West Bend Deluxe 8231 Stir Crazy Electric Hot Oil Popcorn Popper Machine, Red

I've gone through quite a few popcorn makers in my fairly long life and this is easily the best I've ever used. Back in the 1950's I used my grandparents stove popcorn maker. It was the type that your stirred by hand over the stove. It popped all the popcorn kernels. You had to be careful to use the right about of heat, however.More recently I used an air popcorn maker. The one I had scattered the popcorn all over the kitchen. I tried different kinds of bowls but nothing I did kept the popcorn in the bowl. It pop most but not all the kernels. Then I tried my microwave oven which even has a popcorn setting. I tried both the popcorn in a bag that you can buy at the grocery store and a popcorn microwave bowl. The problem with microwave popcorn making is that you have to stop it early before it burns the popcorn which tastes awful and leaves a lot of unpopped kernels.I've been using the West Bend popper for awhile now. It is much better than the ones I mentioned above. It is a lot like the one my grandparents used except it has its own heater so you don't use the stove. It also has a motorized stirrer so you don't have to that yourself. Another feature is that it has a Teflon stirring plate which makes it very easy to clean. You can also stick the plate and the bowl in a dishwasher and that works very well. (It uses a lot of space in the dishwater, though.) This West Bend is unique in that timing is not critical. Even after all the popcorn kernels have popped you can leave it stirring a little longer and it won't burn the popcorn.In summary, the West Bend is easy to use, it pops all the kernels every time, you can have it add butter at the end of the popping phase if you want, it is easy to clean, and the popcorn tastes great!To West Bend: With this model you've nailed home popcorn popping machines!

Extremely easy to use and clean (I spent the extra dollar to get the Deluxe version with the removable heating plate). My first time trying it out of the box, I used canola oil and some Orville Redenbacher popcorn that had been sitting in my cupboard for a LONG time. That first time I used refrigerated butter in the butter well on top and I had left it slightly open as per the advice of some reviewers. The butter didn't melt all the way and I left the machine on a little too long. The popcorn got slightly burned, but this was entirely my fault. Even then, it still tasted great! The rotating wire stirred the popcorn and kept it from being totally ruined. I tried it again today and left the cap for the butter well on the entire time. I shut the machine off when the popping slowed and the popcorn turned out near perfect; probably entirely perfect if I were using fresher kernels!The only thing I would say about this machine is that if you're using refrigerated butter, let it soften before putting it in the butter well. If it's cold, the popping time won't be enough to melt it thoroughly. Apart from that, this machine is very easy to use and clean. It's MUCH more forgiving than making popcorn on the stove. Even when I made a mistake and left it on a bit too long the popcorn still tasted good, which is a very good sign! The texture of the popcorn was ideal. Not too dry or soggy.The only thing I would suggest is to buy the Deluxe version with the removable heating plate. It's only a dollar more and it makes it very easy to clean.

If you are a popcorn lover, this is a great machine. Read the review were someone has given the details of products to purchase to make theatre popcorn at home. This machine is a beast. I would not recommend young children using it, it gets very hot and it needs to be stopped and flipped as soon as you don't hear any more kernels popping (or it starts to burn what has popped). It requires you to hold it with both hands and sometimes the oil drips through the bottom and spills onto the heating element and can potentially drip on the handler. It is easy to take apart and clean, easy to store, and makes wonderful popcorn, never a kernel left unpopped. It also has a larger capacity to the table model that looks like cart.

I had an older version of this, but over many years and lots of use some of the parts broke. No fault of the maker itself, just lots of use. So I got a new one, this one. This one does a good job. I really like how the base of this one comes off so it can easily be cleaned. The only negative I would put on this product is that it gets a little hotter than the older model. If you let things go too long it will burn the popcorn. The heat coils underneath the removal base are exposed when the base is removed and this by itself does emit a little bit of a burn/hot smell when the base is removed. These may be things that on one else will notice, but after having an older model for so may years its a difference between the two.

Upon opening the box, this popper seemed cheaply made compared to my 20-year-old Stir Crazy b/c the newer 8231 is lighter, the stir plate comes off, finger tabs assist bowl removal, and the housing is plastic. Actually, all this is a plus. It quickly reaches temperature. Premium kernels pop fully and light with Canola or coconut oil. The manual suggests regular kernels which I haven’t tried. When it’s done popping the bowl is easily lifted off the burner. I can make a partial batch quickly with a tablespoon of oil and a quarter cup of kernels, or more popcorn if I want to share. Reviewed by Larry S. Jackson, home-popping corn for 65 years at least twice a week.

I have always liked this popcorn maker (replaced an old one) as it is fast and makes great popcorn. I like to use oil which adds flavour and It pops up very quickly.

Ooh, I love this contraption. I made fresh popcorn fir the first time in several decades. When I was a little girl there was the air popper, you got lots of fresh popcorn fast. This popper is just as good and fast and it pops almost every kernel. The popcorn is springy, crunchy and fresh. Love it. I will, however dress it in another bowl, it's easer to just pour out the hot popcorn and wipe out the lid-bowl and dress in another bowl. That makes clean up much easier. I also got the West Bend popcorn bowls and LOVE them, so nostalgic but reusable as they're plastic! (https://amzn.to/3i9cFOv) They hold half of a FULL popped bowl, so perfect for sharing.

Works well, easy to clean and great tasting popcorn!

I was a bit worried by the sticky tacking outside the bowl when it arrived. But after a wash and trial run it worked great. We’ve had it for a few months now and the family loves it.

For someone who really enjoys popcorn this was the best Hot Oil Popcorn Popper ever purchased it pops really quick and cleanup is quick and easy. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys popcorn.The one thing you do have to watch is the time while cooking it pops fairly quick once it starts popping and it can burn some of the corn but other than that it is the best Hot Oil Popcorn Popper I have ever used.