quart, Red

In 2010 I purchased a used hot air popcorn popper for $2.00 bucks at a thrift store. It was probably from the 1980's and it worked faithfully until a couple months ago. But it finally died, so I went on Amazon to search for the same style popper, the kind you put the bowl under with a vented hood that shoots it toward the bowl, ideally. But man, the reviews made me feel so discouraged. I ignored the reviews that said they shoot popcorn all over the place because I already knew that to be an issue with my old one, and to be honest, it really wasn't a big deal for me (just a few strays here and there that my dog grabbed up). But what DID concern me was all the reviews saying the tops were melting, and pictures of them with melted tops. And different brands too, not just one. I read dozens of reviews and even when I begrudgingly increased the price range, they still had lousy reviews about melting tops. So I started looking at other options...Enter this style of popper. I compared a bunch of brands for these types since I've never used this kind of popper. Eventually I resorted to watching Youtube videos (I take my popcorn very seriously, LOL) and was finally sold on this style, brand and model after watching a guy demonstrate and test several types of poppers. I am extremely pleased with it and have ZERO complaints! First and foremost: It pops ALL the kernels, literally EVERY SINGLE KERNEL! It doesn't get more impressive than that. The very first use I got nervous and shut it off a few seconds too soon and had about 10 or so kernels left, but once I realized I can wait until it all stops without it burning, I haven't had a single unpopped piece since! Because the bar constantly moves it around, you can listen and make sure it's completely stopped without it burning.I don't use the included top/bowl to eat it from, I dump it into my own bowl of choice instead, it's just my preference. My own bowl is a little wider so I can toss it around with oil and salt that way. It was hard to visualize the amount of popcorn described in the description, but I was pleased to discover it pops exactly the amount I have always popped, which is a BIG family-sized bowl full (which I eat all myself because I'm single and that's how I roll).As far as oil, I'm not used to using oil since my old popper was just a dry air popper. What I would always do is drizzle the oil and salt after popping it. So I initially used olive oil (which is what I drizzle on it anyway) but then decided to experiment with coconut oil because it has a higher smoke point and the healthy properties of coconut oil can withstand the heat of the unit. That was even better, it's fantastic with coconut oil and tastes more like theater popcorn. I still drizzle olive oil and salt on it afterward however, because the coconut oil serves the purpose of coating the kernels, but it doesn't really give it the buttery feel after it's popped. But that's fine with me because I'm so pleased with how well it works that I'm willing to use oil with the kernels now. It all comes out fluffy and perfect, NO BURNED pieces ever, so far.You can put the unit inside the bowl to store it, but I prefer to keep the bowl on top to keep dust out. The cord easily wraps around underneath the bottom, which is something that annoyed me about my old popper, which had no way to store the cord. I also like having an off/on switch too, as opposed to just yanking the cord out of the wall while it's running like many of the upright air poppers will have you do.It takes a couple of minutes for the kernels to heat up but then it pops incredibly fast and the whole batch is done in the blink of an eye, it's pretty wild. I wondered if it would be awkward to lift and flip the unit to dump it in the bowl but it's not, it's lightweight and easy.ONE IMPORTANT THING: I almost didn't buy this because even this style of popper has some pictures of the top piece melted. This surprised me until I watched the videos on this page and did a few face-palms. Watch them for yourself and you'll see they leave the red piece on the lid while it's popping. I couldn't believe how any videos show people doing this. The vents in the clear bowl/lid are there so that it VENTS while popping! The smaller red lid is included to put on AFTER you shut it off. It's simply to keep small pieces from falling out once you flip it over. Keep it off while it's popping, of course it's going to melt if you keep blocking the vent holes, good grief! Makes me wonder what people were doing with the other kinds of air poppers to make those ones melt, maybe covering them with sweaters?? But I'm content to never know.When reading reviews, keep in mind that a lot of people have only ever used microwave popcorn. Some of the reviews about flavor and whatnot make me think these people are simply used to microwave junk and so it's probably no reflection on this popper. That, and people blocking the vents with the red lid and then complaining that it smells like plastic. Sigh.Like I said, I have no complaints whatsoever and am glad I decided to try this type of popper. Easy, perfect results and kinda fun to use.

I went on a bit of a popcorn kick for a bit, trying out different methods of making popcorn. This is definitely the best. All popped, no hard kernels. It worked with expensive popcorn as well as dollar store. Better than microwave kettles, paper bags, stovetop, air.....Only downside is that it does need oil of some kind. I recommend Coconut, if you can get it.

First off, this machine makes wonderful, delicious popcorn, and most importantly, I'm rarely even left with a single kernal, at most, of uncooked corn.But the entire reason I'm writing this review is to help out with the biggest gripes and frustrations I see people giving this machine negative reviews for. These "percieved" problems are just that, the reviewers perception. When in reality, those are actually how the machine is supposed to work!There's 2 main one's I see, so I want to address those! But I also want to tell you how to make popcorn that blows away movie theater popcorn. It's beyond good and it's beyond addicting (sorry!).1.) The Stirring Rod.So many users are screaming that the stirring rod doesn't actually stir all the corn, constantly. Guys and Gals, it's NOT suppposed to! The stirring rod is simply there to flatten all the corn initally dumped in and give it the best chance of being near the heat upon the initial heating up process (even heat spreading). Only after kernals start popping does the stirring rod catch those popped kernals which then catches the rest of unpopped kernals below them and start to put the whole uncooked kernals in motion!By this point, since kernals are already popping, this simply helps with FINAL heat required to make the kernal go POP! So it's SUPPOSED to work that way! Do not tweak the stirring rod and allow it to scrape around the kernals when the machine is running. If anything, raise it a bit higher for less interference!2.) Uncooked PopcornIf you are getting large batches of uncooked popcorn, it's because you aren't using enough oil. These types of machines rely almost entirely on boiling the popcorn in oil to cook. You are not getting around that for this type of machine. There are pictures posted here of a before and after popcorn batch (where 1/2 didn't pop) and a very negative review posted here.Check out the 1st picture, there was barely enough oil to even partially coat the kernals let alone have any standing oil! You can't do that with this machine. You know it's right when the entire base of the machine (where your kernals are sitting) is a bath of your cooking oil. If you are cooking the maxiumum amount of popcorn, that amounts to a good 1/4 of a CUP of oil. You won't get away with much less with a machine like this unless you don't want kernals to pop.Hint: look at premade single serving oil / seasoning / popcorn packs for use in carnival machines. You see the ratio? It's a lot of oil! I understand wanting to be healthy and using less, but you aren't doing it with this type of machine (why it's soooo delicious!).3.) How do I make the BEST tasting, and healthiest popcorn ever in the world?EASY! First off, start using coconut oil (you'll see the orange stuff already sold here that has been converted, molecularly, into a coconut oil that has butter flavor). Believe it or not, that's still straight up coconut oil, nothing added. It's one of the few oils that is actually good for you! 2ndly, you can throw in some clarified butter into the mix if you want full blown butter flavor too. And finally, throw salt (test yourself to how much you want) right into the oil as the popcorn is preparing. So to recap, the large majority is coconut oil (the orange stuff), with a 1/3 of the oil clarified butter (ghee) and your amount of salt for flavor. That's it. And you will never even want to put movie theater butter (flavoring) on top of it, the flavor is out of this world! Just remember, in this machine, oil is your friend. If you aren't cooking 99.99% of your kernals, you aren't using enough oil!Hope this helps! Happy yummy popcorn :)