There are two things going on at our house right now. One is ensuring that our 3-year-old son, who’s allergic to soy and egg, has enough to eat during and in-between meals. The other is a challenge to eat healthier as a good example for our kids. For some reason, both of those situations have converged over popcorn.
My son has come to love microwave popcorn, particularly Orville Redenbacher, which uses non-soybean based butter. My older kids love it as well. However, eating a bowl or two of the buttery stuff on a daily basis isn’t good for them. So, my wife and I decided the best course of action was to look for a corn popper. That way, the kids could enjoy the popcorn while we controlled the added salt and butter.
Fortunately, thanks to 21st Century technology, we found something that works wonders.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Presto PowerPop Microwave Popper (actually, mutli-popper, but we’ll get to that in a bit). No, it’s not a portable microwave that you may have seen on 30 Rock (and seemed like a terrific idea). This is actually a corn-popping bowl that fits into your microwave and produces fresh popcorn as good as any movie theater worker or Carny makes. And, in the case of the Carny, you don’t feel like you’ve strayed into the middle of Deliverance when your given your box of popcorn.
How does it work? Well, the company line says their “exclusive PowerBase™ and PowerCup® concentrators combine to focus microwave energy so effectively that virtually every kernel pops.” That seems a lot of “blah blah blah,” Mad Men hype. All I know is that it does pop most of the kernels and it’s simple to use. You just put that trademarked PowerBase at the bottom of the registered PowerCup, add a few tablespoons of oil, a half cup of kernels (any type), and microwave for about five minutes. In about three minutes you get a bowl full of popcorn.
Let me append that … you get an overflowing bowl full of popcorn that will cover the bottom of your microwave, your countertop, and your floor. Who knew that a half cup of corn kernels would produce that much popcorn?! Granted, my kids ate it all up, but it was interesting to see. My recommendation: if you want to have popcorn for only two I would reduce the portions of oil and kernels in half.
Now, they call this product a “multi-popper” because it can be used one of two ways: with oil and without. I know they’re folks out there who enjoy air-popped popcorn, so this product may be an advantage to you. Me? I’ve always liked some kind of oil or butter in my popcorn to give it density. By the by, if you do pop with oil you can use any type, including canola, vegetable, olive, and, apparently, motor oil.
So I say, away with you microwave popcorn bags! Good-bye to your greasiness, the bad taste it leaves in my mouth, and the odor that remains in my microwave (and kitchen) for days on end. It’s fresh, popped popcorn for my family from now on!
Clacked by Richard Keller 
on Aug 31, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
I have to admit I’m fond of just using a big kettle on the stove. Heat a little olive oil, throw in some finely chopped fresh rosemary, pop away, sprinkle with sea salt, stir well. Good eats.