What's the deal with the popcorn button?

Summary

This video script explores the enigmatic 'popcorn button' on microwave ovens, often shunned by popcorn manufacturers due to variability in microwave performance. It delves into the technology behind smart microwaves equipped with sensors like moisture detectors and microphones, which can automatically determine when popcorn is perfectly popped. The script encourages viewers to experiment with their microwave's popcorn button, highlighting how it can be a useful feature despite the warnings, and shares personal experiences with different microwave models, showcasing their popcorn-popping capabilities.

Takeaways

• 🔘 Many microwave ovens have a popcorn button, but popcorn manufacturers often advise against using it due to concerns about inconsistent performance.
• 😅 The popcorn button on some microwaves might only set a pre-programmed cooking time, leading to either burnt or undercooked popcorn.
• 🔍 Jolly Time popcorn stands out for not warning against using the popcorn button, suggesting trust in consumers to experiment and use their judgment.
• 🤖 Smarter microwaves may have sensors, such as moisture sensors or microphones, that can determine when the popcorn is done cooking.
• 📍 If a microwave asks for the size of the popcorn bag when the popcorn button is pressed, it likely lacks a proper sensor and may not pop the popcorn well.
• 👍 A good popcorn button will start the cooking process immediately without requiring additional input from the user.
• 💧 Microwaves with moisture sensors can analyze the rise in detected moisture to determine the cooking time for food, including popcorn.
• 👨‍🔧 The effectiveness of a popcorn button can depend on the location and sensitivity of the microwave's moisture sensor.
• 📈 Some microwaves, like the KitchenAid model mentioned, may use sound-based functions to determine the optimal cooking time for popcorn.
• 🛠️ Experimenting with the popcorn button can help users understand their microwave's features and capabilities, even if it's not perfect.
• 🔄 Microwaves may have additional features like convection oven capabilities or sensor reheat functions that are worth exploring.

Q & A

Why do many microwave popcorn bags warn against using the microwave's popcorn button?

The popcorn producers don't know the specifics of your microwave, and some microwaves have a popcorn button that doesn't function properly, potentially leading to burnt or undercooked popcorn.

What does the script suggest you should do with the popcorn button on your microwave?

The script encourages you to try using the popcorn button to see how your microwave performs, as it may have a sensor that can accurately pop the corn.

How can you tell if your microwave has a 'smart' popcorn button with a sensor?

If pressing the popcorn button prompts the microwave to ask for the size of the bag, it likely doesn't have a smart sensor. If it just starts without asking for input, it may have a sensor.

What types of sensors might a microwave with a proper popcorn popping function have?

A microwave with a proper popcorn popping function might have a moisture sensor, and if it's very advanced, it might also have a microphone to detect the sound of popcorn popping.

What is the purpose of a moisture sensor in a microwave?

A moisture sensor in a microwave can detect when food begins to let off steam, allowing the microwave to determine how long to cook the food based on the rise in detected moisture.

How does a microwave with a moisture sensor determine the size of the popcorn bag and the cooking time?

The microwave detects a sudden moisture spike when the bag bursts open and uses a lookup table in its programming to estimate the bag size and adjust the cooking time accordingly.

What is the significance of the beep sound mentioned in the script?

The beep sound signals that the microwave has determined the remaining cooking time based on the detected moisture. It's a cue for the user to be ready to stop the microwave if needed.

Why might a microwave with a popcorn button not work well for all types of popcorn?

The performance of a microwave's popcorn button can vary depending on factors like the location of the moisture sensor, the microwave's ability to circulate air, and the type and size of the popcorn bag.

What feature does the script mention as an indicator of a microwave with a moisture sensor?

The script mentions 'Sensor Reheat' as a feature that indicates a microwave has a moisture sensor.

How does the script describe the popcorn button on the KitchenAid microwave?

The KitchenAid microwave's popcorn button is described as possibly the best the author has ever used, with a feature that might be listening for popping sounds and a cooking process that doesn't appear to use full power.

What advice does the script give regarding exploring the features of your microwave?

The script encourages users to explore and understand all the features their microwave has, as some features, like the sensor reheat function, can be very useful once you learn how to use them.

Outlines

00:00

🍿 The Mystery of the Popcorn Button

The script discusses the common presence of a 'popcorn button' on microwave ovens and the contradictory instructions from popcorn manufacturers advising against its use. It raises the question of why such a button exists if it's not recommended for popping popcorn. The narrator suggests that the button's functionality varies by microwave model and encourages viewers to experiment with it despite warnings. The script also points out that some microwaves have sensors to detect when popcorn is done, and these can be identified by trying the popcorn button and observing the microwave's response.

05:04

🔍 Exploring Microwave Sensors and Popcorn Buttons

This paragraph delves into how smart microwaves with sensors can determine when popcorn is ready. It explains that pressing the popcorn button can help identify if a microwave has a moisture sensor or a microphone to detect the end of the popping process. The narrator describes the experience with different microwaves, noting how some are not perfectly designed to use the popcorn button due to sensor placement or other factors. The paragraph emphasizes learning from experimentation and adjusting the use of the popcorn button based on observations.

10:06

🛠 The Art of Perfecting Popcorn Popping

The script shares the narrator's experiences with various microwave models, highlighting the differences in their popcorn buttons' effectiveness. It discusses the importance of sensor placement and the potential use of sound-based functions in newer microwaves. The narrator also mentions a unique microwave feature that may use a microphone to detect the end of popcorn popping and shares a personal anecdote about successfully using this feature. The paragraph concludes with a humorous reflection on the narrator's own microwave's capabilities and a playful hint at future exploration of air fryers.

Keywords

💡Microwave Oven

A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by using electromagnetic waves. In the video's context, it's central to the discussion as the script explores the functionality of microwave ovens, particularly their popcorn buttons and how they can vary in effectiveness. The script mentions that many microwave ovens come with a dedicated popcorn button, but the effectiveness of this feature is questioned throughout the video.

💡Popcorn Button

The popcorn button is a feature found on many microwave ovens, intended to simplify the process of popping popcorn by pre-setting the cooking time. The video script discusses the controversy surrounding these buttons, as they are often discouraged by popcorn manufacturers due to concerns about inconsistent performance. The script encourages viewers to experiment with their microwave's popcorn button to determine its reliability.

💡Popping Popcorn

Popping popcorn refers to the process where corn kernels explode and turn inside out when heated, creating the familiar snack. The video script delves into the various ways microwave ovens attempt to automate this process, with discussions on the effectiveness of popcorn buttons, sensors, and the importance of stopping the cooking process at the right time to avoid burnt popcorn.

💡Moisture Sensor

A moisture sensor in a microwave oven is a device that detects changes in moisture levels within the oven cavity. The script explains that some microwaves use moisture sensors to determine when popcorn has finished popping, by detecting the release of steam from the bag. This feature is part of the investigation into what makes a 'good' popcorn button in the video.

💡Microwave Sensors

Microwave sensors, as discussed in the script, can include moisture sensors and, less commonly, microphones. These sensors are used to automate the cooking process by detecting when food, such as popcorn, is done cooking. The video explores how the presence and type of sensors can affect the performance of a microwave's popcorn button.

💡Sensor Reheat

Sensor Reheat is a feature on some microwave ovens that uses a moisture sensor to automatically adjust the reheating time for leftovers based on the detected moisture levels. The script mentions this feature as an example of how microwaves can smartly adjust cooking times without user input, which is also relevant to the popcorn button's functionality.

💡Magnetron

The magnetron is the component of a microwave oven that generates the microwaves which cook the food. The script refers to the magnetron in the context of how it is activated by the popcorn button and how its operation can be managed by sensors to ensure optimal popcorn popping.

💡Popcorn Brands

Popcorn brands are manufacturers of the packaged popcorn that consumers use in microwave ovens. The video script mentions that different brands have varying instructions and warnings regarding the use of the popcorn button, with some brands like Jolly Time trusting consumers to use their judgment.

💡Convection Oven

A convection oven is an appliance that cooks food using a fan-distributed heat, providing more even cooking than traditional ovens. The script briefly mentions that some over-the-range microwaves can also function as convection ovens, highlighting the versatility of modern kitchen appliances.

💡Air Frying

Air frying is a cooking method that uses hot air circulation to cook food, often resulting in a crispy texture similar to deep-frying but with less oil. The script notes that some modern microwave ovens, like the one discussed, have air frying capabilities, indicating a trend towards multi-functional kitchen devices.

💡Experimentation

Experimentation, as encouraged in the script, involves trying out different features of a microwave oven, such as the popcorn button, to understand their performance and reliability. The video's theme revolves around the idea that users should not be deterred by warnings but instead explore and learn about their appliances' capabilities.

Highlights

Microwave ovens often have a dedicated popcorn button, but many popcorn bags warn against using it.

Popcorn producers can't account for the variety in microwaves, leading to inconsistent popping results with the popcorn button.

Some microwaves have sensors to determine when popcorn is done, but not all popcorn buttons are designed to utilize these sensors effectively.

Jolly Time popcorn does not warn against using the popcorn button, showing trust in consumers to experiment.

Smarter microwaves with sensors can automatically adjust cooking time for popcorn based on the moisture released.

Microwaves with a moisture sensor may offer functions like 'Sensor Reheat', which can be surprisingly effective.

A popcorn button that asks for the bag size is likely to be ineffective, while one that starts automatically may be equipped with a sensor.

Microwaves with proper popcorn popping capabilities may have a moisture sensor and, less commonly, a microphone to detect popping sounds.

The Sharp Carousel Multiple Choice microwave, though outdated, was an example of smart appliance technology with automatic cooking parameters.

A moisture sensor in a microwave can detect when popcorn is done by analyzing the rise in detected moisture over time.

The effectiveness of a popcorn button can be influenced by the location of the moisture sensor and the microwave's internal airflow.

Observing the behavior of a microwave's popcorn button can help consumers learn to adjust their cooking times for optimal results.

Some microwaves, like the Sharp Carousel, have a popcorn button that works perfectly for various popcorn types and sizes.

The KitchenAid microwave has a popcorn button that may use sound-based technology to determine when the popcorn is done.

Experimenting with the popcorn button can reveal the specific quirks and capabilities of a microwave's sensors and cooking algorithms.

Modern microwaves may have additional features like convection oven capabilities or air frying functions, expanding their versatility.

Encouraging consumers to explore their microwave's features can lead to discovering useful functions that improve cooking outcomes.

Transcripts

Hello.

It is still november.

With that out of the way, does your microwave oven have a popcorn button?

Yeah, mine too.

Lots of microwave ovens come with a dedicated button for popping microwave popcorn,

yet on nearly every bag of microwave popcorn sold in a store

you’ll find a rather stern warning making it clear in no uncertain terms

that that button is forbidden.

Do NOT use the popcorn button.

This might make you question

“why do we even have that button?”

and you know what? That’s a great question.

But I’m gonna tell you something wild and devious:

you should try it and see what happens.

Try it.

You know you want to.

See, I got this question from a patron of the channel recently.

Jolly Orville Secret Redenbacher Time II has a great incentive to tell you not to use the popcorn button.

The popcorn producers of the world don’t know anything about your microwave,

and some microwave oven manufacturers are dirty little liars

and put a popcorn button on microwaves that have no business having one.

Oftentimes that button doesn't do anything but set a pre-programmed cooking time

and if you use it your popcorn will be either burnt to a crisp or hardly popped at all

with an approximately zero percent chance of proper popping performance.

Since nobody likes wasting popcorn,

the popcorn people put a purportedly proper popcorn preparation primer on every package of popcorn which usually involves

listening for a gap of two seconds between pops to signal it’s done

and don’t you EVER use the popcorn button.

Not in this family!

[voiceover] Pardon the interruption but I need to make a correction:

Of the brands shown here, Jolly Time stands out by not warning against using the popcorn button.

As you’re about to learn, this is actually a nice gesture

because it means they trust you to use your brain and experiment.

And that’s the kind of hard-hitting investigative journalism you can expect from Technology Connections.

As far as the rest of those brands, though -

here’s the secret they don’t want you to know:

Some microwaves are smarter than others and have sensors to determine when things are done cooking.

Like popcorn.

And how do you know whether your microwave is among those better ones?

Try the popcorn button.

If you press the popcorn button and your microwave asks you the size of the bag,

Danger, Will Robinson!

That is probably a bad popcorn button which is sure to disappoint you.

But if you press it and the microwave just starts…

you might have a good popcorn button.

Perhaps you still need to press the start button to make it go,

and it might even give a message saying that it’s designed for bags of a certain size,

but so long as it doesn’t ask you to enter or choose between values in ounces or grams,

your microwave likely has some sort of sensor with which it can determine when the popcorn is done and thus it will stop automatically.

What sort of sensor, you ask?

Broadly, a microwave with proper popcorn popping prowess will have one or possibly two sensors onboard:

a moisture sensor and if it’s very fancy a microphone.

Microphones in microwaves are, I think, not super common

so you are more likely to just have a moisture sensor.

But don’t underestimate the power of moistness!

With a bit of logic, that sensor can be used for all sorts of useful things,

including automatic reheating of a meal or,

if you go back in time to when appliances were actually trying to be smart and not just connected to the internet,

following specific parameters to enable automatic cooking of specific kinds of foods.

Sadly, the days of the Sharp Carousel Multiple Choice have been over for like 20 years

(at least outside of Japan).

But lots of microwaves still have a moisture sensor.

One way to tell whether you have that sensor is if your microwave offers functions like “Sensor Reheat” -

which, if it does, you should give that a try next time you’re reheating leftovers.

It has worked surprisingly well in my experience.

What a microwave oven is doing when using that feature is analyzing the rise in detected moisture over time.

More moisture indicates food is beginning to let off steam,

and depending on how quickly that steam is detected, it can roughly determine how much food you put in

(and how cold it was) and thus how long it needs to heat it for.

If you’re lucky enough to have a moisture sensor in your microwave,

you may very well have a decent popcorn button.

See, unless you’re getting it from Uncle Joe’s Discount Cornhole,

a bag of microwave popcorn will stay sealed when it begins to pop.

Since it’s sealed, the moisture sensor can't detect anything at first.

But once the pressure in the bag builds past a certain point,

the bag will either go “boof” or possibly

“pfffft”

and let out a big ol’ cloud of steam.

The microwave will easily detect that,

and by comparing the time it took between the start and the sudden moisture spike with a lookup table built into its programming,

it will pretty accurately guess the size of the bag it’s popping and how long it should keep cooking until it’s done.

If you’ve got a microwave like this, that popcorn button might work perfectly for most kinds and sizes of popcorn.

Notice, though, that I said “might” and “most” -

this Samsung microwave oven has a pretty decent popcorn button but the location of its moisture sensor isn’t the best.

When you use its popcorn function,

it fires up the fans for a few seconds to clear the air around the moisture sensor before switching on the magnetron.

After a short delay it begins cooking.

And you can clearly see that the display doesn’t say anything other than “Popcorn” until shortly after the bag bursts open.

Then it picks a time remaining value and stops cooking at the end.

This works pretty well…

if the opening of the bag is pointing to the right when it bursts open.

The sensor is clearly somewhere up in here,

and if the steam gets shot right into this area,

the microwave only takes a few seconds to pick a remaining cook time.

And once it does, it’s usually pretty bang-on.

But if the popcorn bag was pointing away from this region,

it tends to take just a little too long to detect the moisture spike,

so it thinks the bag is bigger than it is,

and it cooks just a little bit too long.

Generally it just singes a few kernels, but it’s enough to be disappointing.

A faster-spinning turntable would be one potential solution here,

or perhaps the microwave just isn’t churning up the air inside of it well enough.

But here’s the thing - despite not being perfect,

I would still happily press that button.

Because I’ve dared to use this microwave’s popcorn button and observed its quirks,

I learned that it beeps when it determines the remaining time,

which is usually somewhere around 20 or 30 seconds.

[beep]

That gets my attention so I get ready to stop the microwave.

Sometimes I don’t need to stop it early at all, other times I’ll stop it with 5 or 10 seconds remaining.

And if I’m popping one of those small snack bags?

I stop it when it beeps.

So while its popcorn button isn’t perfect enough to just hit and walk away,

it does eliminate enough of the guesswork when buying a different brand, type, flavor, or size of popcorn that I find it extremely useful.

And I have indeed used microwaves with a perfect popcorn button.

Like the Sharp Carousel sitting in front of me.

I made a whole video about this which you can check out if you like,

and if you’re extremely bored you can also look at the video on my second channel where I audited its popcorn popping performance.

A different microwave from my childhood also had a perfect popcorn button.

Sadly that one didn’t last long at all but it was great while it lasted.

And, wouldn't ya know it,

my new microwave oven at home has perhaps the best popcorn button I’ve ever used -

but it’s got a twist.

Actually, two.

I suspect that this fella has a microphone listening for popping sounds.

That might sound pretty expensive to implement in a consumer device,

but remember the video I just made on the Clapper?

Yeah it’s not exactly groundbreaking technology.

Every time I have used the popcorn button on this microwave,

it has run the magnetron until just after there’s about a two second gap between pops and then it decides

“ok it’s done!”

It throws a time remaining on the screen but you can tell that the magnetron has shut off and it doesn’t restart.

It has done this and worked perfectly with different sizes and types of popcorn,

even a cheesy popcorn which I absolutely regret purchasing.

But I don’t think I’ve tried a snack-size bag yet.

How’d that work, future me?

[munch]

Went just fine, past me.

Coulda gone a little longer but it’s not burned.

Not too many kernels, actually.

Good job!

Unfortunately I couldn’t determine concretely whether this model actually has an acoustic popcorn popping strategy.

The manual doesn’t mention it and neither does its marketing copy.

It may be that its steam sensor is just… really good,

but I mean it’s been way too consistent with the whole “wait for a two-second pause between pops” thing

for me to call that a coincidence.

What’s that?

There’s a button that says “feature sheet” under “additional documents?”

Did I write all that before clicking that button?

Because it says it features a “Sound-based popcorn function.” right there.

So it is real.

Good to know.

The other twist with this microwave, though, is that it doesn’t appear to cook popcorn at full power.

It takes noticeably longer than the Samsung machine does,

and indeed most microwaves I’ve ever used.

But - it doesn’t have an inverter magnetron and I don’t hear it cycling

so unless it’s got some sort of half-wave rectified 50% power mode I don’t know what the heck it’s doing.

You don’t need to know what any of that means.

This microwave is also weirdly slow at melting butter for some reason, but not at heating things in general.

That’s actually been something of a minor mystery that I’m still puzzled by so

I’m honestly not sure if the slow popcorn popping is intentional

but by golly it nails it every time so it’s definitely worth the small added wait.

So.

I’ve technically shown you three microwaves in this video:

this Sharp from the late ‘90s.

The Samsung from around 2010.

And the KitchenAid from just last year.

All of them have perfectly functional popcorn buttons that work great, well-enough-to-be-useful if not perfect, and fantastic respectively.

And the only way I found that out

was by daring to use the popcorn button.

Uncle Orville may not want us to press the button

but that’s only out of fear of the unknown.

Orville can’t tell what microwave you’ve got and he’s just giving advice for the lowest common denominator.

But you know what kind of microwave you have!

Or, if you don’t yet, you can surely find out.

All it takes is a press of a button!

At most you’ll waste a bag of popcorn, but even then -

if you just watch it as it does its thing, you can stop it yourself if it’s going on too long

or start it again if it stopped too soon.

You’re smart enough to figure that out, and you should!

Honestly you should check out all the features your microwave has.

Sure, many of them are clunky to access

(a high-res dot matrix display and actual user interface could really help with that but that ship has sailed apparently).

And while they’re often of dubious usefulness, at least one or two of them might be great!

I use the sensor reheat function all the time to take the guesswork out of leftovers.

I just wish Samsung wouldn’t make me pick between Casserole, Dinner Plate, and Pasta

- what does that even mean?

And who knows, if you didn’t buy the microwave oven you have at home yourself,

it might have some tricks up its sleeve you didn’t know about.

This over-the-range microwave can actually be a convection oven!

It’s got resistive heating elements in addition to the magnetron

and will get its insides up to 450 degrees if you like.

Apparently the new model even does air frying.

Of course it does.

Am I ever going to get around to talking about air fryers?

♫ steamingly smooth jazz ♫

Whaddya suppose the difference is between buttery kettle corn and regular kettle corn?

I dunno but I bought this cause I wanna find out.

One way to tell whether you have that sensor is if your microwave offersh [annoyed flub fliby sounds]

The moisture sensor doesn’t detect anything at first.

Ahh…

what?

See, unless you’re getting it from Uncle…

why?

Hmm.

It can pretty accurately guess the size of the bag it’s popking.

Popking?

Oh boy!

Popcorn button might work perfekly for most kinds and sizes of popcorn.

Why did perfectly get…

PAHPCORN

Which is usually somewhere around 20 or 30 secods.

Why did I say seconds like that?

I dunno, but I’m starting over.

PAHPCORN