Catamount Glass Co. Microwave Popcorn Popper

Every now and then, I run into something that is really kind of cool, even though I don't have much use for it. Like this thing, for example: It's a microwave popcorn popper made of borosilicate glass by the Catamount Glass Company of Burlington, VT.

I kind of hate run-of-the-mill microwave popcorn. It uses a lot of packaging materials, it's loaded with disgusting waxy grease, and it costs about ten times what plain old kernel popcorn does. And despite all of the artificial flavors ConAgra and the other industrial food megacorps load into them, they still taste like shit.

The Catamount popcorn popper, though, is just as easy to use as one of those pre-packed popcorn envelopes, with the advantages of lower cost and increased deliciousness: Just pour in half a cup of popcorn kernels, put the top on, and put it into the microwave for about 4 minutes on high. You don't need any oil to pop the corn, though you can put some in if you want.

It works great - the corn pops up light and fluffy, and there are only a few "old maids" at the bottom when you're done. Just like with any microwave popcorn, you'll need to keep an eye on it to figure out exactly how long it takes to pop the corn in your particular microwave so it doesn't burn.

The handle on the side of the popper doesn't heat up in the microwave, so when your popcorn is done, it's simple to just take the lid off and pour it out into a bowl. And it's really easy to clean. Most of the time, it will only take a good hot water rinse to clean it up, but if you ever have to scrub it, the wide mouth is easy to reach into with a sponge.

The thing is, I have the same complaint about this popper as I do about hot air poppers. The popcorn is a little dry and kind of flavorless since it isn't popped using oil, as it would be in a traditional popping kettle or a saucepan on the stove. But, just like with air poppers, it's trivially easy to just top the snack with melted butter and tasty salt before eating. So I guess that, even though I still prefer making popcorn in a pan on the stove, the Catamount popper is worthy.

Catamount Glass Co. Inc. doesn't have a directly-named corporate website. However, they seem to be the operators of vermontgift.com, a website where a huge variety of made-in-Vermont Catamount Glass cookware can be found and ordered.