Popcorn Popper Review

For a while, it looked like microwave popcorn might make popcorn poppers obsolete. But while their convenience may be hard to beat, bags of microwave popcorn carry a heavy payload of fat (usually in the form of vegetable oil), salt and artificial flavorings (see our companion report on microwave popcorn). They're also more than twice as expensive as popcorn you pop yourself. The best popcorn poppers can quickly turn kernels into a cheap, healthy snack for a crowd.

The best popcorn popper review comes from Slate.com's Torie Bosch, who tests three hot-air popcorn poppers and three that use oil. Most other publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Cook's Illustrated, compare results from only one type of popcorn popper. Bosch not only discusses the pros and cons of each type of popper but also rates the finished popcorn for flavor and number of "old maids," or unpopped kernels. What's more, Slate is also the only publication that includes a photo of each popper alongside its review. Reviewers don't agree on the best popcorn popper, so we turned to Amazon.com and Epinions for candid owner-written reviews. In some cases, these reviews reveal build-quality problems that appear only after months of use.

One popcorn popper that receives overwhelmingly negative user reviews is the Toastmaster 6203 (*Est. $20) hot-air popper. Out of two dozen user reviews on Amazon.com, the overwhelming majority give it the lowest rating possible. Four reviewers at Epinions also give this popcorn popper a finger-wag. Reviewers at both sites say that the Toastmaster 6203 is noisy, produces stale tasting popcorn, doesn't pop many of the kernels and can shoot hot popcorn and unpopped kernels all around the kitchen, leaving some to pop wherever they fall.