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I Never Thought a Popcorn Maker Could Leave Me Speechless - Until Now

Hosts, foodies, and home cooks listen up: a new culinary obsession just popped up in the most unlikely of places. Meet my newest find: a delightful mix of nostalgia and Pinterest-worthy design, with a touch of high-end culinary creativity.

You don’t want to miss this.

One thing you should know about me...

My favorite thing in the world is hosting.

My second favorite thing is keeping a clean, cozy, aesthetically pleasing house. The problem – and you can probably see where this is going – is when you combine the two.

Then combine that with a group of friends that are enthusiastic foodies, and… you’ve lost the organized, curated home somewhere underneath piles of dishes. And as someone who loves my “Interior Design” and “Party Recipes” Pinterest boards equally, that’s a hard reality to face.

So, having gone around this circle of cleaning > cooking for friends > making a mess and cleaning again one too many times, I came to a conclusion:

Either Martha Stewart is a liar, or there must be a better way to get creative in the kitchen, wow your guests, and keep your kitchen looking cute.

After some soul (and, of course, internet) searching, I’m glad to say it’s the latter. Enter: the sleekest, most stylish & premium popcorn maker you’ve ever seen.

Yes, a popcorn maker. And it’s about to change your life. Here’s why –

The packaging 👌

Even the protective layers are popcorn shaped!

The Unboxing:

When my Popsmith starter kit showed up on my doorstep, my expectations were pretty middle-of-the-road.

Delivery day!

I was certainly excited to be among the first to try it: it was fully funded on Kickstarter in just 48 hours, and it officially launches in late September, so there was definitely some hype preceding it. But as someone who has a borderline addiction to kettle corn, I was cautiously looking forward to being able to make my own… hopefully without some junky carnival-style popper taking up space in my kitchen.

From the moment I opened the box, I realized this was not that. Instead of another novelty kitchen appliance, this immediately felt like high-end cookware.

The box – which greeted me on my doorstep with bubbly Let’s Pop! lettering – was brilliantly thought-out. As someone who’s used to the Amazon method of “bag the pieces in plastic > throw them all in a large box,” this felt luxe.

Each piece (popper, lid, popcorn kits, and recipe card) was secured in its own little display compartment, separated by popcorn-embossed card paper. Even the protective packaging on the popper was scalloped to make it look like a freshly burst piece of popcorn (!).

It’s this attention to detail that makes me honestly excited about the quality of the product – another pleasant departure from my usual online shopping experience.

Lifting the actual Popsmith popper out of the box, I realized it felt wonderfully vintage in more ways than one:

It looks straight out of the 50s: rounded edges, chrome accents and a clean lacquered-eggshell finish. Swoon.
It’s HIGH quality: there’s some weight to this thing! They, quite literally, don’t make cookware like this anymore (Unless you’re ready to drop $500 on a single pan)

In short, this is a conversation piece I’m excited to keep on my stove and show off. A new appliance that actually adds to my intensely curated decor? Unheard of.

Delivery day!

The packaging 👌

Even the protective layers are popcorn shaped!

The Assembly:

None. Seriously. Set it on the stove and start popping. Love that.

The Popping:

For my first go, I chose the classic “Oh Sooo Buttery” kit (my Popsmith set came with 10 kits: 5 butter and 5 kettle corn!).

So, I put the Popsmith over medium heat, and after a couple minutes, I ripped open the popcorn kit and dumped it in – no measuring needed.

And truly: as soon as the butter-flavored coconut oil, corn kernels, and butter-flavored salt (!) hit the pan, the smell was delightful.

The buttery, salty, warm steam brought back all the memories: big movie theater outings as a kid, fall carnivals with the family… all warm, fuzzy good stuff. I’m a sucker for nostalgia, so I was instantly hooked. (Like “Looney Tune floating in the air toward a delicious wafting oven” hooked.)

I started cranking the stirrer, and soon I heard my first “PING” as a popped kernel hit the steel walls of the popper. The whole cooking process takes about 5 minutes in total, but the anticipation is real! Something about being surrounded by the scent and waiting for that first “ping” is such a full sensory experience, that it makes my little home-cook heart happy. It feels present in a way that cooking should be – no sterile microwaves or instant ingredients.

"It's such a full sensory experience ... it makes my little home-cook heart happy. It feels present in a way that cooking should be."

Pro tip: you WILL get excited to see it working. Do not open the lid like I did, unless you want popcorn flying everywhere: those kernels have some momentum behind them.

Failed attempts to peek in aside, it was pretty clear after a few minutes that the popping was slowing down. So I stopped stirring and removed the popper from heat according to the instructions.

And let me tell you: if the smell was good with the lid on, the burst of buttery steam that rises up when you remove the lid is mouthwatering.

I quickly dumped it into a bowl to let the steam escape and the popcorn crisp up. (P.S. These are generous servings. A single packet of ingredients yielded me a full bowl for sharing – probably a “Large” at a movie theater.)

This is the point at which it’s recommended to add any ingredients you want: spice blends, candies, dried fruit, flavored salts or sugars… the sky is actually the limit here.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m stoked to turn up the culinary creativity next time around. But I wanted to give it a try with good old fashioned buttered popcorn to start. Every artist needs a good understanding of their canvas, of course, so I dove right in…

The Main Event

Full disclosure: I never really understood what “Non-GMO corn” was. I know it had to do with sourcing higher quality ingredients that weren’t loaded with growth-tripling chemicals, but I wasn’t quite sold on the idea that it made better popcorn.

That is, until I tried Popsmith popcorn.

Here’s the play-by-play of my internal monologue as I tried my first handful:

Oh wow, this is crisp. I don’t know if I’ve ever had popcorn this light and crispy before, even at the movie theater. The texture has a real snap to it. Super satisfying.
Even the non-salted pieces taste SO much different than the bagged popcorn I’m used to!
The flavor is distinctly fresh and nutty. Do they have popcorn sommeliers? Because there are NOTES in here.
Secondary thought: I can’t wait to try the Kettle Corn.

Spoiler: I did try the Kettle Corn next. It was everything I enjoyed about the butter flavor plus a sweet, toasty, delicious caramelized coating. All I’m saying is good thing these come in packs of five.

Clean Up

Once I’d thoroughly enjoyed a single serving and definitely no more than that ... I was jolted back to reality in a moment of post-popcorn-bliss clarity: I had to clean this thing.

For the Kettle Corn, my expectations were grim. I’m sure you know the nightmare that is caramelized sugar, burnt into a sticky mess on the sides of a pan.

I prepped my best sponge and Bar Keeper’s Friend powder (the recommended non-abrasive cleanser for the Popsmith, FYI) and… I didn’t need it at all.

With the popper still warm, I ran it under some water, and the melty residue slid right out.

Now: I’m not about to promise this will happen every time. Especially if you don’t stir the popper as instructed and really let it burn on there. But for my first use, this was kind of a revelation.

Remember that pile of dishes that plagues all my food-based get-togethers? This may be my permanent solution. I’m so impressed.

Once the residue was rinsed out, I gently washed with dish soap and water (it’s 100% dishwasher safe, but alas, my apartment isn’t equipped with one) and dried.

Good as new.