Old School Popcorn

When I moved into the dorm my freshman year in 1978 (yikes!), I took two cooking tools: a hot pot and an electric popcorn popper.

You must remember that in 1978, microwave ovens were expensive and rare. The dorm kitchen didn't have one, and no one had one in their room. So if I wanted to cook, I had to go to the dorm kitchen and share the stove with everyone else or use one of my tools.

The hot pot was a small thing that looked like a coffee pot. It held about 2 cups of liquid and plugged into the wall. The only thing it could do was heat up water (to make ramen noodles) or soup.

The popcorn popper, on the other hand, not only made popcorn but also doubled as a grill. I used the bottom part to make many grilled cheese sandwiches. And I made a lot of popcorn. I loved that appliance, and I moved it many times before I finally let it go to the great popcorn factory in the sky.

Over time, I got a microwave. Microwave popcorn became affordable and oh so convenient. I forgot how real popcorn tasted.

When my nephew moved into the dorm for his freshman year last fall, I remembered the popcorn popper. I lusted after them on Amazon, but I didn't buy one. My logic: microwave popcorn works fine.

A few weeks ago, I found a popcorn popper on sale at Kroger for half price. Voila! I have a new popcorn popper. The popcorn is excellent!

Sometimes the old fashioned way is best.