I was just about to post about the silicone popcorn makers. They’re amazingly practical, I’m super happy with mine, and I’m pretty sure it can’t get any easier than that. Some risk of burning your popcorn tho as the window between “most kernels popped” and “burnt” is relatively short, so until you figure out the correct timings for your microwave’s power, watch your fire alarms.

You can do this with brown paper lunch bags. Put some popcorn in a bag, fold the top so that it doesn't open when it expands, and hit the popcorn button.

Most likely all of these alternatives contain PFAS as well, except for putting them in the good 'ol kettle on the stove. Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/science-technology/paper-b...

That article appears to be talking about the type of bags and wrappers you get from fast food joints. I don't think a standard "brown paper bag" contains PFAS.

I think that only applies to variations of “non stick” or grease repellant paper bags, which is often used by fast food joints to avoid the food sticking to the paper.

My silicone popcorn maker works great in a regular household size microwave. Not so good in a small microwave like you get in a cheap hotel or RV.

It does get easier: air popper. No burning to worry about, works perfectly every time.

Air poppers are great for efficiency and convenience, but I find the consistency a bit chewy for my taste. Efficiency and convenience usually wins though, which is also why microwave popcorn is such a hit.

Yeah, I don't care for air-popped popcorn for that reason, too. But I prefer air-popped over microwave.

I have a vague memory of using an air popper and as far as i remember it wasn’t allowed to add oil. With the silicone ones you add oil and salt at the beginning and can ensure a uniform distribution

Yep, no oil for an air popper. You get the popcorn and that's it. If you want to add fats, you do it afterward.

It's really no different. Take a pot, toss in a handful of popcorn with some oil. Turn on stove for a couple of minutes until pops subside. Sprinkle with salt. Done.

I never bothered with the butter etc, though maybe I should.

Can you just let it sit on the flame or do you have to move it around?

I use this method with a flat bottom pot (peanut oil and salt only), and I find that if I don't shake it from time to time, it will sometimes burn a bit before all kernels have popped. So, about halfway done, I shake and/or vertically bump the pot to let kernels settle back to the bottom.

As the popping slows, I take the lid off entirely (there's enough popcorn at that point to keep new popping from splatter or jumping out), and add salt, and then rotate the bulk of the popped corn with a bump to one side, salt again, bump-rotate, etc, getting the salt on it evenly without letting it cool too much. I like popcorn that's just-popped hot.

Two other notes:

I only use peanut oil, because at fast popping temperatures, some oils smoke. The popcorn does not taste like peanuts, if you'd worry about that.

I use more oil than most commenters, such that the single layer of kernels (3/4 cup in my pot) are nearly submerged at the start. Cleanup is more involved than a wipe of the pot, but the popcorn is a lot tastier and I don't need any butter or parm.

I have experimented with various techniques: huge pot, wok, air popper, silicone bowls.

The silicone bowls are by far the best. Big consistent, crisp pops. Minimal waste, you can even repop the unopposed kernels. But easy to burn if you are not careful.

Air poppers are by far the worst. The pop corn always came out like styrofoam. I’d bite into the popcorn and it would just flatten.

I don’t believe the comments about getting minimal un-popped kernels using a pot, by just swirling around a bit of oil. Sounds like baloney to me. Results are good but waste is relatively high in a flat bottomed pot.

The best vessel for stove top is a metal container with a curved bottom - wok, large metal bowl. Add popcorn and oil as normal. Heat for about a minute. Turn the heat off. Stir the kernels for 30s to a minute to let the heat even out. Turn the heat back on and cover. As they pop shake the container to help the kernels settle to the bottom. The same technique can be used in a normal pot, but the heat distribution is not as good.

> I don’t believe the comments about getting minimal un-popped kernels using a pot, by just swirling around a bit of oil. Sounds like baloney to me.

It works, though!

I use an ordinary 3qt pot (Cuisinart MCP193-18N, if it matters; this is a tri-ply pot). Choose enough kernels to make a single layer on the bottom of the pot (that's about 1/2 cup for this one, if I'm remembering correctly... I'm usually on autopilot doing this though) and set aside. Add enough oil to the pot to basically half cover the single layer, or a bit more. Add five kernels to the pot and start the heat at medium-high to high. Add the rest of the kernels when 3/5 of the test kernels have popped. Cover with lid. You're done when the pot is full (and it will be!). Pour the popcorn into a separate bowl to season and serve.

Works every time, with very little waste kernels.

Maybe it’s my pot.

I took or adapted my stove top method from Alton Brown. And it works on every wok so far.

Oil helps distribute heat more evenly. Makes sense to me that this might make the popping more consistent.

The only time you don’t add oil is with an air popper. It does not guarantee results by itself.

According to https://www.healthline.com/health/body-modification/is-silic..., silicone utensils are unsafe to cook with above 220C, which I guess you're not going to reach popping popcorn. The list of potential conditions from silicone exposure aren't great. I couldn't find any studies at a quick search.

> I don’t believe the comments about getting minimal un-popped kernels using a pot, by just swirling around a bit of oil. Sounds like baloney to me.

I guess you don't have to believe it, but I rarely get more than two or three unpopped kernels that way, personally.

Well, I don’t believe it in the sense that I think these recipes are all missing out key steps. Because not everyone gets such good results. I sure don’t without extra steps.