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Popcorn machine

Marmish

By Marmish
in Kitchen Consumer

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Marmish

Marmish

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Our middle school wants to buy a popcorn machine to use at school events and for rewards, ie "Popcorn Fridays" I don't know anything about popcorn makers. What does one look for in a popcorn machine? Have one you love? One you hate? Easy to use, quick turnaround, and easy to clean are key features.

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Beanie

Beanie

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Our middle school wants to buy a popcorn machine to use at school events and for rewards, ie "Popcorn Fridays"  I don't know anything about popcorn makers.  What does one look for in a popcorn machine?  Have one you love? One you hate?  Easy to use, quick turnaround, and easy to clean are key features.

No direct experience, but what about one of these? I've seen them being used at various types of public events. Maybe it could be customized with the school's logo.

Ilene

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Raoul Duke

Raoul Duke

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Not in your time zone, but recently I was in the local rental store (friggin Ditch Witch) and noticied that they had their popcorn maker up for sale. Large commercial type. May be a place to start for info, possible purchase or better still a school donation.

"I drink to make other people interesting".

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MSRadell

MSRadell

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For a school you are going to want the decent sized machine probably one with at least a 12oz popper and maybe a 16oz or larger one depending on how many people you want to feed. Here's a link to a concession stand supply company who carries machines of this size: Concession Equipment

In addition you may want to consider ones with automatic oil injection to simplify the process. For the size you need prices will probably start a little over $1000 and go up from there.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

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Marmish

Marmish

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For a school you are going to want the decent sized machine probably one with at least a 12oz popper and maybe a 16oz or larger one depending on how many people you want to feed.  Here's a link to a concession stand supply company who carries machines of this size: Concession Equipment

In addition you may want to consider ones with automatic oil injection to simplify the process.  For the size you need prices will probably start a little over $1000 and go up from there.

Thanks, that's very helpful. Is the 12oz referring to the amount of corn kernels? How much is that popped?

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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I believe it refers to the quantity of unpopped kernels the machine can pop in one cycle (you can of course run it for many cycles), and I believe the rule of thumb is that 1 ounce (weight) of unpopped kernels yields 1 quart (volume) of popped popcorn. A quart of popped popcorn is a small portion -- it's a good portion for a kid and I think the little paper bags typically used for popcorn at kids' parties and such are about a quart.

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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Fat Guy

Fat Guy

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Here's some more info about yield etc.:

http://www.ht-accessories.com/Popcorn-Mach...de_ep_51-1.html

Steven A. Shaw aka "Fat Guy"
Co-founder, Society for Culinary Arts & Letters, sshaw@egstaff.org
Proud signatory to the eG Ethics code
Director, New Media Studies, International Culinary Center (take my food-blogging course)

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MSRadell

MSRadell

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Yes, Fat Guy is correct, the weight quoted is for the quantity of kernels in each batch. Unpopped volume he quoted is also a good estimate but it does vary considerably depending on the type of corn kernels used. The cycle time of the popper is also critical but in general the larger volume machines also have a shorter cycle time. Most vendors can quote you not only the charge weight and cycle time but also the average per hour which is actually what you're looking for.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

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Marmish

Marmish

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I found out one of our buildings has an 8 oz machine, and one has a 12 oz machine. I think since our building is larger we need a bigger one than either of those. Thanks for all your info and opinions. The yield info in particular is very helpful. I must say I am NOT looking forward to cleaning that thing!

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MSRadell

MSRadell

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I must say I am NOT looking forward to cleaning that thing!

They're really not that bad to clean. It shouldn't take more than about 15 minutes in the worst case after each use any major cleaning of about an hour once per year if you use it weekly. Good luck with your purchase.

I've learned that artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

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