Maxi-Matic EPM-450 Elite Tabletop Old-Fashioned 4-Ounce Kettle Popcorn Popper Machine Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)We've owned this machine for 3 months and consistently use it one or two times a week for our home theater. It's been a great machine - the stirring rod has never jammed, it's easy to clean and makes popcorn fast.
I did a bit of research before buying. Here's the key features on this machine that aren't on the others in its price range:
-- Really easy to clean kettle. It rotates down and the stirring rod stays affixed to the underside of the top of the machine. This makes it really easy to wipe out the kettle since there isn't a stirring mechanism in the way.
-- When you lift the lid on the kettle it sticks to a magnet on the underside of the top. This keeps it out of the way for adding popcorn or cleaning.
-- A heater beneath the popcorn to keep it warm. Most machines just have a lamp, which really doesn't do much. A dedicated heating element does a much better job. Also a bright lamp is distracting when watching a movie. I replaced my with a much lower wattage bulb, but since it has a separate heater the popcorn still stays warm.
-- Tempered glass walls. A nice touch and easier to clean, although the door is plexiglass.
-- 4 oz kettle. I've found this to be the perfect size for 2 adults and 2 kids. It will four small bags that are about 3" wide by 6" tall (labeled as 1 oz bags of course). Once you have a popcorn machine you love to have fresh popcorn but you also don't need a big huge bag. I'd wouldn't recommend a 2 oz kettle for anybody, it's just not enough for anything other than one person. A 6 oz kettle would be better for parties or more than 4 people, but I just pop two batches when we have guests.
Other machines have these features (such as the Paragon units) but they cost around $300. This is a great deal and I'd buy it again.

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Pop up to 1-1/2 gallons of hot, fresh, delicious popcorn at a time with this carnival-style popcorn popper. The unit features a large 4-ounce stainless-steel kettle with a built-in stirring mechanism for even distribution and perfect hot-oil popping. Two separate on/off toggle switches control the kettle and the warming light, which keeps popcorn warm for hours. The thoughtfully designed machine also provides a pull-out kernel crumb tray, plexi-glass windows and door for safe viewing, and a detachable kettle for easy cleaning. Whether popping corn for a fundraiser, birthday party, or movie night with friends, the appliance offers a festive addition to any social gathering. Accessories include a measuring spoon, a measuring cup, and a handy scooping trough. Reminiscent of the old-fashioned theatre-style popcorn carts, but in a smaller size that can fit on a countertop or table, the hot-oil popcorn popper measures approximately 17-2/7 by 20 by 23-3/5 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

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Popcorn Bags (8") - 50 Count Review

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(More customer reviews)I ordered this bag thinking it would be nice and easy to distribute popcorn to guests and customers. Boy was I wrong. The bags were so flimsy. If you hed the bags by the bottom they would tip over and the popcorn salt and butter soaked right through them. On top of that the shipping cost more than the bags. I wil never order from them again.

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Get 50 8" Bags to serve your friends and family your great tasting Real Theater Popcorn for pennies per bag! 8" bags hold lots of popcorn.

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Waring Pro WPM25 Professional Popcorn Maker, Red Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This 300w popper is working well and will deliver ready to eat popcorn within minutes after it's been warmed up the time it takes you to get your supplies ready to use.
Looks nice and is a fun item, but if your desire is the finished popcorn and not in owning an unusual popper, you can pop more and spend less money at the same time with another machine in my opinion.
Taste of the popped corn can vary depending on the type of corn, oil and salt you use, if you don't like it, try another combination. I buy larger sized concession stand oil and flavored salt, but buy my white popcorn in smaller bags so I can keep it fresher.
I love white popcorn, you might like yellow, but don't forget you can also mix batches to get something in between.
No matter which you like, it must be fresh to have the proper moisture content to pop properly.
Don't blame your popper all the time when it can be the corn thats at fault.
The clear sides plus top and bottom that you see are all ABS plastic, For the MSRP ~Manufactures Suggested Retail Price~ (LIST price, not talking about the discounted price), it should really have tempered glass in my opinion... they do use glass in the next models up it seems.
Even the hinges for the front door are plastic and IMO should be metal even with plastic sides.
Note this popper has a pretty large footprint so make sure you have a place to put it before you buy.. it's 11 x 11 x 17inches.
It has a pretty small popping pot (6" x 3.5"), you use 1 tablespoon oil and 1/3 cup corn per batch.
In my opinion, that's not much popcorn per cycle, it would take several batches to fill the tray in the bottom as shown in the promotional photo from Waring.
I measured the popped corn from each batch and for me, it's 4-5 cups, but can vary depending on how many kernels pop with the corn you use.
I uploaded a photo of the popping pan to show size and design.
Perhaps it's just ME,but I can eat 8 cups of popped corn without stopping 8-) Count on running many batches if there's more than one person eating corn.I really feel they could have put a cook unit in this about 50% larger without increasing the outer case size. (or the price)
The lid on the stainless steel pot that you open to pour in the oil and corn is pretty small, kind of tough to hold the metal flap open and dump in the oil and corn.
The smaller size also makes cleaning a bit of a pain since the 2 lid flaps, stiring paddle with drive shaft and all attachment points do not come off and require you to get your cleaning wand or hand in half of the pot at a time since the lids are split into 2 and each is less than half the diameter of the pot. instructions suggest you pour some water in and run it to "steam" clean, but I'd still want to wipe it out after.
Be sure and clean the inside of the top, it really gets a lot of oil spatter up there.
Again just to help you picture it...Even on the kitchen counter I have to bend down to see what I'm doing in there (I'm 6ft).
One additional tip... pull the plastic tray out a couple of inches before you dump the corn from the pot... will save picking it up off the floor.
Now the biggest problem I have with it... where do I keep it when not in use? Would love to let it set out as it looks okay and would be easier to use when the mood strikes, but don't have that kind of counter space.
UPDATE Nov 2010;
Two years later, I wanted everyone to know this is still working just fine and nothing has broken, even the light inside still has the same bulb... has popped many a bowl of corn at this point.
I do note the clear plastic sides and door are showing some wash and dry scratches(dull)from being cleaned of oil spatter after each use.
Be sure to read the comments attached for more details of using this popper.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Waring Pro WPM25 Professional Popcorn Maker, Red

Make hot, fresh, delicious popcorn in just a few minutes with this classic kettle-style corn popper. The unit features a pivoting kettle with a built-in stirring mechanism for even distribution and perfect popping. It can produce up to 8 cups at a time, making it a fun accessory for birthday parties, movie night, and other social gatherings. The appliance also provides a 40-inch power cord, a see-through window for safe viewing, and a detachable kettle and magnetized door for easy cleanup. A removable serving tray comes included. Reminiscent of the old-fashioned theatre-style popcorn makers, but in a size that can fit on a countertop or table, the 300-watt ETL-approved popcorn maker measures 11 by 11-1/2 by 17 inches and carries a five-year limited motor warranty.

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West Bend Gourmet Popcorn Trio Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought this popcorn for my wife along with an air popper for her birthday. I was actually surprised to see that the different colors of corn do pop into popcorn that are different textures. My favorite is the red corn, while my wife likes the yellow. All three varieties taste great and have great texture. However, I am not sure if it is totally worth the higher price compared to popcorn you would buy in the store. The only other complaint I have is that the kernels are smaller than traditional kernels you'd buy at the store, so they tend to blow out of the air popper unpopped more than other kernels.

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This all natural Gourmet popping corn is high in fiber and low in calories, each clear container has a different color popping corn, crimson red, buttery yellow and corn sky blue, each color has a unique texture and flavor, use with the West Bend Stover top popper or the west bend stir crazy.

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