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When you heat popcorn in the microwave according to the

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NewTime
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29 Apr 2020, 11:13 am

When you heat popcorn in the microwave according to the directions on the bag, why does it always burn?



Fnord
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29 Apr 2020, 11:17 am

NewTime wrote:
When you heat popcorn in the microwave according to the directions on the bag, why does it always burn?
Likely because the microwave oven you're using puts out more energy than needed; 1100 Watts instead of 900 Watts, for example.  I haven't burned any microwave popcorn since I learned this.  Try reducing the cooking time by a few minutes, or take the bag out as soon as you hear the popping slow down.


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dragonsanddemons
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30 Apr 2020, 1:12 am

I typically set the microwave time for four minutes and listen for when the popping slows down, and take it out then (usually about 30-60 seconds before the time runs out). I've occasionally singed bags when I didn't take them out right when the popping started to slow, but I've never outright burned a bag doing this. But different microwaves do sometimes put out more different levels of power. As Fnord said, probably your microwave gives out more power than the microwave they use as "standard" for the instructions - you may need to take the bag out sooner because of that. But I think the key to not burning popcorn is to listen and take it out as soon as the popping slows rather than letting it go for a specific amount of time.


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01 May 2020, 10:42 am

For every microwave that I've ever had cooking popcorn exactly the time given in the directions would make it burn. I have therefore had to adjust the time to fit the microwave.



nick007
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02 May 2020, 11:54 pm

dragonsanddemons wrote:
I typically set the microwave time for four minutes and listen for when the popping slows down, and take it out then (usually about 30-60 seconds before the time runs out).
That's a long time. it takes a minute & 52 seconds to pop with our microwave.


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kokopelli
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02 May 2020, 11:55 pm

Fnord wrote:
NewTime wrote:
When you heat popcorn in the microwave according to the directions on the bag, why does it always burn?
Likely because the microwave oven you're using puts out more energy than needed; 1100 Watts instead of 900 Watts, for example.  I haven't burned any microwave popcorn since I learned this.  Try reducing the cooking time by a few minutes, or take the bag out as soon as you hear the popping slow down.


This.

Fnord does know his popcorn.



PurpleReject
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03 May 2020, 12:25 pm

I heard somewhere that you time the space between pops; once you get three seconds between pops, that's when it's ready. I've always put it in the microwave for three minutes and it usually gets to that point with around 40-60 seconds left and I've never had any issues.



AnonymousAnonymous
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03 May 2020, 6:22 pm

My father often burnt popcorn whenever he put a bag in the microwave.

Whenever he did this, my mom in turn would yell at him because she believed he did it on purpose.


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