Who doesn’t like popcorn when they’re watching a movie? That smell, the crunch, and that oh so beautiful taste. It’s just nearly impossible to watch a movie without wanting popcorn. The experience seems incomplete without it.

Well, that’s all well and good if you are at the movie theatre because you just go up to the counter and order yourself a bag. But what if you’re planning a night in front of the television with the boxed set of The Godfather?

I suppose you could drag yourself down to the convenience store and buy yourself a bag of pre-made custom popcorn boxes but it just isn’t the same as that freshly cooked taste and smell. So, what’s the alternative? Simple. You purchase one of the many home-based popcorn boxes.

To give you some guidance on that purchase we will go through each of the different types of popcorn popper machines, highlighting the pros and cons of each and suggesting a suitable model where applicable.

The three main types are separated by the method used to pop the popcorn kernels, and they are:

  • traditional stovetop popcorn boxes using oil or butter to heat the kernels
  • electric hot air poppers which use, you guessed it, hot air and
  • microwave popcorn popper

The Traditional Stove Top Popcorn Popper:

This uses the traditional method of popping the corn by placing the corn kernels into a small amount of oil and heating the oil which in turn heats the kernels until they pop. As such, it is the most authentic method and closes in the process to the theatre bought popcorn.

One particular model for this method of cooking would be the Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper from Wabash Valley Farms. As well as following the traditional method of cooking this particular model has incorporated a turning handle on top of the pot which prevents any sticking and burning. When you are done with cooking just wipe it down with a paper towel and then you can store it away ready for next time.

The Electric Hot Air Popcorn Popper:

The second method of cooking is by using hot air to heat the kernels. This is touted by the manufacturers as being a healthier method of cooking than the stovetop method, which it is if you don’t subsequently cover it in butter, caramel, or salt!

If you don’t intend to cover the popcorn in your favorite topping and you want a healthier option then this could be the way to go for you. A good model to look at for this method would be the Presto Polite, which offers ease of use and ease of cleaning as the plastic top just lifts off and can be placed straight into the dishwasher.

The Microwave Popcorn Popper:

This is the third and final method of cooking popcorn that we will be looking at in this article. Again, this is a slightly healthier option than the traditional method. The microwave method usually takes between 3 and 4 minutes to produce a good batch of popcorn but you must experiment with your own microwave as different power outputs require different cooking times.

One major advantage of the microwave popcorn method is that it doesn’t require you to buy another kitchen appliance. Just use the bowl that you cooked the popcorn in as your serving bowl and you’re good to go.

I hope this short article helps you as you make your decision on which popcorn popper you wish to choose.

Ian Worrall welcomes you to visit fast custom boxes on his site where you will discover much more information on popcorn, popcorn poppers, and some great recipes.