Old Fashioned Popcorn Maker

Old Fashioned Popcorn Maker – Start Your Own Family Tradition!

By Robert Davids

Do you remember the old fashioned popcorn makers?  When I was a kid growing up in Chicago, some of my best memories are of my mom taking me to get a hot, steaming bag of popcorn from the vendor on the corner downtown.

The vendor had a full-sized old fashioned popcorn maker that filled the air with the delicious scent of hot, buttered popcorn. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that warm bag!

I was so excited to see that there are now several versions of that old fashioned popcorn maker, available for home use!

Of course, most people don’t have a lot of room to devote to that floor standing old fashioned popcorn maker of yesteryear, but the good news is that several tabletop models have been designed for home use.

Old Fashioned Popcorn Makers Use Hot Air or Oil

Amazon, Walmart, The Home Depot and Ebay all offer tabletop models that take only a little space on your counter.

You can choose models that pop corn with hot air or with oil, whatever your preference.

Hot air popcorn poppers have become very popular because the hot air means fewer calories and fat, particularly for those who are health conscious. Popcorn makers that use hot oil are prized by popcorn connoisseurs, who state that oil-popped corn tastes the best. Coconut oil, peanut oil and olive oil can all be used to pop corn. Movie theater owners, for example, use coconut oil to pop corn for their patrons.

Prices for the tabletop popcorn makers vary from $30 to as much as $100. Generally this type of old fashioned popcorn maker takes up only about one square foot of counter space, and if you love popcorn, the nostalgic look of this model may encourage you to leave it on the counter as part of your décor.

Floor Standing Models

Also available for the popcorn lover are a number of floor standing, old fashioned popcorn maker models. These models stand as much as five feet tall and require a little more space.

Many people have found them to be just the thing for their game room or home theater. The old fashioned popcorn maker floor standing models use hot oil to pop corn. Because these type of popcorn machines are modeled after the old fashioned popcorn makers which also used oil, it is pretty rare to find a floor standing model that uses hot air to pop the kernels.

Prices for a floor standing popcorn maker start at about $120.

Stovetop Popcorn Poppers

I’ve been talking about the old fashioned popcorn poppers that vendors used, but it may be that when you think of “old fashioned popcorn maker,” you think of the stovetop version!

Many of us remember Mom making us a hot, steaming batch of delicious popcorn right on the stove.

This type of stovetop popcorn popper is still made today under the brand name Whirley Pop. The popper is a pot with a lid that has a crank on top to turn. Mom would add a teaspoon or two of oil, add the corn kernels, and start cranking! The crank kept the popcorn from sticking to the bottom of the pot, and in just a few minutes, we had a nice big batch of popcorn.

You can find the stovetop popper at Amazon and Ebay, and several other retailers. Prices start at about $25 for this popper.

So if you’re looking for a popcorn popper to bring back those fond memories of yesteryear, you’ll be able to find just what you’re looking for to begin your own family traditions.

Then your family can also develop fond memories of your old fashioned popcorn maker!