Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Folks,

So thanks to SHEILD, we've been eating popcorn to watch TV. Since we have no popcorn gadgets, I've just been making it in a pot. And you know what? It's friggin' easy. One pot, maybe 60 seconds of shaking.

Which makes me wonder: why all the popcorn gadgets in the first place? How could it be faster to make?

I always make mine in a Cuisinart hard anodized chef's pan. Shake at the beginning to coat with oil and as I take out some to drop kernels to bottom. Don't shake in between. Easy to clean, no old maids. Never understood fancy poppers either. I make it almost every day.

I bought a Whirly Pop for a friend of mine because she has a Cooktop. Shaking a pot back and forth will scratch the surface. The Whirly Pop worked really well for Kettle Corn.

A pan works great for popcorn, but I prefer the whirly for kettle corn. And, of course, if you don't want to pop in oil, an air popper is essential.

My aluminum whirley pop is my favorite pot in the kitchen. It makes a fun gift, something you might not buy yourself. Corn is a good source of dietary fiber too! And as Fuzzy alluded to, it's comfort food for the TV addicted.

I used to make it in a pot but burned it a few times when making multiple batches (i.e. making enough to bring to the drive in or for when we have a hockey team in the backyard watching movies). We then had a west bend plug in one that worked well but the lid cracked and was a PIA to store. Went to a whirlypop last year and love it.
I never have burning with the whirlypop (guessing it's as the aluminum cools so quickly) and since JB told me you can make kettlecorn in it and we tried it, you'd have to pry it out of my cold dead hands.