The Orville Redenbacher Pop Up Bowl Tender White Popcorn may look like a gimmick—heck, you might even still consider it a gimmick after reading this post—but it tastes good and the bowl really does pop up like it says it will (but be careful because it also gets ridiculously hot).
As far as popcorn goes, this kind doesn’t seem too bad. The ingredients list says: popping corn, palm oil, salt, less than 2% of butter, natural flavors, TBHQ, and citric acid (for freshness). It’s not smothered in butter, so it’s a little healthier than some other options, and it’s perfect for making fancy on your own.
I like to take it (in a different bowl or a baking pan) and drizzle melting chocolate over the top, then add sprinkles to it and mix it up with my hands or a spoon. It doesn’t have much flavor on its own, despite the small amount of butter listed in the ingredients.
There are still 160 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving (5 grams of saturated fat) and 2.5 servings in the bag, so it’s not exactly the healthiest snack you could choose. Sometimes, though, you just want popcorn and nothing else will do.
Separating the popcorn in the bowl into servings before you settle in with your movie or TV show would help, but it would also take away from the benefit of the pop-up bowl, so your best bet may be to pop it when you can share it with the family. You can’t get much more convenient than popping it in its own bowl, and there are much worse options on the shelves.
Photo credit: Orville
