Such a GREAT popcorn popper!

I saw the 6qt version of this popper in a store a while ago and decided not to buy due to the smaller size of the bowl. Suddenly I saw the 8qt version of the popper and started giving it some real thought. I now have the machine and after a few weeks of owning it and a number of trials, I've determined that I absolutely love it!

Out of the box:
No assembly required. A quick wash is all that is required, other than adding popcorn, plugging in, and of course putting the bowl/cover in place. The machine base seems very sturdy but I have my doubts about the bowl/cover's durability. The plastic is thin and light and has some uncomfortable give to it. That being said, I have opted to not use the bowl for snacking out of. I instead empty the bowl into some specialty popcorn bowls I've had for a while.

The popper has a heat resistant base so you can use it on any surface without worry. The ability to burn yourself, while flipping the popper over after the cycle is completed, is a valid concern, but it just takes a little care and common sense and you'll avoid scorched fingers.

The popcorn popper has no switches buttons or anything which is encouraging because its less stuff to break down! You just plug in the cord and go. The cord is a few feet in length as well so you don't have to use it hunched under your upper kitchen cabinets!

The concept itself is quite simple: a stirring arm to keep the popcorn moving which will avoid scorching and improve even popping.

I'll let you know how things work as we go here. First off to give you an idea of what its like to make popcorn with this machine:

The first batch:
This machine does take some getting used to. It won't make perfect popcorn until you do a few test runs. The manual advises to use 3 tbsp of vegetable oil along with 1 1/4 cup popcorn kernels, evenly spread around the base. I'm not sure if its the type of popcorn I use or not but I can tell you this machine can NOT pop over 1 cup of popcorn. I find approx. 90% of a cup fills the entire bowl.

Also, 3 tbsp of oil is a LOT of oil. The popcorn ends up very oily and doesn't taste good with the vegetable (or canola) oils.

Now to customize the cooking process:
After a lot of reading online about various types of oils to use I found that the type of oil to use will be decided by your tastebuds by trial and error. I decided to start with the healthiest and try using Extra Virgin Olive Oil -- the popcorn turns out FANTASTIC from the get go and I have found I only need to use about 1 tbsp of EVOO instead of the 3tbsp called for by the machine's instruction booklet. I haven't needed to experiment with other oils since trying EVOO.

I find using so little of the oil doesn't make the popcorn taste oily and its quite dry -- then simply flavour the popcorn with the butter or margarine of your choice and of course, salty goodness.

In case you've grown up on hot-air popcorn like me and are wondering if the machine will pop without using oil -- you can't. I had to try it to satisfy my own curiosity and a few kernels will pop but not like the popping rampage you get after adding 1 tbsp of oil to the mix.

Movie Theatre Quality Popcorn: Is it possible?
Short answer: YES!!! To go into a bit more detail -- I gave in to the obnoxious theatre concession prices about a month ago and bought me and my wife a $7 bag of popcorn which we really enjoyed. I have now simulated that popcorn flavour and texture to a tee with my West Bend Stir Crazy 8. -- Here's how!

You need:
- 1 West Bend Stir Crazy 8
- 3/4 to 1 cup organic white hull-less popcorn (available at a specialty foods store where I live. It sounds expensive but buying it bulk means alot more bang for your buck)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (I use Western Family brand which I know is available anywhere in western Canada)
- Becel nonhydrogenated margarine - as much as desired
- Table Salt

The popcorn turns out fabulously with perfect movie theatre texture and flavour.

The true story of unpopped kernels:
With the Stir Crazy, you'll waste very little popcorn. The last batch I made there was 3 unpopped kernels. I screwed up one batch by not putting in enough oil which resulted in a lot of unpopped kernels. Every other time however I have seen fewer than 10 popped kernels. This means I'm not wasting any popcorn when I make a batch. It's a beautiful thing.

Using the bowl to melt the butter:
This is the first popcorn popper I've owned that actually successfully melts and distributes the butter using the area provided. I find that while it does work, it creates more of a hassle when it comes to cleaning so I don't use it. I don't think of this as a con though considering it DOES work properly -- I just prefer alternate methods of buttering.

Cooking Time and the joy of watching it:
This machine will pop a cup of popcorn in about 6 minutes. The first 4 minutes of the process are pretty boring but then suddenly you get to watch quite the show as the popcorn violently erupts within the bowl. It's actually quite a joy to watch! You do need to be there to turn it off at the end of a cycle or popcorn scorching will occur. This is fine because you want to enjoy your popcorn hot anyways.

Enough about cooking, what about cleaning?
It can't all be good news. Cleaning this popcorn maker is a bit more of a job than I'm used to. This leads to the major con of this machine: The bowl. The bowl and black lid are NOT dishwasher safe. This seems quite silly to me and I am the kind of person who puts all things in a dishwasher without worrying about dishwasher safe. The trouble is if I put this bowl through the dishwasher and wreck it, the popcorn popper is virtually useless.

The instructions call for using warm soapy water over the entire unit but I find that is a little tedious and a warm damp rag does the chore just fine and much quicker. I still use soap on the bowl itself because you can run it under the tap to rinse but as I said, this is a bit tedious considering West Bend could've made a dishwasher safe bowl thus making my life easier.

The stirring wand removes easily by unscrewing the cap that holds it in place and that makes clean up a less than 4 minute job.

Quantity: 8 Quarts of Popcorn is a LOT!
I did mention that I didn't want the 6qt version of this popper and the 8qt version made me consider it. 8qts is actually a huge amount of popcorn but its just right for the groups of people I find myself often making popcorn for. The cycle time of approx. 6 minutes is nice too because I have often spent in excess of 15 minutes slaving over a hot air popper to make the same amount of popped popcorn.

Storage:
This machine is large and only serves one purpose as another reviewer pointed out. If you are tight for cupboard space you may want to take that into consideration before purchase. I am fortunate enough to have space for this unit in my kitchen so it isn't a problem.

After all is said and done:
This popcorn maker is a great addition to my small appliance collection. While its uses are limited to only popcorn and it does take a fair amount of storage space, it is well worth it! While not a health food, the popcorn that comes out of this machine is much better for you than *ick* microwave popcorn and so much better tasting. I have managed to achieve movie-theatre quality popcorn in this machine and am loving it.

One other con I'll mention before I finish this review is that you will likely gain weight owning this machine. Popcorn isn't a health food and should be enjoyed in moderation -- which is difficult to achieve once you've developed your popcorn-master skills a little. Now that I've spent the last few weeks making a ton of popcorn so that I could write an educated review for you all, I've got to smarten up and go get some exercise now!