Yep, I have a 1953 Manley Model 32 Aristocrat. In the midst of doing a teardown on it. Coconut oil and Flavacol are the only way to go. NEVER, I mean NEVER, add anything else to the kettle like caramel, cinnamon, etc. Its a quick way to ruin your kettle and commercial poppers run so hot it will liquefy and/or burn that stuff instantly, as well as create a nice stinky smoke cloud! (Don't ask me how I know)

I have to disagree with this one a bit. A well seasoned kettle is the goal. If the kettle is not wiped down after use, over time it will develop a ton of carbon build up. This diminishes the heat produced by the kettle and can create resistance for the stirring rod. If there is carbon build up, the best way to remove it is with Carbon Off (restaurant supply stores have it or you can order it online).

Once the carbon is removed (it will get a kettle looking like new), run 4-6 batches of corn with a bit of extra oil to re-season the kettle. Don't eat the corn, it will taste like crap the first couple of batches. After the last seasoning batch, take a lint-free cotton towel and dip it in oil and wipe the kettle down. The next batches will be awesome!

Air-popped popcorn is tasteless and nasty! Might as well be eating Styrofoam shipping peanuts. Popcorn cooked in coconut oil isn't horrible for you. Its when its cooked in the popcorn oils that come from Sam's, etc. and then smothered in buttery flavoring (nothing buttery about that gunk) then it becomes a dietary hand grenade.

Microwave food is faster too! No one said it tastes better than the traditionally cooked method.

Speed, less mess and less taste vs. Slower, messier and tastier.... I choose the latter.

I worked concessions in a theater for a few years as a teenager. Back then, VHS/Beta were competing in format wars and theaters were where everyone went to see movies because they wouldn't come out on video for at least 8 months. So, you know the popcorn machine got a workout back then.

You know how we cleaned the kettle every night? After the last batch, while the kettle was still warm, we would fill it about half way with ice and activate the stirrer. Let it stir a couple of minutes until the ice melted. Then we would dump the water and wipe it dry with paper towels. That's it.

Buy it. It's not worth the mess. And whatever you do, don't put anything other than popcorn kernels, oil and seasoning in your kettle.

I put a couple of unpopped kernels in with the oil and turn on the heat. When they pop, I know it's time to add the rest! Easy, unscientific way to do it.

No offense, but Great Northern poppers are just toys. Cretors or Gold Medal are the only way to go. There is a reason why GN poppers are so cheap, they don't last under anything resembling normal use. I ran a concession stand for a high school basketball team for several years while my kid played and we had a parent donate a GN popper since our Gold Medal was in need of repair. The popper lasted three weeks and the quality of the batches varied incredibly.

If you want a popper for home, be patient and invest some time on CL. I got a $1200 commercial popper with a 16 oz. kettle in absolutely mint condition (I don't think it was used more than 2-3 times) for $400. It took me six months of dedicated searching, but the results were more than worth it.

Screw Supur-Kist II. Might as well put floor wax in the popcorn.

Try Ghee...you will NEVER go back. Ghee is clarified butter - essentially butter is three thinks butterfat, milk solids and water. Remove the milk solids and water and you get ghee. It stays good in at room temperature for about 3 months (keep out of direct light) or up to a year refrigerated. The best part? It is basically butter without the moisture, so when you use it the popcorn doesn't get soggy. You can make your own or just buy it. It's not cheap but it will be the best popcorn you've ever had. If you're going to spend the money on real coconut oil (an essential), you might as well spend the money on the right topping!

https://www.amazon.com/100-Organic-Ghee-Grass-fed-Cows/dp/B00E0WB292/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_bs_tr_t_2

Well, you have my heartfelt apologies, Vid. I should have known the master would have known about ghee!

I can honestly say I've never been in a Trader Joe's. Looks like I have a reason to go now. Thanks for the heads up!

Try Carbon-Off. You can get it on Amazon. I used this stuff on both a kettle that was in regular use in a concession trailer for 8 years using Canola oil and a 1955 Manley kettle with an unknown number of years (decades?) of carbon build up. It got both literally looking like new outside of any blueing on the actual metal from heat. Follow the directions and save yourself ALOT of work.

This times one million. I was about to post the same thing. Kettles are like cast iron cookware...properly seasoning them is the key. The only time you would do a clean, like the Gold Medal or Carbon Off, was if the accumulation was so bad the kettle was smoking on use or the stirrers were getting bound up. A nice, seasoned kettle looks dark brown inside - no stainless visible.

I worked theater concessions for six years growing up. I had the "don't overclean" the kettle drilled into me.

BTW - the way we cleaned a kettle was to dump ice in it and run the kettle with the stirrer on until the ice completely melted. Dump water in bucket and wipe out with paper towels. This was on kettles that got heavy use 365 days a year and I never saw one go down for repair or get unneccesary carbon build up.

Pop away! Your dogs will love you. Mine run downstairs the moment they hear the kernels popping. Don’t know why they like popcorn so much, but they do.

That is absolutely gorgeous. I'm incredibly jealous.

I SO want one of these. I saw one a few months back on CL in Cali, but I missed out. I am hoping my patience pays off with a project one to rebuild and customize.

That's because ghee is butter without the fats. Seems like overkill. Ghee would be used for flavoring after cooking, but not for the actual popping.