Many popcorn lovers go to the movies just to eat great tasting popcorn, but only a few know that you can get that great movie popcorn taste at home as well.

I’ve found that the best home popcorn machine for this is the Whirley Pop Popcorn Maker, which is a stovetop popper. Its durable aluminum pan has a clip-on lid, which has a stay-cool handle attached to it. Once you fire it up, you have to rotate the handle, which rotate a rod in the pan. This rotating rod makes sure that all kernels receive the same amount of oil and heat. The Whirley Popcorn Maker has steam vents on its lid, which allows steam to escape, keeping your popcorn free of excess moisture.

First of all, you’ll need to prepare the ingredients, based on the amount of popcorn you want to have in the end:

Quarts of Popcorn | Amount of Oil | Amount of Corn

2 |1 tablespoon | 1/3 Cup

4 |2 tablespoon | 2/3 Cup

6 |2 tablespoons | 1 Cup

8 |3 tablespoons | 1 1/4 Cups

And follow the following steps:

1. There is no need to preheat the popper or the oil.

2. Mix the required oil and amount of corn in your Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper and place it onto your stove (either electric or gas) and turn the stove to medium. At this stage you don’t need to add any seasoning, just the oil and corn.

3. Slowly and consistently turn the wooden crank, and adjust the stove temperature so popping is finished in about 3 minutes.

4. Start turning the lever, and continue to do so all the way through the popping process. You may stop when these is only an occasional pop of about 1 every 2 seconds, or when the stay-cool crank becomes hard to turn.

5. You need to take the popper off the stove when the popping is finished.

6. Pour the popcorn into a serving bowl.

7. Pour some butter and sprinkle some salt or popcorn seasoning onto your popcorn and enjoy!

Whirley Pop Popcorn Popping Tips

* If you set the heat too high, you will burn your popcorn! Medium heat is the way to go!

* 1-2 tablespoons of oil is enough, drenching it in oil will ruin the popcorn.

* Use good quality corn.

With the recipe above, you will see, that it is very possible to make movie style popcorn in your own home. It will be healthier as well, since they add a lot of artificial ingredients and flavors to movie popcorn due to its almost being mass produced, so even though the Whirley pop uses oil, it will still be healthier.

If you want a virtually zero calorie popcorn treat, go for a hot air popper, as it uses revolving air to pop the kernels instead of oil. The result will be a fibre rich snack, but it won’t have the same taste. You can prepare seasoning and sprinkle it on, even add some butter at the end, but it won’t have the same movie taste.

If you love popcorn, you have to try Tom Fischer’s recipe. His website, HotPopcornPopper.com lists man more popcorn recipes, as well as a handpicked popcorn popper selection, including the Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper mentioned in the movie popcorn article.

If you are a popcorn lover, you must have heard of popping corn with the use of hot air. But, you may not know, that this results in one of the healthiest, yet most delicious snacks ever! Popcorn popped with revolving hot air in an air popper will contain practically no fat, cholestorol or sodium, and is a good source of dietary fibers. Air popped popcorn can be seasoned at the end, so your popcorn snack can be unique each time you pop a new batch.

How do you make the snack you never have to feel guilty about?

Air popped popcorn is naturally popped corn kernels popped in an air popcorn maker. An air popcorn maker is a standing popcorn machine about 30 centimeters tall, which has a kettle with an opening on its top, where the popcorn is added.

Once you have filled up the kettle with the desired amount of popcorn, turn the hot air popper on, and watch through the see-through top as the kernels are flown around the inside of the kettle in a circular motion. This is done by circulating hot air inside the kettle, which eventually heats every single kernel causing them to rupture and become popcorn. The popped kernels start filling the kettle, and finished popcorn starts pouring into your serving bowl.

And the best part is that once the popcorn has popped, you can pick the seasoning you want to add, meaning that your unique, seasoned to taste popcorn will satisfy any craving. The most popular, quick-prepare seasonings are:

- nutritional yeast for a cheese popcorn flavor

- chili powder

- chili powder

- chili powder

- sugar and cinnamon (1/3 cup sugar needs 2 teaspoons of cinnamon)

Air popcorn makers are very efficient kitchen appliances, since they will leave almost no kernels unpopped. The popping cycle is around 3 minutes, which means that they are very quick and easy to use. If you are on the market shopping for an air popper, you will find that they are easy on your wlallet. A reliable Presto hot air popper’s pricetag will be around $20, while vintage style designer air poppers cost as low as $39.

You will see that natural popcorn kernels are much cheaper than microwave popcorn bags as well, so not only is it lighter on your wallet, it’ll be lighter on the calorie side as well. Natural popcorn kernels can be found at any grocery store, usually right next to the microwave popcorn bags, so have a look for yourself! This is one of the very few instances, where a snack thats good for you will be cheaper than the “artificial” version.

Air popped popcorn nutritional info, one serving (1 cup, 8 g)

- 31 calories

- ZERO saturated fat

- 0 mg cholesterol

- 1 mg sodium

Safety tips on using a hot air popcorn popper:

- Hot unpopped kernels can fly out through the spout while they are still being circulated with hot air, so standing right in front of the air popper while the corn is still popping is not advisable.

- The spout will emit hot air during operation, which can cause skin burn if you’re not careful.

- The hot air emitted by the popcorn maker will heat up the serving bowl you place under the spout to catch the popcorn. Metal heats up very rapidly, so it is advisable not to use metal bowls.

If you want to make healthy air popped popcorn at home for your friends and family, visit Tom Fischer’s website, HotPopcornPopper.com, to have a look at a great popcorn recipe collection, and have a look at a handpicked air popper selection.