Yeah it’s fine. I actually put two staples in, with a little gap between for the air and steam to come out. In a pinch you can leave the staples out but usually the pressure of the popcorn unrolls the bag and the popcorn comes out.

I’m actually an antenna engineer (radio frequency/microwave engineer) and I’m embarrassed to say I don’t fully understand it. I’ve seen actual metal racks that come with microwave ovens.

Theoretically what would happen is currents would flow on the surface of the metal to what we call the skin depth. Since the power level is high, those currents would generate heat. If it’s enough heat the metal could melt or even pop. When this happens it can cause a burn mark and mess up the finish of the interior.

The other effect would be that the microwaves will reflect off of the staple. Reflected waves shouldn’t really do anything except cause the wave to bounce around in the microwave, which they already do. The inside of the oven is metal after all.

I think they say not to do it because thin metals can melt or burn. Thick metals might reflect the waves away from where you want them so your food doesn’t cook. Otherwise I don’t see the harm but maybe I’m missing something. I design antennas, not microwave ovens, but from experience I haven’t ever had a problem with the staples.

Thank you.

It’s called a Presto Powerpop by Orville Redenbocker. I’ve never posted a picture on Lemmy before. If you see it at the bottom of this post, you’ll know I was successful.

Anyway, there are a couple of concerns. First, it’s plastic so it may not be healthy. Second, you have to buy these little paper cards that fit in the bottom and are only good for a handful of pops before you have to replace them and ultimately buy more. Kind of like a printer with ink cartridges, you’re buying into replacements. Unlike printer cartridges, though, they are not expensive. I just buy in bulk. Third, only the bowl is machine washable, the bottom black part is not, but it doesn’t really need washing anyway.

If you’re concerned about the plastic, I used to pop in a brown paper bag. Just put about a teaspoon of oil in the bottom, about a quarter of a cup of popcorn and salt. Fold the bag once and put a staple in it. Don’t fold too much, air and steam need to escape. If you leave the staple out, a lot of times the popcorn overflows and comes out all over the microwave. No, a single staple will not destroy the world of you put it in a microwave.

Ok, let me try the pic:

It looks like it needs to be in the internet instead of my phone so here’s an Amazon link:

on Amazon

I do this all of the time. You are partially right. You have to keep a close eye on it and stop popping earlier, otherwise they burn.

Why would you even think this was unsafe? What’s the concern? Are you talking about returning the unpopped kernels to storage and popping them later or do you mean right away?

Sometimes I get the time wrong on my microwave and wind up with a lot of unpopped kernels. So when I get to the bottom of the bowl and see how much extra there is, I put them back in. The only problem is you have to watch them carefully. They have a tendency to burn if you don’t stop cooking right when your running out.

I should probably note that in not popping microwave popcorn, I’m popping regular popcorn in a special bowl in the microwave.