Presto 114316 04820 PopLite Hot Air Corn Popper
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Presto 114316 04820 PopLite Hot Air Corn Popper
Customer Review: Almost perfect
Summary: 4 Stars
I got the Presto 04820 about a month ago and I like it. The idea was to make popcorn with no oil/fat, and it gets the job done. You just put the kernels in, and in about 2 minutes, you have completely fat free pop corn. However, I did not give this product five stars for 3 reasons. (1) It does not have an on/off switch. So you have to plug it in and unplug it to make it go and stop. That's annoying and uncomfortable. (2) When the kernels start getting hot, some of them fly out of the popper. The design is not perfect because it allows some of these kernels to escape before popping even begins. A solution to this is to tilt the popper while until popping begins. But then you have to be next to the thing the entire time, you have to be watching it. That's annoying. (3) Once popping has stopped, and only 5-10 kernels are left, they go wild, shooting at you in all sorts of directions. You have to cover the thing up with a towel or something or else a flying hot kernel could hit you in the eye or nostril.
Since the popcorn has no oil, it's difficult for salt to stick to it. Try moistening the salt with a drop of water before sprinkling it for better "stick" results. All in all, I recommend the product for the price, even with the few glitches.
Customer Review: Best choice I've made
Summary: 5 Stars
I haven't owned an air popper since before microwaves. Because of what I've been reading about the dangers of microwaved food, I have made an effort to get away from them where possible. You also aren't stuck with the soybean oil (or whatever they use) in the microwave bag.
That said. This popcorn popper is so easy and quick to use. The popcorn is fluffier than microwaved. The best part is I can make as much or as little as I want. I don't have to deal with what 'they' deem a serving to be. I can mix up the flavorings or have none, whatever I feel like. And believe it or not, it's about as fast as microwaved. The down side is having a bowl to wash instead of throwing away a paper bag. But wait, that's better for the environment isn't it?
And an added bonus, it's fun for the kids to actually see kernels popping instead of seeing a bag rising. The expression on their faces when that first kernel came flying out into the bowl was priceless.
Unless you melt butter in the top, there's really nothing to clean up either. Just pour out any un-popped kernels (which usually isn't many) and put it away.
I highly recommend this for making popcorn, making your own portions and flavoring to suit your taste!
Customer Review: It's loud, but worth it
Summary: 4 Stars
I grew up with microwavable popcorn. But I often wondered who bought popcorn that came in jars instead of microwavable bags. I wonder no more.
The one thing I hated about microwave popcorn is that I could never get it quite right. It would either burn, or I'd have a bowl full of unpopped kernels. Also, I had to pop an entire bag, instead of a handful of kernels. The Presto Hot Air popper does a great job popping kernels. However, it is rather loud. It sounds very much like a hair dryer, probably because it's basically what it is. Hot air is forced through the bottom, allowing the kernels to pop.
I also like the fact that there is no oil or real "cooking" involved. Corn doesn't get burnt and most kernels get popped. The popper does force some of the kernels out in the beginning before the chamber has warmed.
The one thing that the manual doesn't tell you is how to season the popcorn. While you may be tempted to avoid the whole oil route, you'll need to use it if you plan on salting or otherwise flavoring the popcorn. I use a light olive oil, since it leaves the least amount of residue and doesn't really have a strong taste. You can use vegatable oil, but found it to be too heavy for my taste.
Customer Review: Buy this popper! It is great value & makes awesome popcorn
Summary: 5 Stars
I read many reviews on all the popcorn makers on the Amazon website. Most were not adequate for some reason or another. I bought one of the microwave type, Nordic Ware & it was awful. It made small shrunken, burnt tasting popcorn no matter what we did.
I had an old (30 year old air popper from Wearever). It was finally getting inconvenient because the old plastic top was not fitting anymore. It still ran after all these years though & with a lot of use.
I purchased the Presto PopLite Air Corn Popper & I love it. The base is non-slip, and it makes full, fluffy, fresh tasting popcorn very quickly.
The secret is to put a large, deeper sauce pan in front of it to catch all the popcorn so it doesn't end up all over the counter and the floor. Then after you have it all in the pan, just put it in the bowls you want to use to serve. In our family each person gets a bowl. Never make more than 1/2 cup of corn at a time.
This popper was 25% off on Amazon when I bought it, but I would buy it again without that. It is awesome. Simple but effective. I like to drip olive oil over my popcorn after I make it & then stir in garlic powder & sometimes some chili powder or other spice.
Customer Review: Great inexpensive popper
Summary: 5 Stars
The Presto 04820 is a great inexpensive popcorn popper. It is very easy to use--simply pour in 1/2 cup of popcorn and turn it on. A minute or so later, the popcorn gets hot enough to pop and begins to flow (sometimes shoot) out the front of the unit. Have a nice big bowl in front of it! There is a butter cup on top of the unit. The idea is to use the popper's heat to melt the butter. It doesn't quite work out that way, because the butter doesn't have adequate time to melt. Fortunately, the butter cup is microwave (and dishwasher) safe, so you can just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to finish the melting. Popcorn comes out very well popped, no burned kernels, and very few unpopped kernels (perhaps 5-10 total).
After popping, be sure to pour out the few kernels that might remain in the cooker. If you don't they might burn during the next batch. I found this out the hard way, when I smelled smoke and the unit immediately shut off. As long as you pour out the few unpopped kernels, all is well. Very low maintenance unit, just a quick wipe down, and washing of the butter cup.
Definitely, I can give a thumbs up to this popcorn popper.
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