Popcorn makers - any good or silly waste of money?

[TeamLannister]

I was considering getting my 9 year old DD a popcorn maker for Christmas, she loves the stuff & I think she'd enjoy the novelty of making it herself (supervised, of course!)...but DH reckons they're a waste of money & that the popcorn is probably rubbish...
Does anyone have one, and are they any good?

I think they're great. Easier and safer than making it in a pan, and cheaper than buying it. I loved mine as a teenager.

I don’t see the point in them. Mine always made it herself in a pan - was older than nine, though. It’s very easy and only takes a couple of minutes. But maybe they are OK for novelty value for a child.

My daughter managed to burn a hole in the kitchen bench making popcorn, so perhaps not as daft as it sounds

But it’s so easy to make in a pan. DS started doing it a 8, with very little supervision.

Someone bought DS one for his tenth birthday. He loves it and we have a gas hob so I definitely prefer him using the popcorn maker.

Ours is a Russel Hobbs one and wasn't expensive.

I never saw the point and thought them ridiculous. Then a friend gave me one as she was moving and didn't have room. It's amazing! So much better tasting than made in a pan.

Just get the microwave stuff. It’s great. Hardly any mess and really safe.

What I've always been unclear on is how to get flavour into the home made popcorn? Anybody have tips to sweeten it?

I don’t understand about why a gas job makes a difference - genuinely curious. We’ve got a gas hob. What’s bad about them?

Still use ours fairly often ten years on. It has a bit on top to melt butter and sugar in which I then mix into the popcorn once in a bowl - it's not v effective and tends to clump but gives it a little flavour.

Ours get used all the time. Any movie = massive bowl of popcorn

You can get silicone microwave ones which are safer than a hob and healthier than microwave bags - safer than micro bags too as no potential steam incidents. You add kernels and a tiny bit of oil. There are tons of websites with interesting flavour mixes too. The silicone folds down so much smaller than a bulky machine.

@TeamLannister I have a brand new one in my cupboard which I’ve never used. Would
You like it? Can send you a photo later?

What I've always been unclear on is how to get flavour into the home made popcorn? Anybody have tips to sweeten it?

Sprinkle icing sugar on it whilst it is still hot in the pan and give it a good shake. The heat melts the sugar.

Great when you have lots of hungry teenagers round, cheep, reasonably healthy unless they go wild with syrup and they seem to like making it.

I never seem to get it right in a pan either, and always end up with some getting burnt which can make the whole lot taste burnt.

@TeamLannister mean for free! It’s just doing nothing!

We love ours.

I melt syrup and butter , drizzle and stir and eat.

Thanks for all the replies! I wondered about the flavour too, icing sugar sounds like a good idea!
Thank you Frankie001, wouldn't want to put you to any bother!!

Dr Coconut what brand is yours??

I’ve pm you xx

DD had one last year, aged 10. She loves it and its an easy way for her to have a relatively healthy snack after school, also fun for when she's got friends over.

I got her a some corn, popcorn recipe book and a packet of the popcorn cartons to go with it to make it a more substantial looking and ready-to-use gift.

I love mine - some of them you need to put a tea towel over to prevent the kernels going everywhere.

Flavour with melted butter, delicious!

I've had two over a 30 year period, lol. I do like popcorn and so does dd. Dd likes it buttered but I like mine just slightly salted. Onion salt is nice too, you can get some nice flavoured salts on Amazon, just type in "popcorn salt".

Any kind of spice in butter also works...did a cinemon/clove/chilli one for Christmas