Recently my local grocery store made a change to their store brand microwave popcorn. The new packages have different packaging design on the outside, and the popcorn bags inside are clearly being provided by a different vendor.
The new ones include the ominous ‘Do not use the Popcorn Button!’ warning, which wasn’t on the old packages. I’ve seen this on the instructions for other brands of microwave popcorn, and have often wondered why. I’ve also consistently ignored them ever since I’ve gotten a microwave with a popcorn button, with no ill effects.
This YouTube video provides a pretty good answer to the whole issue — the manufacturers have no idea which microwave you have, so they take no chances and tell you to babysit things and turn off the microwave when you hit 2 seconds between pops.
Of course, this is overly cautious. Some dumb microwaves just have a fixed time on their popcorn setting, so you do risk burning if you aren’t listening. Others, however, use moisture sensors to detect the steam that is released when the bag bursts its seams, then time out the rest of the way. Top-of-the-line models use accoustic sensors to actually detect when the popping slows down.
But the best advice from this video doesn’t require a 15-minute explanation, and comes at the very beginning: Orville Reddenbacher may not know anything about your microwave, but you do, so just push the button and try it out. If it’s trying to run too long, shut it down. Problem solved.