Everyone Owned One In The '80s — Now It's The Vintage Appliance We Want On Our Countertops

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The 1980s were a time of vibrant colors and bold design choices, with kitchens featuring things like tile countertops, dark wood, and patterned China on display in glass front cabinets. This sort of aesthetics isn't really popular anymore, but people are once again looking for ways to bring some of the more bold and colorful aspects of the style into modern kitchens. If you want to create an '80s-inspired kitchen with finds off of Amazon, one appliance you should consider picking up is an air popped popcorn maker. These small appliances were once a staple of many kitchens, with people enjoying the ease in which they were able to make popcorn away from a stovetop.

An air popped popcorn maker does not need oil to pop corn kernels, instead hot air gets blown into a chamber to do it. This leaves you with popcorn that is light and airy, and offers more control over the flavor. Without the addition of butter and oil, you can make sure you add as much or as little butter as you want, as well as different seasonings. The hot air directly on the kernels also helps to speed up the popping process without leaving behind too many unpopped or burnt pieces. And with many of these small appliances being easy to find and affordable, it's actually an '80s inspired find that you won't mind having on your counter.

There are a few more reasons to add an air popped popcorn maker to your kitchen, beyond wanting to add '80s and '90s inspired nostalgia decor to your home and the convenience of making a healthy snack with more control over the flavor. 

If you're trying to avoid the dangers of putting flammable kitchen waste in the trash, such as microwave popcorn bags, switching to an air popped popcorn maker makes sense. It can also be a more cost-effective option, as a jar of kernels tends to sell for less than purchasing a box of microwavable bags. On Amazon, you can even find a bag of popcorn kernels for under $0.10 per ounce.

Depending on the size of popcorn maker you choose, you might want to use it for gatherings and game night get togethers, so people can make their own popcorn with whatever flavoring they want. An air popped popcorn maker can be a great conversation starter, while also being a gathering spot as people talk about which flavors they like on their popcorn. It can even eliminate waste, as the popcorn only needs to be popped when someone actually wants a snack, instead of leaving out bowls of popcorn in advance that end up going stale or having multiple hands reaching into the serving container. Even a smaller popcorn maker like the Dash Fresh Pop Popcorn Maker can upgrade movie nights, and even let young kids and teens pop up their own snacks.