This is a surprisingly effective popcorn bowl.

I eat a lot of popcorn and have tried a lot of different ways of cooking it (air popper, Whirlypop, stovetop, oil-based popping plate device, microwave popcorn, and some others). This is one of the best ones. Air poppers create healthy popcorn, but it is so dry and adding melted butter or spraying with oil after never does it for me. With this bowl, I can use it as a hybrid between an air popper and stovetop by putting just a small amount of oil in, yielding crunch healthier popcorn that is not totally dry.

By adding some oil too, it tastes similar to popcorn cooked on the stove with the Whirlypop.

I've also been able to add some tobasco sauce before cooking to season it (I do this on the stovetop sometimes but the fumes are bad so I don't do it often). It worked better for spicing up the popcorn without odorizing the house.

You can just toss it in the dishwasher to clean it, so everything is neat and tidy. And you can push the bowl down to collapse it if you need space.

Also if you are having a movie night and several people want popcorn, if you buy a couple of these everyone can easily have their own bowl, no concerns about the kid who doesn't wash his hands or anything like that.

One note: the instructions say to wait until popping slows to 5 seconds between pops. If you do this, it will burn. Stop it early, just after popping has slowed down and it is maybe 0.5 - 2 seconds between pops. IMO it is better to have a few unpopped kernels than to have the whole batch tasting scorched.

Tried this device three different ways when I first bought it. First, I used Orville's Orginal Popcorn with teaspoon of oil, it worked great. Second, I tried some Mixed Color (seed color) Gourmet Popcorn (with teaspoon of oil) that was considered Premium Blend by Manufacturer, it also worked great. Third, I went back to Orville's Orginal with NO oil this time and I decided it worked EVEN better than first time, I am impressed!
Conclusions: (Device: Panasonic 1100w with turntable) This Salbree (mine is Blue) unit works great! Highly Recommend!
Notes: Do not overfill. Remove top cover quickly after popping stops to release steam keeps popped corn better. Shake container a liitle from side to side to allow popped kernels to shift around and release heat that builds up underneath. I used zero caloried butter sprays for topping and no salt seasonings for further seasoning while trying to keep it all healthy. No sodium snacks are the goal! Let cool completely before popping another batch....

I've tried microwave popcorn bowls before and was not impressed by them so when a friend recommended this item to me I was certain that this would be another waste of money. His recommendation was in response to my complaint of "I just want to eat some good popcorn that's easy to fix and doesn't have all the chemical junk in it like the microwave bags have!" and he assured me that this would fit the task.

So, I bought it. Wasn't very expensive, why not give it a try? It arrived and I put it beside the sink to wash the next day. A week later, there it sat. Two weeks go by, still it sat there. I didn't want to try it. I knew I would be ticked off at another worthless item that over promised and under delivered. How hard can it be to microwave popcorn with little to no scorching, high kernel pop rate and ease of use?

As I drew closer to a month of this thing sitting by my Kitchen sink I think, "Wasted money or not, it's sure as heck being wasted right now!" so I washed it and the lid dried them well and looked up the directions .pdf from the multiple emails sent to me by the company, followed them to the letter and...what do ya know? Tasty popcorn that was easy to make, didn't scorch, the container didn't burn like kissing a tailpipe.

I tried another batch and used some spices. Scorched! Ok, lesson learned. Add things like that after it's cooked (I'm not terribly bright).

This is a wonderful product. Follow the directions and you should be happily munching away on popcorn any time you wish. It folds up nicely for storage, fits in the smallest microwaves (mine is the smallest sold by a national retailer) and the best part...NO HULLS STUCK IN MY TEETH! Seriously, I can't remember the last time I ate popcorn and didn't have to spend 3 days picking hulls out of my gums and teeth.

If you a popcorn fan and don't like the idea of all the chemicals they put in the microwave bags and don't want to buy another small appliance to put on your counter just so you can have good popcorn...buy this thing. You'll be pleased I'm certain!

*UPDATE 1.17.2018*
After a few washes - the bowl started to smell like soap, and leeched that smell into the popcorn, pretty much ruining the experience. My wife and I are both very sensitive to the smell/taste of soap in our dishes, but this making the popcorn taste like soap is dealbreaker

Orignal Review: (5 stars)
When our old nordicware popper cracked, we decided to try this since we have limited cupboard space - it's worked out perfectly, and even pops more evenly and we have far less old-maids than we had previously! The old nordicware bowl would also get so hot that you couldn't set it on your lap, but this bowl has a recessed bottom that allows the cooler part of the bowl (the cylinder part) to reset comfortably on your lap, even right out of the microwave. No complaints!

This was a pleasant surprise to purchase and use this new Salbree Microwave Popcorn Popper. I was used to using my old hard plastic Presto popper that required to purchase those additional paper cup inserts at an added expense. NOW this popper doesn't require anything additional to make great popcorn.

Here's how it worked for my use:
** Added 1/3rd of cup of organic Pop corn kernels, didn't add any oils or anything.
** Pressed 3 minutes on my GE wall 1000 watt mounted microwave.
** Removed completed popped popcorn and added 1 tablespoon of coconut oil melted, then sprayed on some olive oil, then added a few shakes of Himalayan sea salt to taste.

Excellent, popped just as good as my old popper did, Perfect, with very few un-popped kernels on the bottom.

GREAT POPPER, flexible as all heck, but does the job and does it well! Easy to clean when needed, just liquid soap and a sponge needed.

** [ August 12, 2018 UPDATE! Popper still good as new, works great and popcorn still just as good as when brand new a year in use ago. Warm soapy water to clean every now and then water rinse and dry. Great long lasting popper. ]