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My new Thomson induction cooker cannot get hot enough to cook popcorn. I put a cast iron pot on the range, add oiled and popcorn, and turned on the heat. Initially it gets hot enough to pop some kernels, and will smoke if I crank up the power. After a few minutes the popping stops. The pot settles down to 167°C in the center, regardless of how I crank up the power. The instruction manual says the unit has protection against being used with for a dry pot, and I believe that protection is kicking in--preventing me from making a batch of popcorn. The instruction manual also says it will not work with pressure cookers (though I think it may work anyway).

Given that this unit was designed to not get hot (what clueless non-cook made that design?), how can I circumvent the temperature detection? My thought is to put some steel wires on the cooker surface to raise the pot up, but I'm concerned about small points of high heat against the cooker surface. I thought about raising the pot on some natural fiber ropes, but they might char and smoke. (There is not much fire concern given that cookers and pots aren't flammable.)

piojo
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    May I suggest editing your headline so it reflects your goal? My first instinct was to answer "YOU DON'T!!!". Asking how to make popcorn with an induction cooker that intentionally limits heat output not ony avoids this knee-jerk-reaction but let's people know about the real problem without having to click the question. – Elmy Dec 01 '20 at 06:12
  • @Elmy Good suggestion, thanks. I also want to avoid people coming here and writing "don't" without reading the post. – piojo Dec 01 '20 at 06:46
  • There are plenty of hits for the search "how to make popcorn in induction cooker". – Weather Vane Dec 01 '20 at 14:39
  • @WeatherVane Did you read the post and still think those search results are relevant? – piojo Dec 01 '20 at 16:58
  • It is unclear whether you are having a rant about your induction cooker, or don't know how to make popcorn. This person has success at 150 deg. – Weather Vane Dec 01 '20 at 17:21
  • @WeatherVane Haha, popcorn kernels mostly don't even pop at 170°. – piojo Dec 01 '20 at 17:34
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    «Given that this unit was designed to not get hot (what clueless non-cook made that design?)» it is set to prevent the food to yield smoke which may harm you and your goods. It is lower than the temperature to ignite a pure oil, and varies from oil to oil (a reference). In a chemistry lab where oil baths are used to heat, you do not want to reach either temperature (and some use peanut oil instead of mineral oil). But while you can't dismantle the cooker's top, what about a blech in the oven below as if you would bake bread? – Buttonwood Dec 03 '20 at 22:17
  • @Buttonwood You have a typo so I missed something, but if you are proposing baking popcorn in the oven, that sounds maddeningly slow, though it would likely work. I can't wait twenty minutes for popcorn as my cast iron pot preheats, and doing without would roast the kernels. – piojo Dec 04 '20 at 03:18
  • Oh how I wish my induction cooker had boil-dry protection. The smell when the veg steamer runs out of water is horrendous – Caius Jard Dec 27 '20 at 19:49

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Putting a circle or zig-zag of natural fiber rope underneath the pot did allow the pot to get hot and stay hot, but the rope blackened where it touched the pot, so will need to be replaced each time.

Unfortunately the cooking was very uneven, despite using a cast iron pot, but this procedure would probably work with a pot that has an inner copper layer.

piojo
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