Stovetop Popcorn Maker - 6.5-Quart Stainless-Steel Popcorn Popper with a Hand Crank, Vented Lid, and Stir Paddle by Great Northern Popcorn (Silver)

I love this popcorn popper!!! I've been using it a couple of times a week for over a month now, and no problems whatsoever, other than "user error." The first week I used it, I followed the instructions and started out on medium heat on my electric range. I popped corn twice that week, and it turned out absolutely delicious and crunchy, with not even one unpopped kernel. The next weekend, I forgot to start out on medium heat, and used my "over-easy egg" temperature of medium-high instead. Big mistake! I had a small volume of totally black popcorn, and a house full of smoke. I scrubbed forever, and never did get all the burnt popcorn off the bottom of the pan. Nevertheless, the pan still works great and I have popped perfect popcorn every week since then with no trouble whatsoever, and not a single old maid yet. I didn't experience any problems with a loose lid. In fact, it was quite difficult to snap on when I first received the popper, and I resolved never to remove it. However, I had to remove it after the burnt corn incident, and have removed it to wash it thoroughly several times since then, and have had no problems reattaching the lid. No problem with both sides popping open when pouring the popcorn out either. I love the solid, sturdy stainless steel construction, not to mention the fact that I don't have to worry about leached aluminum. I listened to another reviewer and only turn the crank clockwise, and have had no problems with the cranking mechanism either. I don't understand the methods of those who claim it takes 15 minutes to pop their corn either. I use just barely a tablespoon of oil to 1/3 to 1/2 cup of kernels, set it on the burner, cranking occasionally until I hear the oil start to sizzle. As soon as I hear a kernel pop, I turn the crank continually, and have a pot full of perfect popcorn within less than 2 minutes of that time. In the old days, we popped corn in a kettle by shaking it over the burner. Very tiring and noisy! With mixed results. Also, hard on those electric ranges! Mine now wouldn't stand up to that friction without the burner becoming detached. The crank makes popping corn a breeze! Later on, I received an air popper as a gift, and decided very shortly that air-popped popcorn wasn't even worth eating. I tried microwave popcorn quite a few times, and found it fairly tasty, but have issues with the health concerns of both the chemical coatings of the bag and the effects of microwaving. Haven't owned a microwave in over two decades. At that point, we switched to Jiffy Pop, which I actually liked quite a bit. However, the results were very uneven. We always had tons of old maids, and frequent burned popcorn or low volumes. Finally, I switched to pre-popped organic popcorn in the bag. This stuff, I actually like quite a bit, especially the cheddar variety. And nothing is easier than just opening a bag and pouring melted butter over it. However, I wanted to be more sure that I was getting organic corn and to be able to buy my own organic toppings. I was actually shocked at how much better popcorn from this popper is than the organic pre-popped. Or anything else I've tried. It rivals and beats out the theatre popcorn, which now has so many additives that it tastes artificial and makes my mouth burn. This popcorn is so much crunchier and tastier! I tried it with organic coconut oil the first two times, but didn't like the flavor. Also tried it with the Amish popcorn, which was OK, but I prefer yellow popcorn. Since then, I have been popping the Eden Organic popcorn, also available on Amazon, and using corn oil. I top it with plenty of fresh butter from pasture-grazed cows, Frontier organic cheddar cheese powder, which I also bought from Amazon, and Himalayan sea salt. Absolute popcorn heaven! Now all I have to do is find some organic corn oil. I must say I treasure this popper so much that I have ordered another one, so that I can have a pristine one without all the black burnt spots on the bottom. After being spoiled by the ease of pre-popped popcorn, I thought it would be too much of a chore for me to ever pop my own on a regular basis, and continued to have my doubts after I ordered this popper. But this is so incredibly easy and so quick, and so incredibly tasty, that I am sure I will never eat any other popcorn again! I've doubled my popcorn consumption since I received it, but feel great about eating a healthy snack popped to perfection!

The original still works--well--by the way. This is durable (obviously) and consistently does a great job making popcorn. I could wish the manufacturer would make replacement parts for the little gears at the top, and possibly for the agitator rod, which are both getting worn and leave bits of metal (especially the gears) worn away. The gears in particular may snag and catch once the erosion begins, and this makes the erosion even worse. Nevertheless three years IS a decent amount of time for a frequently-used piece of cooking gear, so I have elected not to deduct stars from the rating. 11/01/14 COFFEE ROASTING I must confess I have been using my poppers for more than popcorn! Yes, I'm still using the original for popcorn-popping, but I now use my second for coffee-roasting (which voids the warranty). I actually began roasting green coffee beans (purchased on Amazon, of course) with the first popper but ran into some issues, which I'm going to share here so others can benefit from my experiences. ISSUE 1. The beans will release a lot of moisture when you heat them in the popper, and because there is no oil to ease their stirring in the popper, they will tend to cause the stirring rod (operated by the hand-crank) to stick and bind in the gears and lid. FIX: to help prevent this binding (the gears or stirring agitator will freeze and refuse to allow you to stir the beans to maintain an even roast) here's what I did: I shimmed the gears above the lid with small washers to make sure there was very little play in the gears, so that the stirring rod going down into the pot would remain fairly straight as it moves in the pot below while you crank the handle. You will want to add at least two washers on the bottom gear and possibly another on the gear attached to the hand-crank. The goal here is to allow enough looseness or play to allow the gears to turn without catching or binding. Since using the washers will affect gear engagement and location you will want to use the washer/shims to make sure gears are fully engaging and evenly matched to each other so they are completely meshed and teeth are matched together without significant play or partial engagement. ISSUE 2. Sometimes (though rarely) when moisture is released during roasting, one or two beans may stick under the agitator and prevent the crank and agitator rod from turning. Releasing beans caught this way can be easily done by reversing direction of the crank-handle, but then another problem crops up--the gears will begin to unscrew themselves from the ends of their shafts. FIX: Use Loctite or another bolt-thread sealer to keep the gears from coming loose from their shafts, so you can turn the agitator blade backward to "unstick" the beans caught beneath. ISSUE 3. Over time the mechanism beneath the lid and through which the stirring rod turns will begin to erode the stirring shaft. FIX: This can be prevented with a collett or simple plain bearing made of brass. I got mine from a previous aluminum popper which wore out, but which very definitely required the collett to prevent the same issue--which happened quickly with that popper since it had a much softer metal stirring rod which would quickly erode without the bearing surface. When that popper was worn-out, I removed the bearing and used it in THIS popper--so there's no more erosion of the stirring rod. This erosion made my first popper no longer able to roast coffee, so now it's popcorn-only for that one--yet it still works fine for popcorn. If you're looking for a collett or plain bearing and can't find one, here's a suggestion I think will work: A brass spent rifle cartridge, possibly a 22 or slightly larger-diameter empty shell cartridge with the flat solid end sanded off (the surface the firing pin strikes) but leaving the wider flared part so it will stay in the stabilizing mechanism that would otherwise erode into the stirring rod. I've been using my modified popper for coffee roasting since mid-February this year with minimal sign of wear on the popper--either of the stirring rod or the gears--though I roast at least once per week, and it practically never sticks, binds, or becomes hard to crank.

Yup, The Great Northern stove-top popcorn popper is a well made popper. The pot has relatively thick walls, and might be slightly thicker at the bottom. The top is of equally good construction and latches on in such a way that it's quite unlikely to fall off unintentionally. The gears that connect the horizontal crank handle to the vertical stirring rod are pretty beefy, and they're beveled so they ought to last. I would also like to mention how the gears are attached to the shaft, which is not only with a grub-screw/set-screw (hex head), but both the shaft and center of the gears are threaded. I found this out when the stirrer was just a smidge higher than I liked, so noticing the set-screw, I decided to see if it was adjustable. I'm happy to report it's easily adjustable, just simply loosen the set-screw and turn the shaft in either direction. I noticed it's easier to turn if you use the legs of the stirrer to gently get leverage. The only thing I can add is that before I grabbed this popper, I was using my wife's pasta pot, with a strainer in the lid as it was perfect for letting out steam, plus the lid locked in place. I was used to having to let it sit on the bigger electric burner of my hot plate (my gas was shut off because I couldn't afford it) for a full minute and a half before it would start popping. After it started popping, I would have to lift it and shake it every 5 seconds or so before placing it back on the burner. With this new popper, it takes (maybe) 30 seconds to start popping, and it'll even pop using the small burner just fine. The latter wasn't possible with the other pot! It's worth every cent if you make popcorn, even once-in-a-while! Just get it if you're on the fence.

This product is wonderful! I think its way better than other leading brands. WhirleyaPop has nothing on these! The pop is made out of way better and stronger metal! They have a nice latch and pin to keep the lid on tight, no move lid moving around while shaking the pot. It retain heat very well allowing for more kernals to pop. Best of all, the gears are metal! I couldn't give it a 5 because mine came dented out of the box. Very disappointed with that fact.

I got hooked on stovetop popcorn a couple of years ago. I bought the Wabash Valley Farms 25008 Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper and used it quite often. About a week ago, I noticed that there was a part of the metal that would streak when I touched it...I did a little digging and found that the Whirley Pop is made out of aluminum. I've been reading a lot about "going green" and I knew that non-stick cookware is a no-no...and I also found out that aluminum is warned against as well. Combining that knowledge with the weird reaction that was occurring in the middle of my Whirley Pop, I promptly stopped using it and looked for something new. I have rid of all of my non-stick cookware and recently upgraded to stainless steel. I decided to see if something like the Whirley Pop was sold in stainless as well; lo and behold, I found Great Northern. I just received my GN Popper today and used it right away tonight on my electric stove. I made the popcorn in the same manner that I used to make it in the WP- put in about 1T of coconut oil, drop in 3 kernels, and wait until the 3 pop (meaning that the oil is hot enough). When I know that the oil is the right temperature, I add in the rest (about 1/4c for myself...because I love popcorn!!). A big difference between the Whirley Pop and Great Northern is that the Whirley Pop's spinner inside reaches closer to the bottom, so it mixes the unpopped kernels in the oil as the kernels heat up. The Great Northern has thicker "blades" inside, and they do not quite reach the bottom; I found myself spinning the handle and having very few kernels move. Once the kernels started to pop though, it pushed everything around just fine. The lid to the Great Northern is just like the Whirley Pop. I did not have trouble with it coming off like some other people did. If this happens to you, bend the clips a bit so they hold tighter to the bowl (that's what I had to do on my Whirley Pop every once in awhile). As for the taste of the popcorn, it was awesome....just as good, if not better, than what I had with the Whirley Pop...and without fear of aluminum contamination. Finally, cleanup is easy. The lid comes off and you can wash the device in two pieces. I love the Great Northern and only wish I bought it first. What's crazy is that there isn't even a huge price difference...at the moment, WP is about $27 and GN is $34. If you can find one through Amazon Warehouse Deals, it might be even cheaper (because it was returned and can't be sold as new. Half the time, the item is just re-packaged. It's an awesome way to save a few bucks!). If you are on the fence between the two, go with this one. You'll get the same great popcorn results and better health because you are avoiding aluminum contamination. Happy popping!

I'm totally rewriting this review & CAUTIONING ANYONE WISHING TO PURCHASE THIS PRODUCT. It's dangerous. My husband almost made a trip to the ER last night because of this contraption. Initially, my review was based on how the product looked visually. I said: "I would give this 5 stars-- but just took it out of the box as it was just delivered this morning. It took me a while to settle on this model since there were others that were cheaper, but there was a lot of dissent about which models were better. Some were described as being stainless, when the gears, crank & stir paddle were either aluminum or plastic or a combo thereof. This model is 95% stainless steel. The handle & some accents are wood. The moving gears on the outside of the pot where the crank meets inner stir paddle are aluminum. The paddle itself, along with the pot, lid, crank & all the lid fasteners are stainless steel. So it's a nice looking pot & seems very sturdy. While the lid is thin, the fasteners hold it down pretty well-- but you also have the option of completely removing it when you dump out your popped corn-- just have a good pair of oven mitts to hold the pot since the handle & crank are one & the same and is attached to the lid. It's also a nice large, deep capacity & I can't wait to try it out." I tried it out for the first time about 15 minutes after writing my review. It worked wonderfully. The gears moved fine-- but I noticed, being a lefty-- if you move the crank in the wrong direction, the gears actually unscrew & the crank stops working. I made the mistake once, but it wasn't serious enough to cause damage-- to myself, the popper, or my batch of popcorn. Last night my husband read the instructions & attempted his first batch of popcorn. Immediately the gears stopped cranking. BUT HE DID NOT TURN THE CRANK THE WRONG WAY. So we can't figure out what happened. We removed it from the heat, removed the lid & I dumped the popcorn using some heavy duty oven mitts. The stir paddle & handle had become unscrewed from their gears. With pliers we rescrewed them in & tried again for a second batch. This time it stopped working mid batch. Even though I turned off the heat, the popcorn burned. My husband tried dumping the popcorn carefully out of the pot using the handle & securing the lid with pot-holders, but the stir paddle fell off causing the handle to turn and if he didn't have quick enough reflexes, he could've been hit with a very hot stainless steel pot-- and a mess of smoldering burnt unpopped kernels. I'm contacting the seller now. Since I used the device, I can't exactly return it. But I'm pissed that I spent the money to get a better product & am stuck with an over $50 pile of scrap metal. Buyer beware. If the zombie apocalypse comes, I don't think you'll be worried about popping corn. Stick with a dutch oven over a heat source.

I want to give this 4.5 points because I love it. It makes great burn free popcorn. It would get a perfect score of 5 if it had a handle on the pot itself, not just on the lid. It’s difficult to handle the pot without getting burned. It’s possible if you leave the lid attached albeit quite awkward. However, it’s too hard to get all of the popcorn out when the lid is on. It gets stuck under the mixing bar and lid. I don’t want to waste a single kernel or leave any popped corn in the pot to burn the pot. I don’t recommend stirring it as soon as you add your popcorn as some of the reviewer’s videos advise. That just bunches up the unpopped kernels and slows the popping process.. I wait until has already popped a layer or two on the bottom. It heats up very quickly, so if you are adding spices to your unpopped kernels, you have to do it very quickly or you get pelted with hot popped corn. (Ask me how I know…) It really does make the perfect popcorn.

***Update*** March 27, 2020...still working fantastic with nearly TEN years of consistent usage! Cheers! Just made Coronavirus-popcorn last night...may God have mercy on our world. Praying for all of us! We bought this because we were tired of trying to make popcorn using a hot air popper, and we'll never go back. We always found it exceptionally difficult to get the butter mixed in afterwards, and we had a mess combined with our poorly buttered popcorn. Now my wife consistently says this popper makes perfect popcorn every time. Enter the Great Northern SS stovetop popper...we wanted Stainless Steel to avoid issues with aluminum (which is at least theoretically tied into Alzheimer's/dementia issues) so we paid more to get the stainless version. This works really awesome....we just put two tablespoons of coconut oil in, then we place 2-3 kernels of corn in to use as an indicator of when the pot is good and hot. Once they pop, we know the pan is hot, so I add 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and then 1/2 cup of kernels. Stir for 2-3 minutes, and you've got a beautifully toasted popcorn with the oil/butter/salt mixture beautifully congealed and evenly distributed, and nothing is burnt. Repeat if desired! Excellent product for the price...steer clear of some other companies...several others have plastic gears, which sounds just plain cheap to me. The gears on this unit are metal, and work outstandingly well. In addition, this unit is almost 1/2 the price of other similar stainless steel units, and gave me no issues, whereas if you read the reviews on the other units, you'll see that some of them have major issues. I highly recommend getting your popping corn from Amazon, and buying organic. See http://smile.amazon.com/Arrowhead-Mills-Organic-28-Ounce-Packages/dp/B0036Z3ULM -----This price buys you SIX 1.75 pound bags of corn....this is LESS than you'll pay most places for "standard" corn. If you don't know, nearly 90% of corn in the US has been genetically modified (GMO), and there is research indicating that this is less than ideal to say the least. Organic foods CANNOT be GMO by federal law. So you get to buy corn that is free of persistent pesticides, is GMO free AND it's less than you'd pay to get the tainted stuff anyways! I might also suggest that you get the book "101 Things to do with Popcorn" at http://smile.amazon.com/101-Things-Popcorn-Christina-Dymock/dp/1423606892 and please note that there is a Kindle version for less money, which is what I bought. Happy popping, and cheers!

Das ist der beste Popcornmaker überhaupt, ich hab mehrere probiert aber bei diesem wird das popcorn so wie es sein soll, es verbrennt nicht und es bleiben nur 2-3 Körnchen übrig TOP wer Popcorn liebt soll sich dieses Gerät holen, funktioniert bei mir auf dem Gasherd, sollte aber auch auf einem E-Herd genausogut funktionieren.

I've had this over a month and used 10 times.This product works very well and cant think of anything bad to say about it. This was doubled boxed so it arrived with no damage.The pot itself is heavy,i was kinda surprised.The top is well made but it wont likely last well if you treat it badly.The top[lid] has a metal "buckle" type strap along with a "pin" that fits into a hole on the pot,this keeps the lid strapped on good,but theres also 2 flaps that have metal clips that snug over side of pot,and they keep those flaps down tight,opening either of them is how you get your popcorn,and theres little wooden knobs so you dont burn yourself.........if you do open BOTH after popping to let out additional steam,dont forget to close one or popcorn will be on floor,guilty 2that one! I dont turn the handle constantly,i dont think you gotta,just use common sense,also the more popcorn you put in the least likely you will be able to turn the handle towards the end of the popping,i suggest you dont try forcing it because once you get so much popcorn you wont be able to turn handle,and i dont see that as a problem.With a little more then 3/4 cup of popcorn in pot,at end you will find it hard/not possible to turn handle,at just over 1/4 cup popcorn you can turn handle to very end.....I'm a guy,so i pop once and if i cant turn handle,i move pot around abit on stove element to finish any further popping,in almost all cases theres usually never any unpopped ones.I base this on a element stove at a #6 setting,although you could use higher temp or lower. The metal gears that work the stir rod are good,i actually held back from buying a stovetop popper because i heard some horror stories,but these gears are good,but if you try to force turn the handle once the popper is full of popped popcorn then i would say then this might not last.Cleaning is easy,and it goes back together easy,thats 2 pieces[pot and top]. My other popper is a BettyCrocker movienite,it makes good popcorn too,but it spits out LOTS of unpopped corn,so this GreatNorthern popper does a much better job!

WOW, Just, WOW!!! I've brought a few popper, microwave ones, air ones... This is just WOW!!! I caught out when buying this though, as I didn't notice the import charges, BUT it was worth it!!! My kernels all popped, the popped kernels were all coated with the sweet flavouring I added direct to the oil and kernels!! This is by far the best product I've EVER brought, it will help feed my popcorn addiction, for along time!!!

We could finally source organic popping corn locally so bought this for my husband’s birthday. My 3 year old son loves cooking with dad and they make they popcorn together, my son cranking the handle.

Easy to use and makes a big pot of popcorn