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Original Salbree Microwave Popcorn Popper, Silicone Popcorn Maker,...
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Customer reviews
- Original Salbree Microwave Popcorn Popper, Silicone Popcorn Maker,...
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- Customer reviews
Top positive review
No way this will work!
December 11, 2017
I've tried microwave popcorn bowls before and was not impressed by them so when a friend recommended this item to me I was certain that this would be another waste of money. His recommendation was in response to my complaint of "I just want to eat some good popcorn that's easy to fix and doesn't have all the chemical junk in it like the microwave bags have!" and he assured me that this would fit the task.
So, I bought it. Wasn't very expensive, why not give it a try? It arrived and I put it beside the sink to wash the next day. A week later, there it sat. Two weeks go by, still it sat there. I didn't want to try it. I knew I would be ticked off at another worthless item that over promised and under delivered. How hard can it be to microwave popcorn with little to no scorching, high kernel pop rate and ease of use?
As I drew closer to a month of this thing sitting by my Kitchen sink I think, "Wasted money or not, it's sure as heck being wasted right now!" so I washed it and the lid dried them well and looked up the directions .pdf from the multiple emails sent to me by the company, followed them to the letter and...what do ya know? Tasty popcorn that was easy to make, didn't scorch, the container didn't burn like kissing a tailpipe.
I tried another batch and used some spices. Scorched! Ok, lesson learned. Add things like that after it's cooked (I'm not terribly bright).
This is a wonderful product. Follow the directions and you should be happily munching away on popcorn any time you wish. It folds up nicely for storage, fits in the smallest microwaves (mine is the smallest sold by a national retailer) and the best part...NO HULLS STUCK IN MY TEETH! Seriously, I can't remember the last time I ate popcorn and didn't have to spend 3 days picking hulls out of my gums and teeth.
If you a popcorn fan and don't like the idea of all the chemicals they put in the microwave bags and don't want to buy another small appliance to put on your counter just so you can have good popcorn...buy this thing. You'll be pleased I'm certain!
So, I bought it. Wasn't very expensive, why not give it a try? It arrived and I put it beside the sink to wash the next day. A week later, there it sat. Two weeks go by, still it sat there. I didn't want to try it. I knew I would be ticked off at another worthless item that over promised and under delivered. How hard can it be to microwave popcorn with little to no scorching, high kernel pop rate and ease of use?
As I drew closer to a month of this thing sitting by my Kitchen sink I think, "Wasted money or not, it's sure as heck being wasted right now!" so I washed it and the lid dried them well and looked up the directions .pdf from the multiple emails sent to me by the company, followed them to the letter and...what do ya know? Tasty popcorn that was easy to make, didn't scorch, the container didn't burn like kissing a tailpipe.
I tried another batch and used some spices. Scorched! Ok, lesson learned. Add things like that after it's cooked (I'm not terribly bright).
This is a wonderful product. Follow the directions and you should be happily munching away on popcorn any time you wish. It folds up nicely for storage, fits in the smallest microwaves (mine is the smallest sold by a national retailer) and the best part...NO HULLS STUCK IN MY TEETH! Seriously, I can't remember the last time I ate popcorn and didn't have to spend 3 days picking hulls out of my gums and teeth.
If you a popcorn fan and don't like the idea of all the chemicals they put in the microwave bags and don't want to buy another small appliance to put on your counter just so you can have good popcorn...buy this thing. You'll be pleased I'm certain!
451 people found this helpful
Top critical review
Strong Chemical Smell
April 17, 2018
I don't understand how this product got such great reviews. It smells strongly of something like solvent. I cannot wash the smell away and would not dream of serving my children anything cooked in a container with such a chemical smell. This smell did not come from the plastic wrap, but seems permanently engrained in the bowl.
255 people found this helpful
Showing 1-10 of 8,612 reviews
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December 11, 2017
I've tried microwave popcorn bowls before and was not impressed by them so when a friend recommended this item to me I was certain that this would be another waste of money. His recommendation was in response to my complaint of "I just want to eat some good popcorn that's easy to fix and doesn't have all the chemical junk in it like the microwave bags have!" and he assured me that this would fit the task.
So, I bought it. Wasn't very expensive, why not give it a try? It arrived and I put it beside the sink to wash the next day. A week later, there it sat. Two weeks go by, still it sat there. I didn't want to try it. I knew I would be ticked off at another worthless item that over promised and under delivered. How hard can it be to microwave popcorn with little to no scorching, high kernel pop rate and ease of use?
As I drew closer to a month of this thing sitting by my Kitchen sink I think, "Wasted money or not, it's sure as heck being wasted right now!" so I washed it and the lid dried them well and looked up the directions .pdf from the multiple emails sent to me by the company, followed them to the letter and...what do ya know? Tasty popcorn that was easy to make, didn't scorch, the container didn't burn like kissing a tailpipe.
I tried another batch and used some spices. Scorched! Ok, lesson learned. Add things like that after it's cooked (I'm not terribly bright).
This is a wonderful product. Follow the directions and you should be happily munching away on popcorn any time you wish. It folds up nicely for storage, fits in the smallest microwaves (mine is the smallest sold by a national retailer) and the best part...NO HULLS STUCK IN MY TEETH! Seriously, I can't remember the last time I ate popcorn and didn't have to spend 3 days picking hulls out of my gums and teeth.
If you a popcorn fan and don't like the idea of all the chemicals they put in the microwave bags and don't want to buy another small appliance to put on your counter just so you can have good popcorn...buy this thing. You'll be pleased I'm certain!
So, I bought it. Wasn't very expensive, why not give it a try? It arrived and I put it beside the sink to wash the next day. A week later, there it sat. Two weeks go by, still it sat there. I didn't want to try it. I knew I would be ticked off at another worthless item that over promised and under delivered. How hard can it be to microwave popcorn with little to no scorching, high kernel pop rate and ease of use?
As I drew closer to a month of this thing sitting by my Kitchen sink I think, "Wasted money or not, it's sure as heck being wasted right now!" so I washed it and the lid dried them well and looked up the directions .pdf from the multiple emails sent to me by the company, followed them to the letter and...what do ya know? Tasty popcorn that was easy to make, didn't scorch, the container didn't burn like kissing a tailpipe.
I tried another batch and used some spices. Scorched! Ok, lesson learned. Add things like that after it's cooked (I'm not terribly bright).
This is a wonderful product. Follow the directions and you should be happily munching away on popcorn any time you wish. It folds up nicely for storage, fits in the smallest microwaves (mine is the smallest sold by a national retailer) and the best part...NO HULLS STUCK IN MY TEETH! Seriously, I can't remember the last time I ate popcorn and didn't have to spend 3 days picking hulls out of my gums and teeth.
If you a popcorn fan and don't like the idea of all the chemicals they put in the microwave bags and don't want to buy another small appliance to put on your counter just so you can have good popcorn...buy this thing. You'll be pleased I'm certain!
December 5, 2017
Many years ago, I was an assistant manager at a movie theater and I used to enjoy making the popcorn right as guests were coming in for shows. Now, each year around Christmas time, I start seeing a bunch of kettle poppers as gift ideas and I get the urge to buy one for myself. Then, reality sets in and I remember how much of a pain it was to clean those things AND I don't really have anywhere to store it. Same for the air popper... I already have a bunch of small kitchen appliances, which I rarely use, taking up all my cabinet space. So, this year, when a relative mentioned she used her air popper all the time, but it recently died, I started looking around for a replacement. When I saw these collapsible microwave poppers, I thought it was a great idea and I decided to give it a try. At the movie theater, we used peanut oil, flavacol seasoning, and high quality popcorn kernels. So, I ordered all of those items and put about 2 tsp peanut oil in the bottom of the bowl, poured about 1/3 cup of kernels, and about 1/2 tsp of the flavacol. Put the lid on and set the microwave for 3 minutes. I was a little worried about using the oil because I didn't want to scorch the bottom of the bowl, but it turned out great. I stayed in the kitchen and as soon as the popping slowed down to just a few seconds between each pop, I turned the microwave off. The bowl is advertised as both a popper and a serving bowl, but if you plan to use it for serving you will need to wait awhile before trying to hold it because the bottom of the bowl stays hot. I ended up using a towel to hold it while we were watching TV instead of pulling out another bowl to dump it in. The popcorn turned out great, there were not that many unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bowl, and when we were done, I just put it on the top shelf of the dishwasher! (Much easier than trying to scrub out one of those kettle units)
April 3, 2019
This product works perfect, as described. For the people that did not get it to work, they are obviously not following the directions. If you fill it to the appropriate line - for me it was ¼ cup, set your microwave to about 2-2.5 minutes, stay with the popper until the popping slows, and avoid putting anything in the popper other than popcorn, it will work 100% of the time.
For the people that it did not work for, they are undoubtedly not following one of those steps. I add a little olive oil and Himalayan Pink Salt afterwards for a delightful treat. Gourmet or organic popcorn works better for me - from a taste and texture perspective.
Enjoy!
For the people that it did not work for, they are undoubtedly not following one of those steps. I add a little olive oil and Himalayan Pink Salt afterwards for a delightful treat. Gourmet or organic popcorn works better for me - from a taste and texture perspective.
Enjoy!
July 28, 2018
This is a must-have accessory for anyone who loves popcorn. The investment is minor and the utility of making great popcorn is unmatched.
My recipe for perfect popcorn is 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil, a dab of unsalted butter, and 1/2 cup of Pop Secret popcorn. When it's done, a little popcorn salt makes this the best tasting popcorn ever!
I set my microwave to 4:30 and I get a perfect bowl of popcorn with only a few un-popped kernels. Please note that I have an older Kitchen Aide microwave that probably has 10-15% less power than a new one, so through experiment I found that 4:30 works for me. You'll need to test your own microwave for the perfect time. Whatever you do, don't use the popcorn setting on your unit.
The biggest motivator for me was to avoid hydrolyzed vegetable oil, used in almost all microwave popcorn, including Pop Secret and Orville Redenbacher. That oil is the worst for your health. When you use the Salbree, you control the oil you use and how much. I experimented and found that if you use fresh popcorn, you can use the Salbree with no oil at all, although to my palate it tastes too dry. I've experimented with olive oil (leaves a faint taste of the oil) and peanut oil (nice mouth texture) but finally arrived at grape seed oil. It has no taste and a high heating point to avoid burning.
The Salbree is well worth the investment if you love having popcorn!
My recipe for perfect popcorn is 2 tablespoons of grape seed oil, a dab of unsalted butter, and 1/2 cup of Pop Secret popcorn. When it's done, a little popcorn salt makes this the best tasting popcorn ever!
I set my microwave to 4:30 and I get a perfect bowl of popcorn with only a few un-popped kernels. Please note that I have an older Kitchen Aide microwave that probably has 10-15% less power than a new one, so through experiment I found that 4:30 works for me. You'll need to test your own microwave for the perfect time. Whatever you do, don't use the popcorn setting on your unit.
The biggest motivator for me was to avoid hydrolyzed vegetable oil, used in almost all microwave popcorn, including Pop Secret and Orville Redenbacher. That oil is the worst for your health. When you use the Salbree, you control the oil you use and how much. I experimented and found that if you use fresh popcorn, you can use the Salbree with no oil at all, although to my palate it tastes too dry. I've experimented with olive oil (leaves a faint taste of the oil) and peanut oil (nice mouth texture) but finally arrived at grape seed oil. It has no taste and a high heating point to avoid burning.
The Salbree is well worth the investment if you love having popcorn!
March 23, 2018
This worked really well, it popped all but a few kernels without burning any of the popcorn. I found that the time to pop was the same as what I use for the microwave popcorn packets, which is 2 minutes on our microwave. The popcorn tasted very good considering it had no oil, butter, or salt on it. I didn't think I would like it without butter but surprisingly it tasted good. I still like movie theater butter popcorn the best but probably not best to eat that all the time, this popcorn is healthier. I tried adding butter to a batch after it cooked and it didn't taste much better, not like the taste of the microwave packets. I tried some of the popcorn powder flavors and they were really good. These popcorn add on's are sold in the store near the popcorn. Never noticed them before but they are good tasting and healthier than the butter popcorn.
The product is made of a soft flimsy like rubber. However it holds up to popping and is easy to clean. I don't know how long it will last but it gets the job done. I found it is not too hot using the side handles to pull it out of the microwave but I can feel the heat escaping out the top in the form of steam. The top is hot.
This is a good change from the regular microwave popcorn packets and something you could eat every night watching TV without overdosing on butter and salt. The taste is good considering no oil/butter. If you like popcorn you are likely to like the taste of this popcorn too.
The product is made of a soft flimsy like rubber. However it holds up to popping and is easy to clean. I don't know how long it will last but it gets the job done. I found it is not too hot using the side handles to pull it out of the microwave but I can feel the heat escaping out the top in the form of steam. The top is hot.
This is a good change from the regular microwave popcorn packets and something you could eat every night watching TV without overdosing on butter and salt. The taste is good considering no oil/butter. If you like popcorn you are likely to like the taste of this popcorn too.
May 20, 2018
Being a popcorn lover, and having gone from using a pot on the stove, to an airpopper, and now to this bowl, I can say that I love this bowl above the other methods. However, there are some cons as well. I'll list the good and bad below.
Pros:
- less butter usage because the butter melts and coats as it pops. With an airpopper, some have the little butter well, but when you pour the butter, you end up with some soggy popcorn and some desert-dry popcorn. You also end up using so much more butter with an airpopper to get less coverage.
- Takes up very little space because it folds down. This fits on a shelf, in a tiny corner of one of my cabinets.
- easy to clean
- not easy to break
Cons
- not all the popcorn will pop. We always end up with 20 or so kernels unpopped at the bottom of the bowl. With an airpopper, we had 2-3 unpopped kernels. Though popcorn is relatively cheap, so we don't mind the leftover kernels.
- too flexible to eat out of. You do need to transfer the popcorn to a more sturdy bowl if you want to eat it on the couch or don't want to constantly worry about a side collapsing.
- You have to be very careful about the time it pops. For the first few uses, hang out with your microwave while this thing is in there, and stop it from cooking when you hear the popping slow down. It's very easy to burn popcorn, much like popping in a bag. For our microwave, we set this to 2min15sec.
Overall, we love this microwave popcorn bowl!
Pros:
- less butter usage because the butter melts and coats as it pops. With an airpopper, some have the little butter well, but when you pour the butter, you end up with some soggy popcorn and some desert-dry popcorn. You also end up using so much more butter with an airpopper to get less coverage.
- Takes up very little space because it folds down. This fits on a shelf, in a tiny corner of one of my cabinets.
- easy to clean
- not easy to break
Cons
- not all the popcorn will pop. We always end up with 20 or so kernels unpopped at the bottom of the bowl. With an airpopper, we had 2-3 unpopped kernels. Though popcorn is relatively cheap, so we don't mind the leftover kernels.
- too flexible to eat out of. You do need to transfer the popcorn to a more sturdy bowl if you want to eat it on the couch or don't want to constantly worry about a side collapsing.
- You have to be very careful about the time it pops. For the first few uses, hang out with your microwave while this thing is in there, and stop it from cooking when you hear the popping slow down. It's very easy to burn popcorn, much like popping in a bag. For our microwave, we set this to 2min15sec.
Overall, we love this microwave popcorn bowl!
December 26, 2017
This is a fast, effective and low cost means to prepare popcorn. I got tired of paying a premium for microwave popcorn packets at the grocery. I didn’t want another appliance on my counter to air pop either. This was the perfect solution. I use inexpensive bulk popping corn, no oil or salt and I don’t have to worry about the metal in the microwave popcorn bags that gets extremely hot and scorches the upside down paper plate I have to put under the microwave bag each time. Plus, weren’t we told not to put anything metal in the microwave anyway? I pull the Salbree out, expand it and add a 1/4 cup of popping corn kernels in the base to the full line. I put it in the microwave for 3+ minutes and listen for the kernels to stop popping. Using the cool handles I lift it out of the microwave, give it a minute to cool and add just enough butter to give it flavor. Then I eat right out of the same bowl I cooked in. When done I dump out the few kernels that didn’t pop. I wash it out with dish soap and hot water, let it dry and then put it away for next time. Economical, safe, less oil and salt and only one bowl to clean. No new appliance and no metal in the microwave. Pure genius. A great value.
November 24, 2017
This thing is terrific! I used 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels, set for 3-1/2 min @1000 watts. There were ONLY TWO unpopped kernels when I finished eating the popcorn. I have never seen such efficiency in any product in the last 40 years. If I didn't see it myself I would not believe it.
Subsequent testing: 1/4 cup of kernels, set for 2-1/2 to 3 min @ 1000 watts. Yields: Better popped corn, but with approx. 1/2 teaspoon of unpopped kernels. Most satisfactory. Still much better than most methods.
Subsequent testing: 1/4 cup of kernels, set for 2-1/2 to 3 min @ 1000 watts. Yields: Better popped corn, but with approx. 1/2 teaspoon of unpopped kernels. Most satisfactory. Still much better than most methods.
April 17, 2018
I don't understand how this product got such great reviews. It smells strongly of something like solvent. I cannot wash the smell away and would not dream of serving my children anything cooked in a container with such a chemical smell. This smell did not come from the plastic wrap, but seems permanently engrained in the bowl.
July 16, 2017
I've had air poppers and they always throw kernels all over the place. I don't want to use oil so I decided to try the Salbree. I am in 7th heaven now! I love this little popper. I use 1/4 cup of popcorn, no oil and get a huge bowl of popcorn! I end up with no unpopped kernels. I found for me that if i use the popcorn setting on my microwave and stop it when it gets down to 19 secs, its perfect. I suppose you can use the bowl itself to eat from but I like dumping it into another bowl before adding my butter. The cleanup is so much easier and storage simple! This is a great tool! Bye the way, the suggestion is to use larger popcorn so I actually use the Hoosier original gourmet white popcorn that Amazon sells. Not too expensive and pops up as good as Orville!
There are 8,612 customer reviews and 8,699 customer ratings.
