Presto 04821 Orville Redenbacher's Popcorn Maker

My husband and I were eating a lot of microwave popcorn, and decided that it might be more cost effecient to just go ahead and buy a popper.

I grew up with an oil type popper and loved it, but I wanted something that I could use to make totally plain popcorn for making homeade caramel corn as well. So we decided an air popper was the best choice.

We bought the Presto popper, popcorn and special popcorn salt which is finer than table salt to that it actually sticks to the popcorn and doesn't just fall to the bottom of the bowl.

The popper is very very very lightweight, and doesn't take up too much space. We store it under the counter in a cabinet since we don't use it daily or anything. It comes with the base section and a removable clear plasic top (this is where the popcorn is guided out into your bowl, and there is a removable clear cup type thing on the top which you can put butter in so that it melts and you can pour it on your popcorn.

We don't use the cup on top for the butter, because we like to pour butter on as it is coming out of the machine, not at the end. So we just microwave some butter while the machine is starting up before the popcorn is hot enough to start popping and coming out. It is pretty loud, but works quickly so that you don't have to listen to it for too long.

To clean it, you just have to wait until it cools and we just wipe out the inside of the base, and wash the clear plasic top parts, or just wipe them as well. That's it...there really aren't other parts to clean or anything. There is no on/off switch, you just plug it in and it goes.

The popcorn comes out tasting great after we add our butter and popcorn salt. It has never been scorched or anything and there are sometimes one or maybe 2 kernels left in the base unpopped, but this is rare.

All in all, it is cheap, easy to clean, and makes great popcorn fast.