43 out of 43 people found this review helpful.
Get Some Hot Poppin' Now, Baby
Date of Review: Apr 12, 2000
Mmmmm mmmmm.... Tasty, hot, salty mouth-filling excitement from the man whose been satisfying both men and women for years. You've read the epinions from gentle folks who say they just can't take it, it's too much, too fast, it's overflowing, they're not ready. You don't know, is this the action you're looking for?
Maybe you oughta play it safe? Maybe spend your evenings downloading mp3s, complaining to your lifesize blowup Pokemon doll that after doing your AllAdvantage, FreeRide, MyPoints, FirstLook, PointClick, eTour, Trocamania, and other paid surfing you're totally spent?
Nonsense! There's room for all that and popcorn too! But before you get into a relationship with a popcorn popper, you have to understand your own needs and longings. Orville Redenbacher has made a lot of people happy with his popper. But just like Britney Spears and Bobcat Goldthwaite, some relationships are not to be.
So think about the kind of popcorn you like. Explore your popcorn fantasies. We've reached an era in our society where there are people who've grown up entirely on microwaved popcorn. Air-popped popcorn does not taste like microwaved popcorn. You may like both, but you need to figure this out before you make your purchase.
Same for those who like their popcorn popped in oil. (I know, I'm really passing up a chance to go on about hot, greasy, primal qualities here, but I can only put so many blatant keywords in a review and still write a useful epinion.) If you're not sure how you feel about air popped popcorn, get out there and try some before you make a commitment.
Now, if you do like to do it air-popped style, you're in luck. This is a fine popper. I've used it almost daily for the past few months. I have never had an overflow incident. This is not to dismiss the other reviewers who have. I'm not sure why they've had different experiences, but I'll put it down to the likely answers of "these things happen", "didn't take the 1/2 cup measure literally", and "was too busy having wild naked sex on the countertop to position the bowl directly in front of the machine".
Yes, Orville means it when he tells you to use a half cup of popcorn, no more or no less. I'll confess that I got into a little experimentation. I tried different proportions and didn't experience anything catastrophic. However, I also didn't get the consistent quality as with the exact half cup. (You know, every kernel popped, no runts.)
If you spend your life savings to buy this popcorn popper and can't scrape up the change for a half-cup measure, don't despair. The butter melter at the top also serves as a measuring cup. Yes, it's good-looking and smart too!
About that butter melter. The instructions specifically say you must use softened butter. This is a change from my last model. It could melt a cold shard cut from a refrigerated stick by the time the popcorn was ready. Not Orville. Keep this in mind if you prefer buttered popcorn but don't want to keep whipped or soft butter on hand.
Another gem from the instruction pamphlet is the suggestion to toss the popcorn lightly in oil then use a topping, such as cheese or salt. This has nothing to do with the quality of the popper, but if you're one of the oil or microwave people hesitating at purchasing an air popper, this might be a swayer. You can actually get quite creative with flavoured oils.
Two last comments about this popper, then I'll let you get back to reading epinions on, oh, I dunno, breastfeeding, circumcision, browser wars, and whether Rose should have thrown that diamond into the cold Atlantic. The on/off switch is really weird. Really weird in that it doesn't have one. You plug the machine into the wall to start popping. Unplug it when it's done. Maybe this makes sense to electrical engineers, but I'm just a consumer and I find it strange.
Finally, this is an extremely lightweight unit which stays clean and stands up to being banged around. It's a cinch to grab and take to the office, a friend's, or wherever you sense a deep emptiness which can only be filled by yummy popcorn, popped to perfection in about three minutes time.
I don't know if this is the best model, but it's a good, steady model, eager to please, and sure to stay by your side for years to come. And isn't it time you settled down with a popper you can depend upon?
