The Mobley Pop-Off

I developed a love for popcorn when I was pregnant with Mary.  David and I had to have separate popcorn bowls, though, because I wanted mine way more salty than he could stomach.  Popcorn continues to be a favorite snack in our home.  We like it because it's healthy and inexpensive.  In fact, we like it so much we have two different popcorn makers.  We thought it would be fun to have a Pop-Off to determine which of our popcorn makers makes the best popcorn.

The Stir Crazy Corn Popper on the left requires one tablespoon of oil for 1/3 cup of kernels.  When all the corn has popped, unplug the unit, put the cover on and flip it over.  Voila, you've got your snack in a bowl!  The hot air popper on the right uses hot air rather than oil to pop the kernels; however, you do need to supply the bowl.  Just pour the corn kernels in the top, place a big bowl under the chute and plug the unit in.  When popping is completed, unplug the unit but do not remove the bowl immediately because there will still be some popping action after the unit has been unplugged.


Both units took about two minutes to pop 1/3 cup of kernels and both produced about equal amounts of popped corn.  Despite the claims of the individual makers, there were about equal amounts of unpopped kernels also.  So far, the only difference was the 1 T oil and the approximately $15 price difference between the different makes.   

Stir Crazy

Hot Air Popper

Our two judges (David and Mary) tried the popcorn without knowing which was stir-popped and which was air-popped.  Surprisingly, the difference in taste between the two was barely noticeable. However, we found that we have a slight preference for the air-popped popcorn. 

Here is my nut, Mary, trying the popcorn. Poor Maggie did not have a nap, so she actually fell asleep right after dinner and slept through all the excitement. We did save some for her to have for a snack the next day, though.  Since she woke up at the crack of dawn, it was actually a pre-breakfast treat.  This all happened before my brain awoke, so, sadly, there is no picture:(

By the way, in case you're like us and want to sit down and read a book since you're canceling your Netflix subscription, check this one out: