How to Use a Popcorn Sifter Bowl So That It Actually Works

Looking for an easy way to get those unpopped and under-popped kernels out of your popcorn? I found a good solution—but it only works if you don’t follow the instructions.

I usually make my popcorn in a pan. A saucepan if it’s just for me, a big soup pot if it’s for more than a couple of people.

As the popcorn pops, it pushes the popcorn above it higher, until everything that’s going to pop has popped, and the unpopped stuff is left at the bottom. And there aren’t a lot of unpopped or under-popped kernels in a batch of my popcorn anyway, but there are some.

I can’t just dump it into a bowl, because then the bottom pieces will end up on the top. Sure, a lot of the completely unpopped ones (called Old Maids, believe it or not) will probably fall to the bottom, since they’re kind of slippery. But the partially-popped ones tend to get caught among the “good” pieces. And nothing ruins a big mouthful of popcorn more than biting down on a hard, crunchy piece.

So, I scoop the popcorn from the top with my hands, being careful as I get to the bottom to not get any of the bottom pieces. It’s not hard and doesn’t take long.

However, when I make microwave popcorn, unpopped kernels are a bigger issue. There are always a good amount of them, and it’s much harder to scoop all of the popcorn out of a microwave bag from the top (it’s too narrow, and you get the butter flavor stuff all over your hands).

I’d known for a while that popcorn bowls with holes on the bottom existed, for getting rid of those crunchy pieces and Old Maids. But every one I’d seen had small holes, and I didn’t think they would work well. For sure, the under-popped pieces wouldn’t fit through, but it looked like the completely unpopped pieces might not fit either. And I wasn’t willing to waste money finding out.

However, a few days ago I found this one, and I had to try it. The holes looked like they might be big enough for the job. You put popcorn in, put the lid on, and shake it, and the small pieces fall through the holes. You can then unscrew the bottom to remove them.

I popped up a normal-size bag of microwave popcorn, and dumped it into the bowl. Following the instructions, I put the lid on and shook gently, as the instructions said to do. After about 15 seconds I unscrewed the bottom, and a lot of kernels had definitely fallen through:

I dumped those out, screwed the bottom back on, and shook some more. And got this:

At this point I felt like I’d gotten everything out that I was going to get, so I took the lid off to see how I’d done. And I was not happy. I could see a kernel right there on the top, and when I dug in a little I found more.

BUT, as I was digging around, a few more kernels and crunchy pieces fell to the bottom, and that’s when I got an idea: what if, instead of shaking the popcorn with the lid on, I just tossed it gently with my hands?

I dumped that popcorn into a bowl and put another bag in the microwave (it didn’t occur to me until it was already popping that I could have just poured the Old Maids back into the popcorn I’d already popped—d’oh!!). And this time, after pouring the bag of popcorn into the bowl, I tossed it gently with my hands. After about fifteen seconds, I’d gotten all of this:

Success! By tossing the popcorn in the bowl, I got all of the Old Maids out in fifteen seconds! Using their instructions, I’d shaken the popcorn twice, and unscrewed the bottom twice, and still hadn’t gotten everything.

Tossing the popcorn is absolutely the best way to use this bowl. If I’d continued following their instructions, I don’t think I’d have used this bowl much. But now, I’ll definitely use it every time I make microwave popcorn. Maybe even when I make it in a pan.

I do wish that the holes covered a larger surface area, instead of the bowl tapering so much at the bottom. If the holes covered more territory, the kernels could fall through even faster.

Another improvement (and I realize that I’m really asking for a completely redesigned bowl at this point) would be some sort of insert for the inside, so that you could also use it as a normal bowl. The lid does not snap on (you’re supposed to hold it on while you shake), but if it did, it would be a good storage bowl as well.

It’s dishwasher safe, which is great, because popcorn bowls get greasy.

So, I give it a big thumbs up, but only following my instructions, not the ones that come with the bowl!

This reminds me of my salad chopper. Following the instructions, it was a dud. But when I tried it a different way, it was great! And I still use that to this day. It makes me wonder if the companies that make these things actually test them out with real people.