Microwave popcorn is a scam. I don't think I've ever in my entire life gotten it so that nothing was burnt, and there were no unpopped kernels. And the package even has the audacity to say you shouldn't try micowaving unpoped kernels again.

I'd like try stovetop popcorn, but I don't have a dish suitable for that ATM :(
The package isn't lying. I tried re-popping unpopped kernels once and ended up burning the popcorn.

Oh, I used the big oven:
I stuffed pop full of corn before popping him into the oven.. He came out quite crispy -- burnt to a crisp.

And the bag too if you're not careful. ;)

Popcorn hurts my mouth with all the chewing, and while it looks and feels soft and fluffy at first, for some reason they have edible high fructose corn glass hidden beneath that stab my gums and scratch my teeth. So I don't eat microwave popcorn, ever.

And speaking of microwaveable food, everything is designed for 1100 watt, so I have to take that 10% difference into account when I use my 1000 watt microwave oven.

I recall reading the fat they use with microwave popcorn is extra bad for you, causing cancer and insanity. Making popcorn in a kettle with oil is better, but messier of course.

One year ago I bought a small popcorn maker that uses no fat, kinda like an air fryer. It is pretty handy and I guess the fatless popcorn is a bit more healthy, but if you want, you can melt some butter with the device and later pour it on the popcorn.

It is this one actually:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILbpqh22WVk

The interesting thing about that is that here in California, there is supposed to be signs up if not on the packaging directly if something just maybe might cause cancer. I don't remember there being any warning signs about microwave popcorn. >.>

Nevermind that there's cancer warning signs on almost all office buildings, Disneyland, extremely white dishware, and all sorts of other assorted things.

You don't repop with the already popped kernels, you remove them first! And if you're worried about burning the bag, do it in a separate paper bag.

Also, the cancer risk for the fat they use in microwave popcorn will only cause problems if you're having several bags a day of the stuff.

The culprit is, of course, trans fatty acids, but then in western diet with lots of processed foods, you are probably consuming lots of it anyway, if you are eating processed foods.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34104953/

https://www.iarc.who.int/featured-news/trans_fatty_acids_ovarian_cancer/

Maybe not among the strongest carcinogenics, but overall bad for you. I am pretty sure that popcorn boiled in kettle with olive/canola/rape seed oil wouldn't be quite as bad. Or using those "hot air" poppers without any additional fat.

I have one of those hot air poppers for the very reason that it allows you to make popcorn without adding any oil.

I have one of these too, quite a stylish one as well. But it wasn't really my thing, I prefer to have a little bit of oil so the salt will stick. So I returned to the microwave solution, tried out different discounter brands and am now happy with the solution :)

The reason I stopped using ours is that if you opt for melting butter/margarine/spread to scatter over your popcorn afterwards it doesn't spread evenly. You get some popcorn puffs completely liquefied and some puffs get no coating.

Microwave popcorn seemed the less-mess option with a better result if you want buttered popcorn. If you want plain an air popper is great.

EDIT: And when it comes to snacks I'd rather eat a carrot or celery or an apple rather than eat plain popcorn *shrug*. It's down to taste of course but I don't see the attraction of plain popcorn.

Literally everything heated in a microwave turns out crappy. They are never worth using for anything.

I can make an awesome cake in a cup in our microwave. And it takes mere minutes where cake takes far longer in a conventional oven.

Other than that it's damn handy to defrost frozen goods in prep for cooking on the stove-top, melt chocolate for baking, even defrost bread / burger buns.

I also cook frozen veg in the microwave. Or potatoes whole or in pieces to make mash. Quicker than a stove-top for sure, and it has reliable and tasty results.

It's great for warming up pizza the morning after I got it. I don't need to go through the rigmarole of pre-heating my oven. I used to have a toaster oven (which skipped that phase), but it broke.