Get it While it's Buttered!

[Youngjedi]

Hi All,

Does anyone own one of those Theater style popcorn carts that are on Ebay?
(Four Ounce...Electric..Cart with wheels)

I called one company (the ones who make the Star Wars editions) and was able to get a sample of the popcorn itself. I used my Whirly pop to cook it, and I was not impressed with the taste.

I am looking to get one, but not sure at the moment.

(really, I need to wait for my Fishy to die so I can get rid of the tank and replace it with a Popcorn Cart.)

I'm Awful

[nickbuol]

I've got a popcorn machine. It is by the #1 rated company called Paragon. They make a very popular model called Theater Pop. They also make one that is silver and black (instead of red) with tinted side glass called the Contempo. It is the same "guts" and build as the Theater Pop, so it is top notch. That is what I own.

There are secrets to good popcorn...

#1, use coconut oil. This is also called 76degree oil as it is a solid at anything under 76 degrees F. Don't use Canola Oil. It doesn't taste the same as is the cause of some really bad popping.

#2, make sure that the popcorn you are using has an Expansion Ratio between 40-44. Less than 40 and the popcorn will be chewy, more than 44 and it will be brittle and turn into little bits. This is actually pretty easy to find as most popcorn falls into this area.

#3, use real Flavocal seasoning. This is the "salt" so to speak. In combination with the right oil and popcorn mentioned above, you will have OUTSTANDING popcorn.

Another option is to get what are called Portion Packs. They are premeasured packs of oil, popcorn, and Flavocal. Just cut the top, put everything in the popper, and get ready for some good eating. This is what I use because it has the right ingredients and is a lot less messy than trying to deal with scooping semi-solid oil.

If you have any other questions, like what is the right combination of ingredients (if you don't go portion pack) or what other options are their for machines if you find the Paragon too expensive, let me know. For my daughter's community theater, they were getting a private donation of a popcorn machine, but the donors didn't want to buy a Paragon, so I helped research other, cheaper, options from eBay, and after almost a year of semi-commercial (used for about 36-40 days a year) it is doing really well. But for now, it is 1 AM, and my wife is telling me that I need to get to bed.

[Meathead]

(really, I need to wait for my Fishy to die so I can get rid of the tank and replace it with a Popcorn Cart.)

Couple drops of anti-freeze will fix that.

[Sid]

Couple drops of anti-freeze will fix that.

you got any handy tips for getting rid of puppies and kittens as well...

[Youngjedi]

I'm not going to KILL him.

It's a Placostumus. He's 11 this January, and I think I have a long ways to go before I can enjoy some Popcorn.

[alstonj1]

Well since you want him to die you can bet he won't .and as for puppies and cats the same method works for them as well antifreeze is a equal opportunity poison its better than a new Chinese restaurant at clearing the neighborhood of unwanted pets .

[dattia]

Oh man! ...and on a Sunday morning no less!

[alstonj1]

What ??? I haven't been to bed yet its still Saturday for me ...(Like it would Make a difference .)

[Eddie]

I have a mini version of the cart popper. It pops enough for one family size bowl.

It does not use oil to pop the corn just heat. So it is very clean.

You must make your own butter/salt combo seperately on the stove in a pan.

http://www.ht-express.com/catalog/ca...I=394&PI=6693#

This is the one I bought NEW for $15 at a fleamarket! It works very fast and does not take up space.

[luckydog]

I buy Orvile Reddenbacker microwave popcorn, 2 mins and 20 seconds in my microwave

[johntofva]

I have been thinking about buying one of these for my game room.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1

The cotton candy machine would be kind of cool also.

or:

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden...7/product.html

[Youngjedi]

That's what I'm looking into also, but only a 4 oz. I do want to get one with a good wattage (600 or more). I've heard that the low wattage machines take too long to pop the corn.

[Tulsa]

I'm saving my money for my own bar maid.

[nickbuol]

An 8 oz machine would be MASSIVE for home use. Heck, a 6 oz is too much most of the time. I don't mean the size of the machine, but the amount of popcorn from the machines. 4 oz is the "standard" for home use. I would say that a 4 oz machine yields about the equivalent to 1.5 bags of microwave popcorn per batch.

As for those people with air poppers and microwave stuff, we were in that group for many, many years. Microwave popcorn is so quick and easy, and the air popped allowed me to put on my own seasonings and toppings (I make a mean, and really bad for you, cheese popcorn). I find that most microwave popcorn left me with a belly ache if I ate too much of it, but it is fast, and fairly cheap since there is no special machine to buy.

Once I got my "real" popcorn machine, I basically gave away my bags of microwave popcorn and even the air popper. I wasn't using it, and whenever my family wants popcorn, they don't want anything but what I make in the 4 oz machine.

For some people, they can't justify the cost. Kind of like an Arby's pachinko machine. A lot of people out there don't understand what makes his machines any better than something from eBay. For the connoisseur, whether it is pachinkos or popcorn, there is a difference, but for the "average Joe" they may still be happy with an eBay pachinko, or their microwave popcorn. There is no real "wrong" answer. It is just a preference.

That machine at Costco that was linked above is the same one that the theater I talked about bought. It works pretty well and is less expensive that others.

If you get one in the U.S., make sure that it is built here as well. There is a distinctive build quality difference between one made in the U.S. and one made overseas. A lot has to do with the quality of the metals, heating elements, electronics (motors, switches, etc), and so forth. These are almost all skimped on to bring the price down so much to compensate for the shipping of them to the U.S. but end up in failed switches, motors that die before their time, etc.

Like I said, I've researched this topic quite a bit for my other hobby, home theater, and I just researched another one for my father-in-law about 2 weeks ago for a semi-commercial situation. So if you have any questions, fire away. I am all about saving a buck, so I can relate to the ability to *not* have the top end machines for home use, yet can make sure that a junk machine isn't purchased...

[Eddie]

OK for the small air popper that I have how do you make a good topping for it without the cheese?

[luckydog]

For some strange reason!!

I've had a taste for popcorn the last few days

[MrGneiss]

So, whats the cleaning, maintenance, upkeep like for a popcorn cart/machine??

[Youngjedi]

I originally wanted this...

Exclusive - Star Wars popcorn Machines

I got a chance to see it in Indiana at Celebration 3. asked the guy why he was charging an extra 150.00 for stickers. (it there basic machines with vinyl stickers). He said it was because of the licensing.

He also didn't have any samples because they are not allowed to compete with the concession stands at the convention.

I was bummed.


I want to thank everyone for all there info on this subject. Very helpful!

[Sid]

Oh man! ...and on a Sunday morning no less!

What?

its not as if i said lets kill puppies and kittens?

i was just wondering if our very own Martha Stewart of Death had any other handy dandy tricks to rid the home of pets

[nickbuol]

That Star Wars one from "Snappy" is really made by Paragon, which is great, but you do pay a premium for 1) a top end machine that is made for another company (they both get their cut), and 2) the Star Wars licensing, which as you noticed, is "just stickers"...

As for clean up, a damp rag or paper town to wipe out the inside of the kettle is all that you "have" to do. I like to clean the inside of the glass, and the bottom of the inside of the machine from time to time with damp paper towels to get rid of any oil and slat residue. It is actually a lot easier that you think. A very thurough cleaning job with the removal of all trays, kettle, etc, will take about 15 minutes is all. I do that about twice a year.