Years ago we gave up microwave popcorn when I decided some weird chemicals in it would give us cancer. I have no idea if that's really true, but it was a risk I wasn't willing to take. We started popping our own corn on the stove. It was not very difficult and made much more delicious popcorn.
Then, our "popcorn pan" died. We replaced it with a couple of slightly different pans that we felt met our family needs a bit better - slightly larger, not non-stick, cast-iron, etc, but none of them made good popcorn. Horror!
For a few months, we suffered, until we had enough in Amazon gift certificates to buy the Wabash Valley Farms 25008 Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper
. This pan is awesome! At first, I wondered if it was worthwhile to buy a pan that essentially only did one thing - make popcorn. We make a lot of popcorn, though, and Kansas Dad convinced me it would be ok. I am so very glad!I must admit, I haven't yet made popcorn in this pan. Kansas Dad has made all our popcorn. He's a gourmet popcorn chef, but I've watched him use the Whirley-Pop and I think anyone could do it (including me). Instructions are included and you definitely should follow them, including seasoning the pan before your first batch. If you follow the instructions, you will be astounded at the perfect batch of popcorn every time. (Be sure to shake the pan a little as you spin the kernels to move them to the center of the pan.)
Hardly any kernels are left unpopped (and we have a bunch of the cheap stuff; hopefully next year we'll be able to grow our own again). They never burn. What more could you ask?
The pan is very easy to clean. It is thin, but I think with a little care it should last a long time.
Abandon microwave popcorn and make your own with the Whirley-Pop!
I promise - no one gave me anything for this review. I love my popcorn and I really love it when it's well-popped and at its most delicious.
