Customer Reviews

Cook N Home 6.5 Quart Stainless Steel Popcorn Popper Stovetop

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Basically, they're all the same, Cook N Home, Back to Basics, Whirly Pop - probably all made in the same factory in China. And they're all crap, cheap manufactured devices that barely function but kinda get the job done. This one and Back to Basics have metal gears, Whirly Pop has plastic, so an edge to Back to Basics, but the gears mesh poorly - after first use you'll see little particles of steel under them.
This one, the Cook N Home, is the most recent one I've tried. After two uses, the screws that hold the wooden handle in place fell out. Also, as the pot expanded with heat, the gears eventually wouldn't mesh at all unless I pushed the handle in as I turned the crank. I solved that by bending the inner side of the crank's retaining bracket closer to the gears, allowing for less play. And I'll replace the 1/2" screws that fell out with longer ones - the wooden handle doesn't come off without the screws, it just rotates freely, making it impossible to turn the popper over to empty it without grabbing some part of the pot itself.
Before this one, I had a Back to Basics aluminum popper which I bought for [...] at Kmart. Identical design, but much thinner metal. So the advantage of the more expensive stainless steel Cook N Home and Back to Basics is more solid construction and a thicker bottom. The aluminum popper had bad meshing problems with its gears as well. From what I've read of the Whirly Pops, however, the plastic gears are prone to splitting. So it may be worth ponying up for stainless. As I said earlier, it basically gets the job done, in a gear-grinding, screw-popping way.

Update - after about 4 or 5 uses, the gears no longer mesh but jam, largely because the center shaft has become wobbly. The gears are really chewed up too. It is now useless. I would change the rating to one star if I could.

Update: The seller read my original review and sent me a replacement pop-corn maker on their own initiative. The replacement work beautifully! Now I am completely satisfied with the product. I commend the seller for their excellent customer service and replacing the defective product without me having to ask them to.

I wanted to supplement an existing stovetop corm popper--an aluminum one with plastic gears that I have used quite often for the past 12 years. I purchased this product because it is made out of stainless steel and has cast metal gears. Although I was very impressed with the quality and thickness of the stainless steel and the tight-fitting lid, I was extremely disappointed with the poorly designed cast aluminum gears that keep jamming and sticking the very first time I used it. I can tell that within a very short time of use the gears will end up getting stripped and will no longer function. I looked closely at the gears and the teeth just don't match up properly. I have tried taking them apart, greasing them with shortening and even tried filing them a little but all to no avail. The teeth simply do not match up properly. This is a MAJOR defect with this product! It is a shame because everthing else about this product is high quality. It pops all the corn kernels, it doesn't burn the popcorn, the lid stays on, it is easy to remove the lid, the product is easy to clean and it looks beautiful. I wish they used plastic gears like the ones on my 12 year old aluminum popper--they haven't shown any wear at all and are well designed and perfectly matched. These cast aluminum gears just don't cut it.

I received my popper on May the 5th and was very excited to have a good one. I had been using one of the $20.00 aluminum poppers from Whirley Pop for 2 years and it was beginning to wear out so I decided to get a better popper that would last longer. I was so wrong. This Stainless steel popper first of all is very heavy and hard for me to empty the pop corn out after being popped. But the biggest problem is the gear mechanism. It very quickly wore down and the gears now don't line up thus the popcorn is not stirred and will burn. Some times it will catch and and not move at all. I can no longer use it. I was much better off with the cheap popper. This has happened in only 2 months of popping a couple of times a week a couple of batches each time. It was a total waste of time and money. I have not recourse because it can no longer be returned. I would asvise you get the whirley Pop Popper made of aluminum it lasts longer and works well.

As a serious popcorn lover... 3-4 times per week. I dislike microwave(MW) popcorn and prefer to pop it in canola oil without the additives of MW popcorn. I have had Back to Basics brands for the last 7 years. My stainless steel version finally wore out and I elected to go with the Cook N Home brand in October 2010. Clearly they are all made in China.. and while it cooks popcorn as well or better than the Back to Basics model... the gearing is misaligned and is noisy and sweaks. It is about half the price of the B to B brand so I got what I paid for.. If I was to do it again I would have gone with the B to B brand.

This started out as a nicely built product. Heavy guage bottom, nice design, good lid, and what looked like gears that would stand the test of time. Unfortunately, the metal gears do not grip each-other well, and over time the turning action works less and less. It starts with an occasional skip, then it skips more often. Over time, it gets to the point where the gears won't turn at all. Now my popcorn maker is completely useless as the bottom stirrer can not longer be turned. It's a shame, because this seemed like the perfect one when I bought it.

I am totally against microwaving anything, so I refuse to even taste microwaved popcorn. Air popped is just yucky, it doesn't taste like real popcorn. I won't use aluminum for any kind of cooking. I have an electric stove have scorched popcorn regularly. But when I discovered this wonderful stainless popper I thought I had gone to heaven. Extraordinarily easy to use and clean, this popper produces perfect and large kernels every time I use it. And, happily I am inspired to use it often.

bought this product to replace my alluminum whirly popper. Was hesitant with the reviews but liked that the company stood behind their product. It is a nice heavy pot but when I turned the gears to try it before I popped popcorn they did not match up, they got stuck and then metal shavings came off of the gears. These shavings ended up on the lid and down into the pot. I personally did not want that on my popcorn! Nice pot but poorly made. Would not buy this again.

I've never owned a popper like this before and spent nearly 3 days mulling over or not
to buy this style and what brand /model I'd try if I did decide to plunge in.

My first requirement that limited the field was the pot needed Stainless Steel.
This model meets that requirement.

My second concern was build quality.
This model had me worried based on reviews I've seen not to mention some nasty user pictures of what appears
to be cheap gear work assembly.

Well, I decided to risk it after checking around and seemingly the only other choice was a model called
Lindy's Popper http://www.amazon.com/Lindys-Stainless-Popcorn-Popper-6-Quart/dp/B0034D5BIQ/ref=pd_sbs_k_1

I considered that one (Lindy's ) but the price point seemed outrageous WITH shipping tacked on top. I could not determine if it was appreciably of higher quality based on reviews nor the pictures.

So I ended up back at this model.

It is stainless as claimed, at least the parts that matter which is the pot body itself. It has a decent weight
bottom that isn't some thin build like a ultra cheap pot. The outer pot and inner liner are highly polished. It heats well on my gas burner.

On the gearing. It APPEARS they may have changed that (see other users pictures). The color of the gears on mine are of a golden hue so the plating is different then the pictures I've seen. I can't speak as to the metal itself. The meshing of the gears seems alright to me on the one shipped to me. Others have commented theirs had poor meshing.

So far I've popped perhaps 6 times and no issues with the gears, yet. If something 'pops' up I will revise this review and post pics.
For the price as compared to others I've seen it seems a fair value.

The reason I knocked off 2 stars is thus. The top of the unit is cheaply made. In specific I can see where the bracket
for the handle is much too weak especially where the wood (I'm not sure it is really wood) handle mounts to the bracket.
Two tiny screws hold this handle on and they are way insufficient for long term survivability/ reliability. When turning
the unit over in order to pour the popcorn out in a bowl of some sort there is too much flexing going on at the handle
attachment point.
I would expect better of this part of the unit at the price they charge.
I can see myself having to repair this unit at some point in the future, by most likely having to remake the 'wooden' handle bit, assuming the U shaped bracket does not break. Overall the entire U shaped bracket and the handle attachment point on this unit need to be beefed up by a good 50 percent to satisfy me.

I suppose the best way to make sure it survives for some years is to totally remove the top before pouring the popcorn out. Which is annoying, one has to find mitts, fuss with the release snap, find a place to put the top, blah blah blah.

The top , by the way, is Aluminum. The stir rod appears to be some other material, some form of cheap steel I suppose or like alloy. All they have to do is beef up the U brace and handle and it would merit a 5.

I should mention the unit is designed to be cranked clockwise. If you crank counterclockwise (that is to the left for you
new age kids) the gears can become undone. The gears on mine were not welded on (a plus) and are essentially threaded
nuts that screw onto the turning shafts. One could tighten the nuts(gears) up with a pair of pliers but I think that might
be a foolish thing. It is a plus to be able to remove the gears without much grief.

We had a similar popper that was not stainless steel. We wish we had purchased this one from the beginning. It gets nice and hot (have to turn the flame down so as to not burn the kernels mid-pop) and makes excellent popcorn. We'd recommend this popper.

Decent quality and heavier stainless steel pan makes perfect, crisp popcorn.
I preheat to medium heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil - flawless popcorn
every time.