Wabash poppers with kernels (Nylon Gear, Silver)

I felt compelled to write a review after owning this popcorn popper for more than four years and seeing it churn out a perfect batch time after time. The manufacturer deserves praise for this product. It works just as well -- indeed slightly better -- than the day I bought it. I use a half cup of kernels and a little oil, over a gas stovetop burner on high, and it consistently makes a fully-popped batch with zero waste. I have to hunt to find a single unpopped kernel. Nothing is burnt. It's fast, extremely economical, high-performing and durable. I can't ask for anything more. Although it is lightweight aluminum, it has proven perfectly durable, even though I was a bit skeptical of the thinness of the metal and the little stirring arms when I got it. The whole family, including kids, use it. It's been dropped once or twice, too! You don't really need the heat retention of thicker metal like cast iron for popping popcorn, as long as the bottom is hot enough, which I've never had trouble obtaining. I use oil only: olive oil most times, corn oil in a pinch. I followed a reviewer's advice not to wash it with soap and water or put it in the dishwasher. All I do is wipe it out after a batch. As with cast iron, it has developed a light seasoned coating on the bottom, which enhances the non-stick quality of the bottom surface. That's why I say it works slightly better now than it did the first day. Early on I would sometimes get a kernel stuck to the bottom; now that doesn't happen at all. All popped kernels rise to the top and the unpopped fall to the bottom till it's done. And I use cheap generic popcorn most times. The gears and stirring rod still work just fine. You don't have to crank it fast. A lazy one rotation a second always works for me. If you feel a kernel slip under the stirring rod at the bottom (you'll feel a slight drag), just reverse direction and it usually comes out from underneath. I don't know if other people crank it rapidly but perhaps that leads to more wear on the gears? That said, my kids still crank it fast and I've had no problems. The only maintenance I've done on it a couple times is to bend slightly the little metal clips that secure the cover's side flaps to the pot. After many openings and closings, these can get a little loose. It's just like the metal clip that keeps a typical mailbox shut. Just press it inward slightly and it secures tightly, good as new. I don't think I'll ever go back to electric poppers or microwave bag popcorn. Microwave bag popcorn tends to burn or waste a lot, it's relatively expensive, and it's got all kinds of fake flavors I don't enjoy. (If you like those, you can always buy "movie theater" flavored oil at the store.) Popping our own corn, everyone can add whatever amount of butter, salt, etc. they like. I've owned a few electric models, and besides being noisy, they're slower, they've failed after a few years, and while better than microwave bags, electrics still tend to spit unpopped kernels into the bowl. And if you have kids, you might know the drill with electric poppers: if the bowl gets bumped, the butter-melter is removed, the lid knocked accidentally, popcorn goes flying everywhere. Whirley-Pop is tidy. Of course you have to watch younger kids if they're novices using the stove. But compared to an electric popper, I've gotten a far better return on my investment with Whirley-Pop. It's simple, so there's far less to break: no switches to fail, fans to break down, or coils to burn out. Storing it is easier too. There's no parts to keep track of -- it stores as a unit under the cupboard. Again, a boon with kids. The only "pro tip" I've developed is to pour in the oil, then the kernels, crank it once or twice to spread them out and coat them with oil, then give it a little side-to-side shake. The stirring arm tends to push the kernels all to the outside initially. Shake it a little, and you get a nice even layer of kernels on the bottom. Then apply heat. I leave it heating like that, without stirring but giving an occasional little shake, for the first minute or two until the first pop -- all the kernels heat evenly and tend to pop more at one time. What really gets them all going, however, is that there's a cascade when the steam escaping from popping kernels creates more heat energy in the pot. This might be why electric poppers take so long -- they're blowing out all the heat energy they've generated in the bowl converting water to steam, whereas Whirley-Pop confines it as steam for cooking. Just take care to have your hand aside when dumping the batch out, since steam will escape if you dump it immediately, which I tend to do -- either because the gas stove burner grid still retains a lot of heat even when the burner is off or sometimes I'm overzealous in measuring a half-cup and it starts to get jam-packed. But in this case, just dump from the top and keep going, and everything turns out fine. All-in-all, this machine has been fabulous: works flawlessly, extremely economical, easy to maintain, and durable. If ever it breaks, which I don't expect, I'd buy another one immediately.

I have been looking for the perfect popcorn maker for quite a long time. Being a big fan (who isn’t?) of freshly-popped theater popcorn, I knew I didn’t want some cheap air popper that you have to melt the butter and poor over the popcorn, leaving cold, uneven, soggy,(shudder) pockets of yuck. And trying to get the salt on your popcorn evenly, forget about it. I then was looking and at smaller popcorn carts, (something fun for the grandkids), but a friend who owned one said they were a pain to keep clean. At any rate, I finally ended up with the good, old-fashioned Whirly-pop, and couldn’t be more happy with my purchase. The entire ensemble is a thin aluminum, but seems durable and worked quite well for its purpose. It came with a packet of oil, kernels and flavored salt. I measured the kernels so I would know how much to use next time, and it was exactly one half cup, so that is what I will use for my six quart pot for the perfect fit without overflow. I couldn’t get a good measurement on the butter-flavored coconut oil, as it was a semi solid stick, but I would start with about a little less than a 1/4 of a cup of butter flavored coconut oil, and add about an 1/8 teaspoon of the the flavored salt. Now these are estimates, but it will give you a good place to start. I washed and dried the pot well before use, and then put all of the ingredients in at once on medium and kind of spun the wooden handle a bit to help break up the semi solid coconut oil and mix up the popping corn and flavored salt. The design is simple, put practical. As I spun the handle, it mixed the kernels and oil and flavored salt, but once the pot started getting more full, using the handle was useless for stirring, so I just shook the pot a few times to make sure everything stayed moving. In I would say three minutes, every single kernel was popped, except one partially burst one. Not one burned piece of popcorn. Each was flavored nicely and evenly with butter and salt flavoring. I added several pictures, and I will explain each one. The first one is how full 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels will get you in the 6 quart pot. The next is with the stirring mechanism removed. There are snaps on both sides you just pull up and the lid comes off easy. The third picture was after I had filled two of the 4 included cute popcorn boxes for my grandkids, so this was essentially the bottom of the pot. No burned popcorn, no leftover kernels. (Impressive!!) The fourth is of the actual packet they sent with the pot containing the popcorn, the oil and the salt. I’m thinking you can probably buy the little packs of everything in one from Amazon if it’s more convenient for you. The fifth is a picture of flavacol, the actual salt they use at theaters, and a jar of butter flavored coconut oil. I had purchased both from Amazon and used it just popping my corn in a pot with a lid. (Not fun) lol. Notice the size of the box of flavacol… you can probably use it for other dishes, or share with neighbors, but this one box will last you a loooong time if you only use 1/8 of a teaspoon at a time lol. You can probably buy a smaller box of it, but I really suggest you getting some if you really want that theater experience. You can buy any kind of butter-flavored coconut oil, but this is the one I ended up with from Amazon. All in all, a fantastic easy to clean gizmo that makes fabulous theater-type popcorn in minutes. Enjoy!!

I was wary of buying this because of the reviews warning about the plastic gears. But I did buy it because I wanted good popcorn! (And this thing sure makes it!!) I am just careful with it. If the turning mechanism seems "stuck", I reverse the direction I am turning, or jiggle the handle (or pot) a little to get it to move easily again. I do NOT put too much pressure on the crank. I don't try to turn it too fast either, we are just moving popcorn here, not making meringue! ha ha!! I do about one rotation a second. Near the end of popping, there is just too much popcorn and too little room for agitating. So I lift the entire pot and shake it to help any unpopped ones filter down to the bottom. I then turn off the heat and let the residual temperature of the pan, surrounding corn, and stove help pop the potential "old maids" for a few seconds while I set out the bowls. Most kernels do pop that way and I usually only end up with say 10-15 in the entire pot. You can feel when the stirrer doesn't want to move, and I know I could try to force it, but why ruin my popper? Even if there WERE metal gears, something else likely would torque or bend if you push too hard. So I use it as designed, not as a concrete mixer! I am currently using the Great Northern 4-Ounce Portion Packs which are super easy. Cut the top, dump it all in, and stir. Medium to a touch higher, but not-high heat. The packets have the oil, the corn, and the flavored salt already measured for me. There may come a time when I want to experiment with mixing my own proportions of corn, oil, salt, possibly sugar, etc., but I am happy with the results I am getting with those packets. In about 5 minutes, I have a kettle full of popcorn for my family to share (or to eat all by myself!! ha ha!!) It is SOOO much crunchier than microwave! And doesn't really involve that much more work or time. The 4 ounce packs fill my popper to the top. I also bought Wabash's Butter Flavored Topping . Now, I am a "real" butter fan for many things, but it just isn't right for popcorn, it sort of deflates it! Without the topping, the popcorn reminds you of the dry sort you often get in those cardboard boxes at a circus or fair, but sometimes I want the decadent movie kind!! I put the topping in a squeeze bottle like this . I dump a little corn, squirt a drizzled layer of topping, shake maybe a little more popcorn salt (I also bought extra Flavacol to experiment with...sometimes I like it salty, and repeat the layers of corn, topping, salt...sorta like a popcorn lasagne! ha! It is AWESOME!I lift the lid and shake a little to get the popcorn to come out...it is kind of packed in there at the beginning of pouring! I do wash mine. Sometimes we make popcorn a few days in a row and I don't. I don't even bother wiping it out! I just dump any leftover "skins" or kernels, and add a new packet. Usually though I wash the bottom (the top is completely removable) like any other dish. Regular dish soap and hot water. I don't re-season...nothing sticks. For the top, I use the soapy sponge on the flat parts, but there are too many cracks and corners to get into without spending 15 minutes on it (which I don't do.) I just let my tap water get as hot as possible and just sort of run it over the lid to melt off the splattered oil in those places. I don't submerge the thing, and I usually just let it air dry. If you put it back on your warm stove, it helps dry it more quickly. (However, I don't always do dishes right away...I am more interested in EATING the popcorn that silly dishes! they can wait!) It looks as shiny and new as when I got it (mine did arrive with a light scratch on the outside, it was so minor that I just kept it.) The ONLY thing that I haven't seen mentioned in reviews, is that it is designed for right-handed people. Now of course you can turn it 180 degrees and crank with your left hand, but when you pick it up that way to pour, the lid with no latch is on top! (One side of the lid has a latch to hold it closed, the other side doesn't.) I have tried to unlatch it (and it is HOT) but then the other top-half flops open and the popcorn spills out of both sides. Also, the handle is attached to the LID (not the pot) so there is no way to reverse it. I just stir and pour with my right hand...most lefties know well that we often just have to adapt to a right-handed world! :D The awesome popcorn is worth it.

My husband is a Diabetic, and popcorn is a snakc he is able to eat and not worry about his sugar. He eats popcorn at least once a night. I decided to get this popper because we bought some flavors for popcorn but had nothing to pop it in - he always uses microwave popcorn. Not only did the popper ship super fast and we got it 3 days after ordering, but it came with a bag of popcorn/oil/salt - which I didn't see that it was included so it was a surprise. My husband made popcorn for the first time last night and he absolutely LOVE this! He said that the popcorn/oil/salt that came with it is just like movie theatre popcorn. I tried some just to see and he was spot on. Just Like Movie Theatre Popcorn!!!!! The popper is a thin walled one, but when you make popcorn you do NOT want to use high heet - only MEDIUM HEAT. And you gently use the crank - my husband started going at it like he was drilling for gold, and when I told him to be gentle - he got the best popcorn he'd had in a long time. ALL kernels were popped - not one left! The popcorn was light and fluffy - not burned or stuck to the popper- and no little pieces left at the bottom. So - MEDIUM heat - gentle cranks, and you'll be all set. We've only has this for a week but we've had no issues with anything breaking. I did buy some of the flavors for popcorn - the CInnamon and Carmel ones, and we used it with this popper and got *Awesome* popcorn!! No burning or sticking - just yummy flavored popcorn! I'll update my review once we've had it for a while. I paid $20 for this, and feel it is definitely worth the price. It is well made and will be around for a long time. It made popcorn very easy and in a short amount of time - about as long as it takes in a microwave. The amount of popcorn made out of the bag included was enoughf or 2-3 people. Not a ton, but just the right amount! I would recommend this to any popcorn lover out there! And with a 25 year warranty - how could you go wrong?

UPDATE 1/8/13: BEST RECIPE we've come up with for movie-style popcorn so far: 1/2 cup Snappy White Popcorn or other gourmet style popcorn, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (which is a very neutral tasting oil) and one teaspoon of Flavacol Seasoning Popcorn Salt . Use the Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper to pop the corn. Put the oil and the Flavacol in the pan on medium heat until it is very hot then add the popcorn and mix it up. Pop until it stops. This is essentially a popcorn maker which simulates the exact system larger "theater-style" poppers use. Inside the popper there is a small rotating arm which constantly lifts the popped kernels off the bottom to prevent them from burning while the uncooked corn remains on the bottom of the pan until it pops. The two major differences are 1) this is hand cranked, not machine cranked and because of that 2) the mechanism for stirring the popcorn is consumer grade instead of industrial grade. The heavier arms of the industrial poppers allow the popped corn to be forced out of the pan into the holding chamber below as it pops, thus allowing far more corn to be popped in a single batch. I read many of the reviews for this product before I purchased it. Most of the negative reviews deal with the seemingly fragile gear system which turns the popping arm. These reviews are justified, the plastic gears do seem to be a needlessly cheap part of the system, but using some common sense will prevent many problems. You will learn after two or three pans of popcorn how much corn to use. Because the popped corn stays in the pan (unlike the industrial popper) you absolutely cannot allow this to become packed full of popped corn to the point where you are forcing the stirring arm in any way thus potentially stripping the gears. You can prevent damage by taking a moment to empty part of the batch before returning it to the heat source or by using an amount of unpopped corn which when fully popped will allow some movement for the arm inside the pan. We found this amount to be an excellent two person serving. When the pan is working as it should and the ingredients are properly measured, you will be amazed at how good the popcorn is. If your normal procedure for popping corn is putting it in a pan and start shaking the pan, you will immediately notice the difference in the taste of the popped corn (and how much less work it is). Since the popper works best on medium heat with a smaller amount of oil, the popcorn seems less tough and oily than the pan shaking method. We do like microwave popcorn but you have to eat it kind of fast because it starts cooling off and the oils and seasonings start to thicken on the popped corn. This popper solves both those problems. Of course, garbage in garbage out, if you are not using good popcorn you won't get great results. Many in these reviews recommend a higher grade of popcorn and I agree. The price difference is not that much and totally worth it. The pan is pretty easy to clean, you really only need to rub it out with paper towel or something like that. The lid mechanism can be difficult to get completely clean because there are so many gears, small edges and corners, but again, you really only need to wipe them down. If it were not for the cheapness of the gear system (which apparently used to be different) and the difficulty of cleaning the lid, I would give this popper 5 stars. It does make really good popcorn just treat it gently.

This has got to be the best popcorn maker on the planet, or anywhere else for that matter. We love popcorn and used to drag out an old frying pan to pop it in, with mixed results. Seemed the only place to get good popcorn was at the theater but we watch all our favorite movies at home. We tried "air" poppers and healthy or not I'd rather eat an old newspaper. We contemplated an electric unit but didn't want yet another large appliance taking up counter or cupboard space and I don't like that some have teflon coating that eventually will flake off. Then came Whirley-Pop. Our first batch was made using the sample theater pack shipped with the unit. It was delicious and yes just like at the movies. For the second batch we used the usual Orville's brand popcorn and oil which produced the best results we have ever had with this brand. If you love popcorn don't waste your money and time on expensive electric poppers. Get a Whirley-Pop. It's easy to use, easy to clean and makes the best popcorn you've ever had. Just follow directions closely and do not use high heat. On our electric range we use #6 on a #1 through #10 knob scale, but I don't recommend going above #7. Begin using the stirring crank immediately and stir until the crank starts to show some resistance but do not force it ( I suspect this is how some people break the gear). By this time the popping will have begun to slow and you can remove the unit from the heat and it will finish with a few more pops. Pour out the popcorn into your favorite bowl and allow it to sit for a couple minutes. Simply wipe out the pan with a paper towel and store it for reuse. I usually wash the lid and crank mechanism using dish soap. Now making popcorn is fast, easy and delicious, I wish I had bought this a long time ago.

Our family loves popcorn. We have been eating microwave popcorn like crazy for some time but all the brands we use taste kind of chemical-ish. We just don't like them that much. Also tried a glass jar that lets you microwave it yourself but never got good popping out of it. Either stuff didn't get popped or stuff got burned. Most likely both. Anyway, microwaves suck. Cooking on the stovetop kind of stinks too because you have to stand there shaking the pot like crazy to keep stuff from sticking and burning. Basically this product replacing pot shaking with turning the little dial. Much easier. You don't really have to watch either, and you never get burned popcorn or kernels that have not popped. It produces a great product. You do have to stand there and turn the knob periodically (or throughout the popping process) but it's worth it for quality popcorn. We tend to add a little lime powder and make "hint of lime" popcorn that's great. Cheap popping corn doesn't work as well as Orville Reddenbockers. We'll try other brands when this runs out. Pretty sure the recipe tells you to use like a quarter of a cup of popcorn and a tablespoon of oil. That's nonsense. I use a half a cup of popping corn and a capfull of oil. There seems to be a lot of flexibility in how much oil you use. I've tried using coconut oil but it's no more delicious. I think just basic canola oil is best. Salt and stuff after everything is popped and out of the pan. Then you basically never have to clean it. We still make microwave popcorn sometimes because it's just eaiser and doesn't disrupt the watching of the movie. But when we want something delicious, we use this. The construction is pretty so-so. Very thin aluminum and the top just clamps on there with clamps that don't seem like they will last. The gear mechanism is plastic, and the little stirrer is just a wire that doesn't seem to stay put. Still, it's worked reliably for me, so who am I to complain?

This is one of the best popcorn poppers out there. Great value for delicious popcorn!! Easy to use and easy to clean. Popcorn taste so much better and yields a lot more than a microwave bag. Season to your preference and enjoy!

Excelente producto, Los acabados son muy detallados y auqnue el material da la apariencia de ser muy fragil ya llevo varias preparaciones y no muestra daño alguno. Si buscas la preparación de palomitas bajas en grasa te recomiendo este producto, pones una cucharadita o media cafetera de aceite de maiz o de olivo, mas media taza de maiz palomero y a moverle, esto te da como resultado una carga completa de palomitas en tan solo unos 3 a 5 minutos dependiendo de la capacidad de tu estufa, parrilla u hornilla. La sal tu la dosificas a tu gusto, y si quieres mantequilla sugiero la coloques posterior a que hayan reventado los maices, ya que la mantequilla puede manchar el aluminio y dificilmente se le quita.

Por fin palomitas buenísimas! Fàcil de hacer y limpiar. La pega es que no funciona en inducción... Por lo demás perfecto!

キャラメルポップコーンが目一杯食べたくて購入しました。 弾け損ねが殆どなく、中火で一気に弾けます。 蓋の蒸気穴(かな？)から、弾ける勢いでキャラメルが飛び出してくるので、火傷には注意。 でも、もうお店で買う必要なく、美味しいポップコーンが食べ放題で幸せです♪

This is one of those ‘it does what is says on the box’ Used it last night. Great popcorn, rinse in warm soapy water and good as new. Thank you

Produit conforme en apparence, la machine fonctionne correctement et fait du bon pop-corn. En revanche, grosse déception concernant la description : j’avais choisi ce modèle spécifiquement pour son engrenage métallique, mais celui reçu est en plastique. C’est un point important en termes de solidité et de durabilité, et la fiche produit est donc trompeuse sur cet aspect. Je ne souhaite pas faire de retour car l’appareil fonctionne, mais je tenais à signaler cette différence pour les futurs acheteurs. Merci de vérifier et corriger la description si nécessaire.