One product, made the same way
Jiffy Pop is one of the few popcorns you cook in its package. The kernels, the oil and the salt sit sealed in a foil pan with a wire handle. Heat does the rest.
The brand has been in commerce since August 1959, and the idea has not changed. You shake a pan over a burner and the folded foil lid unrolls into a dome as the corn pops.
Today the Jiffy Pop catalog is short: one flavor, butter, in the pack sizes you see above.
What you get from a pan
A pan holds 4.5 ounces. The label counts about 3.5 servings, and each serving pops to about 4 cups. That is close to 14 cups, enough for three or four people on a sofa.
A serving has 140 calories, 7 grams of fat and 220 milligrams of sodium. The pan contains milk. The full panel sits under What's Inside, ready to check against your needs.
The foil pan doubles as the serving bowl, so nothing needs washing when the popcorn is gone.
Where it stops
The pan is built for a flame or a coil. The label rules out glass-top and ceramic ranges, open campfires and charcoal grills. On those the heat is uneven and the corn burns before the foil rises.
It also wants your attention. Walk away and the bottom layer scorches. Buyers who shake it the whole time report a full dome. Buyers who stop shaking write about smoke.
If you want popcorn while you do something else, a microwave bag suits you better. If you want the two minutes of theater, this is the one.
Why the price per pan matters
Every pack holds the same pan, so the fair number is the price of one. Right now the 24-Pan Case works out lowest, at $2.17 a pan.
A bigger box is not always cheaper per pan. The bars below put the packs on the same footing.
- Single Pan$2.28 a pan
- 4-Pack$2.28 a pan
- 12-Pan Case$4.08 a pan
- 24-Pan Case$2.17 a pan
It travels with a burner
The label names three heat sources: a gas range, an electric range and a camp stove. On a camp stove it says to follow the gas range directions.
An open campfire and a charcoal grill are ruled out, because the heat under the pan is uneven. So Jiffy Pop travels well, but it travels with a burner.
A pan weighs 4.5 ounces and needs no bowl, no oil and no pot. Pack the pans flat and keep them dry until the stove is lit.
What buyers write
Buyers give the Single Pan 4.0 out of 5 across 3,420 ratings.
The praise repeats one theme: the foil dome is fun to watch, and grown-ups who ate it as children buy it for their own.
The complaints repeat one too. A pan left still, or set on high heat, burns before it fills. Both groups describe the same pan. It rewards a cook who stays at the stove and shakes for a few minutes, with children watching from a step back.
Read the reviews