Presto 05204 Orville Redenbacher's Stirring Popper

OK, I did hours of research online about how to make the VERY BEST popcorn.First, you need the BEST POPPER. This is it. (Nope, I was not given a free product, nor paid to write this review.) Why?* Air poppers make boring popcorn. Fat is what makes popcorn delicious, like in a movie theater. You don't need a ton of oil to make great popcorn. ONE tablespoon of healthy oil will do.* Yes you can go the old fashioned route and get a whirly pop or even fancier stove top pan. You shake the heck out of it after putting in the oil and popcorn. My dad used to do that, so I thought I should, too, but those were the days before...* Automatic, electric, stirring popcorn poppers! Yup, most people buy the Stir Crazy. So save yourself a ton of time reading all the reviews like I did and get this one instead. It does not have the faults of the Stir Crazy and it has all the benefits.* Presto has fixed all the complaints from their old model, 05201. Do not read those reviews because you will get depressed and give up on this machine, model 5204. You may not even realize that you are reading old reviews. Amazon: Take Model #05201 offline???!!!* This machine is simple to use. Plug and play. Have fun watching it do all the work. Kids love that.* This machine is very high quality while reasonably priced.Now, you need the BEST RECIPE. This is it. Trust me. I was up all night reading all the blogs.1) Put one tablespoon of REFINED coconut oil (very healthy) or 100% Organic Ghee from Grass-fed Cows, 8oz Jar which is real "clarified butter" with a high smoking point, in the popper base. Try both. Ghee gives you the real butter taste and Harvard now tells us that butter is healthy. Refined coconut oil gives you movie theater taste and it is also healthy, despite its high saturated fat content. You can do the research yourself, or trust me, I've researched this for hours. You can get ghee and coconut oil at Trader Joe's and maybe your local grocery store. Tip #1: Don't make the mistake of using butter sticks or extra virgin coconut oil. You will be sorry. They smoke and burn. Tip #2: You can make clarified butter yourself! 1. Melt butter and let it cook a little for the "brown" flavor. 2. Put a coffee filter in a coffee cup and smush it down into a little depression. 3. Pour the melted butter in and let it drip through, removing the milk solids that create the smoking problem.2) Add 1/3 cup of popcorn if you are just making this for yourself and want a lot but don't want to overdo it. I have landed on Amish Country Popcorn Medium White Large 6 Pound Bag. Why? Because it's hulless. Do you really want to pick all those horrible hulls out of your bridges and implants? No? Well this is real popcorn with the minimum of flossing. Also, it's the Amish. They are doing a great job preserving real agriculture and living off the grid. I like to support that! Tip: Many of the bad reviews come from using old dried out popcorn. Don't be cheap. Buy the fresh stuff.3) Add 1/4 teaspoon Flavacol (flavored, fine-ground salt) directly to the popper base with the popcorn and oil. Yes, I know you want the perfect movie theater popcorn taste with none of the unhealthy stuff. Everyone says buy Flavacol, but you are skeptical of the ingredients. Stop obsessing and buy some Gold Medal 2500Ct Ct Premier Flavacol. This PREMIER edition has no junk whatsoever. You are safe. Plus everyone is right: It is the KEY to the movie theater taste. Don't overdo it. The popper will coat all the kernels evenly. You can always shake on more later, but it is powerful stuff!4) MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!! REMOVE THE CAP FROM THE LID BEFORE POPPING!! You want the steam to escape instead of wilting your fresh, crunchy kernels. You know all those bad reviews? They are because people forgot this step. I know because I've forgotten it, too. Put the lid on and plug in the popper. Do you really need an on/off button? You are supposed to stay with the popper while it is popping anyway. No big deal to unplug it when it is done.5) When you notice 2-3 seconds between pops, unplug the popper so nothing burns. Put the cap back on because you are going to flip the popper and use the lid as a bowl. You don't want your yummy flavorings to drip out onto your grandmother's antique mahogany coffee table.That's it. All my secrets. If you want to be popular with your friends and relatives, send them this popper and the ingredients and recipe above and they will love you forever. :-)P.S. If you really want to splurge on the very best white cheesy popcorn, get this and sprinkle it on the hot, buttery stuff: King Arthur Flour Vermont Cheese Powder - 8 oz. Jar. Expensive, but totally worth it.

Been buying another brand for over 20 years. However, last one failed after a year, so we switched to Presto. This unit is much more robust, heats better and is silent. Completely satisfied.

only lasted a little over a year but we make popcorn almost everydaytop cracked at handle in about 4 mos

love it

This popcorn popper is a step above the rest of the pack.1. It’s an Orville Redenbacher, need say no more.2. Just like Orville’s popcorn pretty much every kernel is popped. I use store brand and get almost all kernels popped, very rare to find more than three unpopped kernels. Truly believe this is due to the stir wand being designed differently than any other popper.3. No mess like many other poppers when you flip it over.4. This is the BEST popper out there, the Westbend Stir Crazy has been dethroned.

The one star reviews are more accurate. I wanted to love this popper. I spent way too much time researching and let myself be swayed by the 5 star reviews. This popper is a dud.I bought 8 varieties of kernals: 6 Amish, Jiffy Pop, Orville Redenbacher. Tried 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup. Two types of popcorn oil, and Flavanol salt. Did everything perfect according to the instructions and tips of other 5-star reviews. The popcorn popped up just fine in the microwave and on the stovetop. Same popcorn in this Presto had lots of old maids, and at least half of it was what looked partially popped. The husks overly browned. Maybe a handful was edible in every batch. I threw out the majority of every batch I made in this machine, too hard and chewy even with a variety of fresh popcorn kernels. It was badly designed in my opinion.This is what I observed: The curvy wire that stirs the kernels only moves skinny lines and most of the kernels are sitting too long on the heat. By the time they pop, the outer husk is browned too much, overcooked, and by the time it pops it's too small and hard. Almost burned. You have to watch out for hard centers while eating so you don't hurt your tooth. The steam doesn't escape fast enough (and of course I removed the bottom lid first!), so some of it is a little soggy. If you put butter on top so it will melt down, don't bother, that feature doesn't work efficiently, and just makes a bigger mess to clean up.My daughter has had a Stir Crazy for eight years. This same popcorn popped really well on her machine. Fluffy and few old maids. The straight wire on the Stir Crazy keeps the kernels moving so they don't scorch and pop up fluffy. Should've gotten that one instead.I was about to throw this away in the trash and a neighbor stopped me and said they would take it and try it out. I'll admit I'm picky, but this popper was a waste of money to me. I'm thinking of trying a stovetop hand crank unit next. I did try a silicone popper for the microwave, but I don't like how tasteless and dry it ends up tasting, and it leaves a zillion unpopped kernals.

popcorn maker great brand replacement

The steam vents in the lid/bowl are inadequate to keep the corn from coming out chewy instead of crispy. I’m trying knocking some extra holes through the vent to allow more steam to escape, hopefully without kernels escaping as well. The stirring arm does work well though, in keeping the kernels moving. Almost every kernel pops with no burning. Note: Amish white hull-less popcorn (the “tender baby” style) doesn’t do well in this popper. It doesn’t seem to get quite hot enough to burst really hard-shell corn. I like the lid/bowl combo - a space saver in my TV room bar area.