Lehman's Manual Stovetop Popcorn Popper, Stainless Steel Popcorn Maker with Stirring Rod, No Measuring Needed, Doubles as Cooking Pot

This is an excellent pot to make amazing popcorn.High quality and functional. It doubles as a pasta pot.

This is an awesome popcorn maker. I do not know why my popcorn is still tough, but it only takes a couple minutes to make, verses the five to ten minutes of the old electric spin ones. I pull the pop corn out as quick as it is done, which is usually about a minute on induction stove top.

This is the best popcorn popper I have ever owned, and I have owned just about all of them over the years. Most poppers are over-designed: as the British say, “too clever by half”. This one has elegant simplicity, which is actually hard to achieve. There are no gears to fail, no hinges to gum up, etc. The compact dimensions and handles make it easy to store. The stirring rod is easy to use. The simplicity makes it easy to keep clean. Although you actually judge when popping is done by the sound, I like the glass lid. I get a little kick out of watching them pop. I have seen reviews that criticize the lid because of condensation falling into the popcorn. I find if you lift the lid straight up rather than tipping it almost all of the condensation stays on the lid. They make a unique selling point of the way the popper is designed so that you don’t need to measure. They give tips and trouble-shooting on how to eyeball the amount of oil and corn without measuring. I actually like measuring, and the dependable results you get when you measure. 1/8 cup oil, 1/2 cup popcorn, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Their directions call for putting the corn in with the oil and heating them together. I prefer pre-heating the oil by adding a few kernels to the oil, waiting for them to pop, and then adding the rest of the popcorn. I find there are fewer un-popped kernels that way. I like to tip the hot popcorn into an oversized bowl, salt it, and stir it. The stirring not only mixes the salt evenly, it also causes most of the un-popped kernels to fall to the bottom. I then scoop it out into a smaller bowl, carefully leaving the un-popped kernels in the bottom of the big bowl to be discarded. This is much easier on the teeth.

Not everyone uses Oil and I am truly disappointed. I love popcorn and so does my Parrot. This Popper I played around with several batches and the first recipe 3 TBS Oil, Butter or whatever, plus 1/3rd cup of Popcorn was a few bowls full of soggy scortched popcorn at best. The second batch was double and the same only double the Scortched Batch. It should have been 3TBS of Oil or Butter to 2/3 cup of popcorn and then you would have gotten a family size bowl. My real turn off was the butter being scortched. I may have just gotten used to eating dry popcorn with butter poured later after popped, but it made me sick cooked in butter. The salt in the butter cooking it that way had a bite to it. There was no butter or salt later necessary. It just didn't taste right. So the birds outside have a treat for tomorrow. Guess I will get just the regular air popper and pour butter over the popcorn. Too bad. I envisioned the popcorn the way us kids used to have it over the stove shaken back and forth the burner, with butter and popcorn unmeasured. I honestly thought this would be similar, but it wasn't. You just can't cook it in butter like this. The butter scorches. I don't believe in hydrogenated oils or partial oils or whatever. I want the real thing. Also the nuts were not tightened which could have caused a problem. Some of the liquid did come out as popping, not just steam. I think even the whirly poppers would be similar to this. So I will go back to the air popper. It is healthier and you can regulate the butter, oils or whatever you decide to use. So I'm returning tomorrow. I tried to like it. I normally fight returns, but it is policy now on Amazon, so in that case, this is to big of an expense to just throw away being unhappy about it. The UPS is one hour drive from my place. Think first before you buy. I would not recommend and Amazon is taking over a lot of the shipping now.

This was a great popper! I have used it multiple times, anywhere from 3-5 times a week, sometimes twice a night! I’ve had it over a month now.The lid finally shattered on it, and looking at reviews, looks like mine lasted much much longer than others.Like I said, it’s been a wonderful popper for me, but I’m pretty bummed the lid gave out.

Upon trying an Automatic Popcorn Maker which gradually declined in performance after 10 batches or so, I decided to go back to the Stovetop method. This produced the resolution I was looking for, BUT ... shaking the pan over the gas burner during the popping cycle was scratching the bottom of the pan. I decided to try Lehman's Manual Stovetop Popper. I cannot express how impressed I am. It made a perfect batch of popcorn on the second attempt [the first try produced a good batch, but unfortunately some kernels burned on the bottom and was a challenge to scrub clean afterward]. For the second batch, I added a bit more Oil [I use Organic Avocado Oil ordered from Whole Foods] and ensured I let it warm up before swirling the oil to coat the entire bottom and up the sides a bit. I then coated the bottom with a layer of Kernels as directed. Once it began to pop [within about 2 minutes or so on medium heat], I began turning the crank. The vent holes on the lid let just enough steam to escape to ensure a crispy batch of perfectly popped kernels. No burned Kernels at all. The Pot and Lid are easy to clean {sans burned kernels from the first attempt].It makes a huge batch of Popcorn [about the same amount or more as a large tub at your local theater]. I don't apply butter, but drop half the batch into a large bowl and season with Butter Flavor Powder [Vegan and Low Calorie] and Truffle Salt, then add the remaining kernels from the pot and repeat seasoning. This addictive batch of perfectly popped and seasoned popcorn makes TV time at home pure heaven! If you love your popcorn and are seeking a popper that actually works as advertised ... look no further. This is the one!