Garfield as popcorn. We love this photo found on My Food Looks Funny. This gives us an idea to look at each popcorn we pop in our stove top popcorn maker to find other famous figures in literature. It would be a shame to eat Snoopy or Opus. Instead of unusual cloud spotting spotting, we could set up an unusual popcorn shape spotting trend here at Popcorn Popper Shop.

This is a very cute and endearing animation on an alternative history of popcorn created by Tiny Circus. Apparently, in their version of history, aliens had a "hand" in the evolution of popcorn. We like the hovering popcorn popper machine.

Tiny Circus creates stop-motion animated art projects through a collaborative, community-based process. They travel to schools, universities, art and film festivals, museums and galleries. You can view a number of their creative animations on the Tiny Circus You Tube Channel.

4,000 year old popcorn was found in a bat cave in New Mexico. Did Batman and Robin pop popcorn in their cave? Maybe that power generator in the back of the cave doubled as a giant popcorn machine.

The actual history of popcorn is pretty exciting without alien intervention. The oldest ears of popcorn, about 4,000 years old, was found in a Bat Cave in New Mexico. Apparently, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson might have been early fans of popcorn.

An early description of popcorn popping comes from the Spanish in their descriptions of Aztec Indian ceremonies around the 15th century. Heated sand in fire were ancient popcorn poppers. We think science of popping popcorn has improved over the ages.  You can find detailed popcorn history at Popcorn.org.

When we throw a Super Bowl party at our house, popcorn is a popular snack food. And having a sport bar-style home popcorn machine tucked in the corner of the home theater definitely kicks up the festive spirit a notch.

The rapid sound of the popcorn popping in the kettle gets everybody's attention. And, of course, that rich, movie theater popcorn aroma will have your guests making frequent trips to the popcorn maker to fill their bowls.

When Choosing a Popcorn Machine for the Home, size is important

We hear of many people who buy popcorn popper machines either too small or too large for their needs. During the holiday season, several department stores sell attractive inexpensive popcorn machines with a 2.5 oz popcorn capacity. Much too small for a family of four, let alone a party.

In general, popcorn machines with 4 oz, 6 oz and 8 oz kettle sizes work best for home use. On average a child will eat approximately 1 ounce of popcorn. An adult will eat around 2 ounces.

Below is a quick guide of how many adult servings a popcorn machine pops:

4 oz Popcorn Machines
6 oz Popcorn Machines
8 oz Popcorn Machines

Given that popcorn machines can pop multiple servings of popcorn quickly, a 4 oz popcorn machine could easily handle a family or party of four. A larger gathering of 6 to 8 people would probably need a 6 oz popper. If you frequently host larger parties, an 8 oz popper would be your best bet. We've found our 4 oz machine to suffice for most of our parties. But we're frequently having to pop multiple batches.

Keep Your Budget in Mind, But Don't Skimp

A 4 oz Elite Table Top Popcorn Machine is an inexpensive and popular popcorn popper.

You can find popcorn popper machines ranging from under $100 to $1,000. Quality and workmanship range as well. For home use a few times a month, there are several models like the Elite tabletop popcorn machine that serve your needs without breaking the bank. If you're fanatical about workmanship just as you are with football, then consider a 1911 popcorn machine. With a 4 oz version starting around $350, this is highly decorative, robust old fashion style popcorn machine made in America.

The stylish 1911 Popcorn Machine comes in 4 oz, 6 oz and 8 oz versions.

Buy With a Cart

A popcorn machine on a cart can be a highly attractive addition to your party room. However, if space is a premium, these units do take up room. However, since most carts also serve as a storage space for your popcorn supplies, it can be a useful decorative piece. If considering a cart, don't cheat. We've found many inexpensive and low quality popcorn machines on carts for sale. A good idea is to look for top rated popcorn machines without carts, and then purchase the cart separately.

Other features to keep in mind are when selecting a popcorn machine:

• Old maid trays: This makes clean up a cinch
• Bottom tray warmers: Keeps popcorn warm and fresh throughout the game and party (hard to find in 4 oz machines, the Elite Popcorn Machine does include a warmer)

If you should have leftover popcorn after your game, party or movie night, simply bag it up in an airtight container A theater-style popcorn machine can be a great investment for your home theater. And it can make your Super Bowl Party a more exciting visual and delicious experience. If you have popcorn left over after the game, simply bag it up airtight. It can last several days and you'll be prepared for you next movie night.

By itself, popcorn is a healthy whole-grain snack with no fat, sugar or sodium. A cup of air popped popcorn contains 2 grams of fiber and just 30 calories.

Whole grains have been proven to reduce the risk of heart disease and cholesterol. Being low fat and low calories, it can help prevent obesity, which is a leading cause for high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes.

The trouble starts when we start adding flavor to the popcorn.

• A teaspoon of oil or butter adds 100 calories
• A teaspoon of salt adds 2,400 mg of sodium
• A large tub of movie theater popcorn can contain 1,200 calories, 980 mg of sodium and 60 grams of saturated fat

The American Diabetes Association recommends eating air popped popcorn as a healthy alternative to oil popped popcorn. They also suggest adding healthy ingredients to liven up the flavor of the popcorn. We've followed some of their suggestions in our favorite popcorn recipes.

• Pepper, paprika or chili powder
• Low-fat parmesan cheese
• Handful of chocolate chips
• Tablespoon of peanut butter
• Basil and garlic

We've also experimented with spicy curry popcorn. And, parmesan has been a very easy flavoring to add to our recipes. Do you have any favorite popcorn recipes? Let us know below.

Making popcorn on the stove without a popcorn popper is really simple. And as you'll see, you don't need any special equipment. While we prefer using our stove top popcorn popper, we've found the following method to be easy, quick and tasty.

We recommend using an 8 quart stock pot as this provides plenty of room for the popcorn to pop and the lid to remain secure. A 6 quart might suffice, just watch if the popcorn reaches the lid. Popping popcorn releases a lot of steam.

Also, you want to use an oil with a high smoke point to pop popcorn on the stove. Peanut, grapeseed and coconut oil works well.

Making Perfect Popcorn on the Stove Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• Half teaspoon kosher salt
• Enough popcorn kernels to cover the bottom of the pot you use

Popcorn popping step-by-step on the stove

1. Add oil and salt to stock pot (adding salt to oil allows the popcorn to be seasoned inside out)
2. Heat oil in pot on medium high heat
3. Move pot around to evenly coat bottom with oil
4. Add 2 or 3 kernels to pot, be sure to put the lid on and wait until you hear the kernels pop
5. Add popcorn to stock pot and shake pot so kernels are evenly layered on the bottom and evenly coated with oil
6. Remove pot from heat for 30 seconds (this will allow all of the kernels to get to the same temperature, that way they will start popping at the same time)
7. Place back on burner. Once popping starts, give the pot a little shake on the burner.
8. Once you hear the popping slow considerably (about 1-2 minutes), remove pot from burner
9. Immediately remove lid to release steam (an oven mitt is handy here). This will prevent condensation from making the popcorn soggy.

This method makes a good batch of tasty popcorn on the stove in just a few moments. And clean up is pretty quick too.

This popcorn recipe is great for parties and satisfies your sweet and chewy craving. We used our Presto Hot Air Popper and Misto Olive Oil Mister with great results. It stores well in an air tight container.

This popcorn recipe can be an evening movie snack or an appetizer before your pizza. We used our Presto Hot Air Popper and Misto Olive Oil Mister with great results. It stores well in an air tight container.

This popcorn recipe is high in taste and low in calories. We used our Presto Hot Air Popper and Misto Olive Oil Mister with great results.