I have been making popcorn in the microwave by putting popping corn in an ordinary brown paper bag, folding it closed, and cooking on full heat for 2 minutes or until popping stops, whichever comes sooner. It works pretty well, although sometimes the popcorn gets burnt or a hole is burned through the bag. My microwave does not have a popcorn setting.
I have seen microwave poppers offered for sale, to good reviews. They are typically made of plastic or silicon and are basically containers with lids. Would these give better results than a paper bag, or should I save my money and stick with bags? I prefer not to use oil or butter when popping.
While I could buy an air popper, I prefer to minimize the number of appliances I have, for space and cleaning.
Best Answer
I have used some of the poppers which use "concentration disks" made by several sources, and will say I have had much better results with them than paper bags. Popping time tends to be fairly consistent with much fewer unpopped kernels than a dry paper bag. It only takes a couple batches to know what the popping time is for your microwave. If time starts to increase or yield goes down with more unpopped or under-popped kernels, time for a new disk or your corn has gone stale. It does cost more than paper sandwich bags, but with not burning batches and less loss and trouble, I personally found it worth it and probably a push on price. And you need to make sure you keep a supply of the disks. Usually it seemed 8-10 batches per disk before they would start to tear and need replaced.
I have not tried the ones which do not use the disks so cannot compare them.