SmartStore™ Stirring Popcorn Maker Aqua

I have had this popcorn maker now for over two years and it is still wonderful; providing me with the popcorn I need when I need it and saving me a lot of money and time. The only trick to this is that I must use oil or butter which is already melted to ensure the right amount for the kernels and then watch the popcorn pop when I flip down the switch. When it is ready, I manually turn the heat off by flipping the switch up or unplug the machine because the switch does not turn off on time automatically. This prevents burning. I am not sure why this machine doesn’t automatically turn itself off, but it had this issue when I received it.

This popcorn maker is quite well. My only gripe is that the stir rod needs to be removed to clean and difficult to put back after cleaning. Otherwise the popcorn maker works fine. Experiment with the oil quantity to see what works for you. I don't recommend you putting butter on the popcorn while it is popping. Wait and put the butter after the popcorn has completely popped, and you place the popcorn in a plastic bowl. Enjoy.

This is a decent home popcorn popper. Like all of them, it will have issues getting the revolving wand bent to fit right. Too low and it scrapes the thin non-stick coating, too high and it misses the popcorn kernels it is supposed to keep moving. I am satisfied with how well this machine has worked for us. I don't look at these as long-term keepers. I am sure I will be needing another in a few years.

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When following the instructions, it's fairly easy to clean and doesn't make too much of a mess. But it does make popcorn that is probably a little better than microwave. Any oil that splashes onto the sides of the cover (actually the bowl, when you invert it at the end) gathers in a black trough. When you invert it to put the popped corn in the bowl and remove the cooking part, then some of that gathered oil will flow down the *outside* of the bowl. Not bad as long as you know to wipe it up. The popcorn made this way will be a little chewy because the explosion that erupted the kernel was a *partial* one. It leaves a medium sized main "ball" and then some outlying crispy bits. However, great popcorn, which is created due to a *sudden and complete* explosion of the contents of the inside of the kernel does not have that "ball" and everything is made up of fragmented crispy bits. This kind has way more crunch and tenderness. To make it, you have to add more oil, maybe 3-4x the recommended amount on the instructions. This surrounds the kernel for more even heating, which gives the more complete explosion. Also when you use this much, the popcorn tastes a lot better, and doesn't need any butter added. But it doesn't feel greasy at all. The problem is that using this much oil means that there's more on the walls of the bowl, more to gather in that black trough, and more to drip down on the outside of the bowl later. However, in all cases, it is a very quick thing to get going (if it's clean already), and you truly can hit the button and let it do the work. All the human work comes at the end. I think we're at the point now, where if I know I just want to make one bowl of popcorn, I won't bother with it, due to the cleanup and potential mess. However, if ai know I'll be making several over the course of a few days, I'll likely whip it out and use it... making sure to have paper towels on hand to wipe down the bowl and the trough. Due to the messy bowl, I advise always moving the popped corn to another bowl after making it.

Easiest popcorn to make. This is so awesome 👌. Easy to operate, clean and has a handy bowl. We are so HAPPY!

Excellent