Hot Air Popcorn Popper

Can you think of a healthier or cheaper snack food than popcorn?  No, I’m not talking about the microwaveable packs that are loaded down with calories, sodium, and other preservatives to give it a longer shelf life.  I’m talking about freshly popped kernels that come from hot air popcorn poppers.

Hot air popcorn poppers were all the rage in the 70’s and early 80’s; that is until the convenience and ease of microwaveable popcorn came around.  But as we become more health conscious we have to look at the snack foods we are consuming.  Even the 100 calorie snack packs are filled with sodium and preservatives that can have negative health affects, so the best option is to go back to using the hot air popcorn poppers.

When you use a hot air popcorn popper you get fresh, hot, and fluffy popcorn with no added salts, oils, or other preservatives.  Of course this popcorn has less flavor than what you may be used to with the microwave bags but that is easy to fix.  You can add your own portions of salt, butter, herbs, cheese, or whatever your favorite toppings are. 

I’ve done some searching and have found that more than 400 plus Amazon reviewers agree that the Presto Poplite hot air popcorn popper is the best value for the money.  At about $20 you will get a popcorn popper that is quick, kernels will pop fully in about 90 seconds, and efficient.  There is no on off switch so you power it on and off with the power cord. 

Presto also has another model called the Orville Redenbacher Hot Air Corn Popper.  It is virtually identical to the Poplite except the Poplite has a yellow chute and the Redenbacher has a clear chute.  There is no doubt though from the Amazon reviewers that the Presto brand is the best there is for the money.  The Redenbacher is priced at around $25 and it too just uses hot air to pop the kernels.  And reviewers of both models agree that there are little if any un-popped kernels and that you need a large bowl to catch the fluffy popcorn that they produce.

There are other hot air popcorn poppers, some which require the use of corn oil, some which are table top models that require a lot of space but produce great popcorn, and some that are not worth mentioning because they fail to pop all the kernels. 

I have the Poplite hot air popcorn popper like the one in the video above and it works great and just as fast as the one in the video.  I also have a large nostalgic popcorn popper on a cart but it’s still in the box waiting for me to finish my home theater room so I have no idea on the quality of popcorn it will produce.  I just hope it is movie theater quality.