Product Review: Half Pops

Posted on | February 15, 2012 | 1 Comment

This gluten free popcorn snack was provided by Half Pops.

Half Pops is a twist to traditional popcorn. Instead of having fully popped, fluffy popcorn, it is only popped halfway. They currently offer two flavors: natural butter and pure ocean sea salt, and natural aged white cheddar. These gluten free snacks come in snack size one ounce bags.

I poured the contents in a bowl and examined it. The fluff of the popcorn is minimal. I mostly saw the popcorn kernels, with a dusting of flavor. I love popcorn, it is one of my favorite snacks. I was very hesitant to try this because half of the popcorn is gone. Would I love it with more crunch, and less fluff?

When I opened the bag, my daughter exclaimed “Ew! What smells burnt?” Apparently it was my Half Pops!

I popped it into my mouth and could barely taste the salt or cheese flavor. It is very light, so the main show is the popcorn. And my daughter was right, it had a slightly burnt popcorn flavor. The cheese flavor did mask the burnt taste flavor more than the sea salt.

Since popcorn itself doesn’t have much of a taste, I found it bland. I chewed the popcorn and found it crunchy, somewhere in between the super crunchy tooth busting kernels at the bottom of a bag of microwave popcorn, and traditional fluffy popcorn. Because I love traditional popcorn, I felt as though I was missing out on half the snack and felt disappointed.

Something else to be careful of, is that this snack has a lot of the popcorn ” skins”, and they became lodged in my teeth and gums. Not only did it feel uncomfortable, but it looked pretty disgusting. So, I would suggest consuming with caution, or at least with a mirror handy to make sure you teeth are free and clear.

I personally didn’t like it, but I think it would be a great alternative for someone who doesn’t like the bulk of regular popcorn.

Review provided by Kristina and Karen

Rating: 3 stars

Pros: light, all natural ingredients

Cons: too much crunch, not enough flavor

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Ingredients: popcorn, canola oil (cream [milk], salt, dry buttermilk), sea salt

Nutritional Snapshot: 130 calories, 6g fat, 17g carbohydrates, 3g protein

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As of right now, Half Pops maybe found in various stores scattered across the Pacific Northwest. Click HERE for their store locator if you’d like to try these popcorn snacks. They may also be purchased online via their website.