Whether you want to start a popcorn kiosk or you just need a popcorn machine for your home, you still have to take your time and research a product before you buy it. Now, since it can be tricky to know research a product you don’t know anything about, we’ve decided to help out. Here are the things to look for when buying a popcorn machine.
1. The Cost
If you’re just looking for a home-use machine, the cost will probably be the determining factor when choosing a popcorn maker, but if you’re looking for a commercial popcorn machine, this shouldn’t concern you as much.
Now, the main thing to keep in mind is that price does not guarantee quality. Just because a machine is expensive doesn’t mean that it is good, and vice versa. Therefore, if possible, always stay in the mid-range, price-wise, and you should be satisfied.
2. Capacity
Naturally, this is the thing that is a lot more important if you’re looking to make popcorn professionally. If that’s the case, capacity should probably be your number one concern. The capacity of the popcorn maker will have a significant impact on your business.
If you’re starting small and from scratch, you probably shouldn’t invest in a really massive device, but on the other hand, if you’re a movie theatre owner, you will probably need the biggest machine you could find so that you never run out of popcorn.
3. Cook Time
If you’re buying a professional popcorn making machine, we’d assume you’d want it to be as efficient as possible. If that’s the case, you will want to look for a machine with the lowest cook times. But even if you’re just looking for a kitchen appliance that can make the quickest movie snack – cook time still matters.
On average, a machine will cook the popcorn in between two to five minutes. Some of them could go even faster, but not by a lot.
4. Ease Of Use
To be fair, a popcorn making machine won’t come with a complex dashboard that you’ll need a course to learn how to operate, but then again, you still want to make sure you have the most effortless experience possible. If possible, go for something as simple as microwave popcorn making, and believe us, some of these machines are as easy as that.
5. Easy And Low Maintenance
Commercial popcorn machines will inevitably be harder to use and maintain than home appliances, but then again, you shouldn’t have to struggle to keep the machine clean. Therefore, look for a machine with easy access to all the integral parts that need regular cleaning and maintenance.
6. Stirring Features
The last thing you’d want is to eat burnt, charcoal-like popcorns or just chew on kernels. To avoid over and undercooking your popcorn, you’ll want to go for a machine that has a built-in stirring feature. This will allow for an evenly cooked batch of popcorn that you will most certainly enjoy.
Conclusion
There you go. These are the six most important things to consider when buying a popcorn maker. There could be several others that might be important to you, but these ones are the only ones that make a real, noticeable difference.