Popcorn maker

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A popcorn maker (also called a popcorn popper) is a machine used to pop popcorn. Since ancient times, popcorn has been a popular snack food, produced through the explosive expansion of kernels of heated corn (maize).^[1] Commercial large-scale popcorn machines were invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th century. Many types of small-scale home methods for popping corn also exist.

Commercial popcorn machines are commonly found in movie theaters and carnivals, producing popcorn in a pan of hot oil, so that approximately 45% of the calories are derived from fat. Hot-air popcorn poppers for home use appeared in the late 1970s; these produce popcorn with only 5% of its calories derived from fat.^{[citation needed]}

The majority of popcorn sold for home consumption is now packaged in a microwave popcorn bag for use in a microwave oven.^[2] As a result, the popularity of popcorn makers for home use has greatly decreased in the last few decades.