Wabash Valley Farms Sweet and Easy Snack Machine, Stainless Steel - Create Endless Combinations of Sweet Treats

Best manual popper I have found. I have tried about 5, all the ones I could find on Amazon, one at a time, until I came across this one.Pros:- The stirrer is a direct connection to the paddle with no gears to hang up or leave metal filings as they wear out like several others I tried, and no flexible spring to break like another one I tried.- The lid flips open so you can dump the popcorn out. I tried one with a glass lid but you had to remove the whole lid to empty the pot and as I pulled the lid and stirrer out, the popcorn would go everywhere - what a mess. No issues with this pot.- The pot and lid are sturdy and fit together very well.- The lid does not come off accidentally as can happen with others I have tried.- The handle is sturdy and not just a piece of wood with a couple of screws like several others.- The lid will even stays in place if you flip it up, placing a slot in the lid over the stirrer as designed.I owned a popper with gears for years and it worked great. Those are hit or miss and I happened across a good one. However, when trying to replace it, all the newly manufactured ones did not work well. This one is even better than the one I owned previously.Have been using this 3 to 4 times a week for the last three months and it works great. Definitely would recommend this popper over the others.

The stainless steel pan is sturdy, and it can make good popcorn. That's about it.The lid has a bunch of unnecessary grooves in it that serve no purpose other than to make cleaning it more difficult.The notch on the lid flap is not cut long enough so it can fully open up over the bar of the crank which makes pouring popcorn difficult. One reviewer showed how they used a Dremel to remedy this. Definitely a smart move. I don't see why you should need to do that in order for the flap to function well.The lid has little gaps along the hinges where the flap connects. When the kernels start popping, little bits of oil will come out and hit you on the arm because you have to operate the crank directly over the lid.The handle and the end of the crank are both made out of a cheap smooth black plastic. Not a great choice when you'll inevitably get some of the cooking oil on them so they become slick. Really don't want a hot pan sliding out of my hand.Removing the lid is not too difficult. The clips do a good job holding it to the pan. It's getting that lid back onto the pan that can be a pain in the butt. It is not ideal.I'd honestly give this thing a 2/5, but the parts are solid albeit frustrating to use. Plus, it does help you make some really tasty popcorn which made me round up to a 3/5.

I was surprised how sturdy the pot was when I first received it. It is made of heavy stainless walls and a really thick bottom. The lid is metal and snaps on very well and has hinges so you can open one side of the lid to add ingredients and to pour out your goodies. I also like the plastic knobs and handles instead of wood like most other popcorn makers. It is very attractive and matches everything in my black and stainless steel kitchen (yes, that is important to most women) :-) It comes with a package of popcorn/oil and a small cookbook with some very delicious looking recipes that I will have to try. I made two batches of perfect popcorn in it so far. Nearly every single kernal popped, was not at all burned, and had a wonderful crunch and flavor. I think it will be a treasure in my kitchen for many years!

Burnt popcorn suitable for the deepest and, or shallowest pits of Hades, is exceptionally easy to make with this popper. As another reviewer commented the steel is very thin, but not thin enough to see through, it is a few atoms thicker than that. Cautiously, but foolishly we plunged straight into a batch of kettle corn and were rewarded with a cloud of thick black smoke hanging over our kitchen. Before you naysayers naysay our folly, we only committed this endeavor to medium heat, but still reaped a bounty of charcoal. After much scrubbing most of the tar like goo was removed, so we could begin anew.Caution being the better part of valor, or some such nonsense, we began a second batch of your standard fare popcorn (oil & corn only) with less vigor. Cranking like an maniac on the Whirley Pop as some jolly organ grinder with his monkey companion, kept my children throughly entertained. After about eight minutes of grinding, no I mean cranking, on a setting somewhere in the neighborhood of simmer and medium, our labors paid off. Not with the belches of black smoke, but with fluffy snowy puffs of heaven, which now contrasted nicely with our badly scorched pot from the first batch.Reaching back through time I would have tapped my former self on the shoulder and whispered, "You need no more kitchen gadgets, go to bed...Keep making popcorn in a normal thick bottomed pot...". Failing this I would have banged my past self over the head with the infernal Whirley Pop, ending the possibility of ever having completing the purchase. Although, I would never been able to exist in the present and share our misfortunes with you.

I do have a problem . The popper has a burn on the side of the popper (not the bottom) The popcorn did not burn but the pot did.. I have only used the popper once. I seasoned it as instructed. I did call customer service at Wabash valley farms and they suggested I use baking soda paste to remove the burn make. That did not work. I think I need a replacement pot of a refund. Please contact me. 5-15-2019 The burns on the sides of the pot are getting worse. This item is defective.