Microwave Popcorn Popper - Replaces Microwave Bags

Great popcorn maker, especially if you like little to no mess and a simple to use design. It is a great healthy option if you do not like to use tons of butter or oil just to make the kernels pop. I really like that this is a very efficient popper too, as it pops nearly all the kernels. I have used a glass microwave popcorn maker prior to this one, and because it did not contain the steam that was generated all that well, it took forever to pop the kernels and it seemed that would not pop more than half of what I put in the glass popper. Also after only using the glass popper for 2 months it broke after taking it out of the microwave and setting it down on the cold quarts counter top. So when I found this wonderful silicone one and it worked even better, I find myself entirely satisfied with this purchase, and it us defiantly worth the money. This product is made of a thick good quality silicone and has no mechanical parts to worry about so it will not rip, break, burn, fall apart or other wise fail. Chances are that you will end up replacing several microwaves before ever needing to consider buying a new popcorn maker.

I recently purchased this item (the "Microwave Popcorn Popper - Best Silicone Microwave Popcorn Maker - Makes 8 Cups of Air-Popped Popcorn - No Oil Needed - 2 Quart Capacity" by Cestari Kitchen), and I must say that I'm very pleased with it! The Microwave Popcorn Popper seems to work very well, and is really easy to use! It is a good sized popcorn popper.. holding about the same amount of popcorn that is found in one of those Microwave Popcorn bags.. which is nice. And and once you get some idea of how much time to use for your particular Microwave (because proper heating times vary from one Microwave to another), making popcorn becomes easy. I would recommend using a cooking time of 2:00 minutes (or perhaps a bit less -- maybe around a minute or so) at first.. until you get a feeling for how long your particular Microwave needs.. to pop the popcorn properly. Also cleaning the Microwave Popcorn Popper is very easy! Truly, this Microwave Popcorn Popper seems Great, and is a wonderful product! An "A+" item all around!

EDIT/UPDATE3: About 3 weeks in - works GREAT. Yes, it is flimsy and isn't Square, but it continues to work extremely well!! Produces far fewer "un-popped kernels" than the specialty microwave bags. Excellent purchase! Weird Trivia: - Would say that the Most Important Thing is to make sure the LID is on "on tightly" and that the lid's edges are lined up/square to trap steam and better pop the kernels. - Try using 1.5 ounces-ish instead of "1/4" cup. Many reviewers have written "used less than 1/4 cup" as too much causes the container to overflow. For myself, experimented and noticed near-perfect results when using my little 1.5 Ounce Measuring Spoon. 1.5 Ounces = 3 Tablespoons. Oddly enough, the back of the popcorn container says that 3 Tablespoons = "One serving" (whatever). This fills the Popcorn Popper almost to the top, and on average less than a dozen or so kernels remain un-popped. - Ideally makes about 1.5 Quarts of popcorn (see original picture) as the little bowl in the picture is a 1.5 Quart bowl. If one DID use "1/4 cup" - or 25% more - then it would certainly produce a yield closer to 2.0 Quarts of popcorn, but the container would *always* overflow as this isn't a "2.0 quart container". I cheated and filled the Cestari Popper with water - filled to the very lip it holds about 1.75 quarts of water. - They do recommend getting "good quality popcorn" for better results, and the ones I've been getting locally can be found on Amazon at different prices for different quantities (B00819SSGK) - bulk prices costing less than smaller purchases. - I tend to overthink microwave popcorn as having a microwave bag of popcorn set of the smoke detector a few years ago was One Time Too Many. That said, am now using this wonderful Cestari Popper with 1.5 ounces of popcorn at an appropriate power level for 2:10 which results in non-smoky popcorn with few unpopped kernels. Perfection every time. EDIT/UPDATE2: I originally purchased a "clear" (Platinum) one and then ordered the "red" (Carnelian) one for comparison. They *BOTH* have that odd line line/crease/cut on the inside-bottom, so guessing it is either "The Way It Is Made" or most likely from having to fold/crush the item into Too Small A Box for shipping. (See pictures) No point returning the "clear" one as if the "red" one also has the same issue, then they ALL will. Original review.. ------------------------- A few months ago I came across a Soylent Green New Deal story that mentioned how some eco-friendly disposable food containers were allegedly NOT eco-friendly (big surprise) *and* as an bonus might also contain some potentially cancer-y chemicals. Further unrelated reading led to information which implied that the same potentially cancer-y chemicals Might ALSO Be Found in some "instant" microwave popcorn bag products. Thus a sudden interest in "air popping", either with a dedicated machine or something for the microwave. ????? ---------- Found many interesting products via Amazon, but narrowing it down was the usual ????? bit. Discovered the Buzz Words "Pinch Test" which led to learning of "fillers" and that one should aim for "100% Food Grade" items as those allegedly lack said "fillers". Then pondered about the shape/size of the object, as I didn't wish to damage the top of the microwave. Some products offered a "floating lid" whilst others appeared to use something non-specific. THIS product looks to use an actual lid (with a small hole) and also lists as "100% Food Grade" - figured it was worth a shot. Although the Red version would be ideal, bought the Clear version instead to keep an eye on things. Can always buy another one in Red later. Arrival ----------- Unpacking wasn't pretty (see pictures). Looked like five pounds of something crammed into a four pound box, or in other words the box was "bowed" in the middle from a too-large item crammed into a too-small box. Once unpacked, tried to coax it back into something resembling a square, but had trouble getting the lid to line up with the sides. A popcorn-popping container needs "steam" in order to properly pop the kernels, and if the "steam" escapes too quickly then the kernels won't pop. I eventually noticed that flexing/fluffing/squeezing the corners would more-or-less get the sides to line up with the lid. Shall try inserting something later to try molding it back to a proper "square". Preparation ------------------- Measured out "a bit less" than 1/4 cup as others reviews had mentioned - depending on The Brand Used - that 1/4 cup might be Too Much. Additionally, the microwave in question has some Plastic-y Disc mounted to the inside top, so there was cause for concern that steam coming out of the small hole in the lid might potentially damage the top of the microwave. Fortunately I have some raised "splatter guards" that would allow room for the small hole to vent steam whilst directing that steam sideways and clear of the top of the microwave. Put them both in the microwave, pressed the Infamous "Popcorn" Button, and stayed nearby to watch/listen. Microwave.. ------------------- In this microwave, the previous "bags" of microwave popcorn took about 1:20 to finish on Normal Settings, and the ???? "Popcorn" Button seemed to take around a minute and a half. No clue, as when there started to be a "delay" in the sounds-of-popping, it was STOP BUTTON TIME. Will fumble out the specifics later.. ..whatever model.. ..whatever power setting.. ..whatever time.. ..Trial And Error. There was some moisture/condensation on the inside of the "splatter guard", but that's what it's for - Dirty "splatter guard" = Not-So-Dirty microwave. YES, the container was HOT to the touch, so had to take care to avoid unhappy fingers. The "clear" version lived up to it's name, and was able to watch the "popped" kernels jump into the air and bounce off the lid. I think the lid might have potentially slipped off, but the additional weight of the "splatter guard" kept the lid from misbehaving. Popcorn!! --------------- IT WORKS!! In fact, the "slightly less than 1/4 cup" was still a bit too much, so will reduce it a little more on the Second Try. About 15-ish kernels were left over, which is about the same as when using the "bag" version. Guess it depends on the brand used, but in this case the "slightly less than 1/4 cup" produced a greater volume (by bowl) than when using the "bag" version. Guess this means that this little container makes the same amount of popcorn as one gets in the average microwave "bag". Zzzzz.... ------------ Guess in conclusion - IT WORKS!! Only downside is that it arrived squished into a small box so came out mishapen and wasn't really a true "square". Had to flex/bend it back into shape else too much steam might escape via the sides and the kernels wouldn't pop correctly. Cleaning was easy, although had to take care with items getting trapped in the corners. This is a *Great Buy* as air-popping kernels costs much less than the "bags" and the jar-of-kernels takes up less shelf space that the same amount of "bag" product. Best of all, no potential cancer-y chemicals from the "bags", so Win-Win all around. Just did a Second Try with a bit less - only had to get the lid to lined up and Listen *Very* Carefully for when popping started to slow - perfection! ??? If one needs to produce more popcorn "in bulk" then I suppose either get several of these (and stack them when not in use) or perhaps one of those glass (?) coffee-pot-looking ones. Have two of the Cestaris now, and can run one-after-the-other producing 1.5 quarts each time. Everyone gets their own 1.5Q bowl of popcorn. May need to order more bowls..

The product comes in a flat box, so you have to manipulate the silicon box into shape. I’ve yet to get the top to fit completely on the box. As far as popping corn, it does okay.

Best popcorn popper ever! We have 2!

I was excited to get this, and then, I wasn't. It does what it is supposed to do, just not very well. I pulled this out of the box, and it would not hold its shape. It called for a 1/4 cup of popcorn, but it only popped 1/3 of it. It took longer than my popcorn setting on my microwave. It was under $10. It's smaller than you think it is. It's just not worth it.

Works well dry and with oil. It is easy to use, clean and store. I have since gotten rid of my air popper and oil popper with the metal stirring arm. (Yes, I did have and used both--I really like popcorn.) Now, I just have this. I use a touch less than the recommended amount of popcorn kernels, and I feel that gives me slightly better results. I also set my microwave for 4 minutes instead of 3 and listen to the time between pops after 3 minutes have passed. I very rarely let it go the full 4 minutes. It is no different than any other microwave popcorn, for best results you really do just have to listen to it. I do not know why people don't understand this. It is not difficult. You lose your right to complain about sooooo many unpopped kernels/burnt popcorn if you do not listen to it at the end (we're talking about less than 60 seconds here--it is not a huge commitment). I have forgotten and burnt my popcorn; I did not blame this product; it was user error. I have also been lazy and just set it for 3 minutes and just had a few more unpopped kernels. There are kernels that do not pop. There really aren't that many. I personally don't see this as a problem/deal breaker. Anyone who has had bag microwave popcorn knows there are duds or kernels that need more time...but you aren't going to burn all the popcorn just to pop one more. Popcorn is cheap--really cheap in the wonderful world of snacks. I'm not big on wasting food, but I also don't lose sleep over a few unpopped kernels when I have a full container of hot, fluffy popcorn in my lap.

It was okay but

Bought this product thinking I was getting a pure 100% silicone popcorn popper. However, when I did the pinch and twist test, there were white streaks. This means it has fillers and is not 100% pure silicone. This is false advertisement. Very disappointed!

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