Waffle Irons

[countryguy]

My partner has been itching for home made waffles so I broke down and purchased a Cuisinart Waffle Iron on Ebay. Here in Canada, home made waffles don't seem to be as popular as in the USA so there are not a lot of waffle irons in the stores to choose from and most seemed quite flimsy. That's why I went to Ebay. I chose the Cuisinart because it makes 6 waffles at a time, has a browning shade control, and audible/visual signals to indicate when the iron is hot and when the waffles are ready. Anyone experienced with waffle irons? Did I make a good choice? Any no fail recipes to share?

Thanks.
Gary

http://www.cuisinart.ca/en/product.php?state=specialty&page=products&item_id=141&product_id=125&cat_id=11

 

[panthera]

Gary,

My dad loves waffles and has that one in the Belgian variation. It takes a very very very very very long time to warm up, which is a good sign.
The acoustic warning is accurate, astonishingly...each batch comes out with the same level of brownness.

I spray the grids with canola oil every third batch, tho' very lightly. Cleaning is not easy, that stainless steel exterior was a stupid idea and Cusinart's only major weakness.

The knob has to be set to nearly '3' on my parents'...but you will have to experiment. The green light functions, but the acoustics are more convenient.

I am sure there will be tons of recipes listed, my own non-fail depends on the humidity and individual factors, so feel free to adjust. I don't like sugar in my waffles...

Two eggs
400ml buttermilk
200ml milk
40ml melted butter or 30ml neutral tasting vegetable oil, not walnut...turns bitter
stir till wet ingredients are mixed

add

5g salt (if you like them a bit salty, add more, I don't)
25g baking soda
350g white flour for starters

stir together but just to moisten, don't overdo. We do not want to develop the gluten.

now, add more flower, 50g at a time until the batter is the right consistency. It should be about right somewhere between 450-500g flour, depending on conditions and flour. It will thicken after it sits a bit. Not so thick you have to help with a spoon, not so thin it pours freely.

Don't overfill, put in a bit less until you have a feeling for what is right. Don't ever open the lid before the signal goes off, ignore all that nonsense about when it stops steaming, it is done...that won't work with such a large batch at once.

Some people add sugar, cut down on the sodium by using whipped egg-whites instead of baking soda, etc. Pretty hard to ruin waffles in these machines...a good choice if you have to go modern.

What I would not do, under any circumstances, is buy one of those horrid, cheap Chinese irons with the teflon-coated-aluminum foil plates and the too strong, uneven heating elements which Walmart and others sell for 15$US or so.

Personally, we use a Sunbeam from the late 1940s. Idiot proof.

 

[polkanut]

If you want to cheat,

The waffle recipe on the Hungry Jack pancake mix box is also pretty good. I use it when I don't want to fuss that much.

 

[petek]

Waffle Irons are sort of one use or no-use wedding presents. Nobody bothers anymore. I do make em occasionally in my vintage Sunbeam. The batter isn't really any different than pancake batter with the exception being you add a little bit of oil to the batter
The sole ingredients are flour, milk and eggs and that tablespoon of oil.
2 cups of flour and two eggs and about a cup and half milk all togetherj and oil.
Mix with your vintage electric mixer adding milk or flour to get the semi thick pancake batter look.

Or just get a box of Bisquick and follow the directions, simple. Bisquick does contain baking powder

 

[countryguy]

Thanks for the info !

Gary

 

[gadgetgary]

Love this little gem

Farberware Belgian Waffle maker

 

[gadgetgary]

Perfect Waffles every time

The dial is for desired crispness

 

[gadgetgary]

And yes on Ebay

For about $15 NIB

 

[jetcone]

Hey Gary

Whats the wattage on those Faberwares?
Jon

 

[gadgetgary]

Whats the wattage on those Faberwares?

Jon,

650W

 

[sudsmaster]

Waffle-Tone Rocks

My cousin has a cool Villa Ware brand waffle maker. It makes four little Mickey Mouse waffles, and has an audible tone, called "Waffle-tone" by Villaware. These have been out of stock for years and I coveted his.

I found a Belgian waffle maker from Villaware, with the Waffle-tone, at Costco, and bought it for about $30 about four years ago. It works great, but I really would prefer the version with standard thickness waffles. But if you like to load up your waffle with berries and whipped cream etc this one is great.

I use Bisquick to make waffles and pancakes - to me it gives the best taste next to making them from scratch.

Villaware currently has a pricier version that makes four square belgian waffles. My waffle maker (model 3200, 1,000 watts) is smaller, round, and makes four rounded waffles.

The thing to look for, in addition to all the other good features, is the audible signal. Since your Cuisinart has it, I think it's probably a good machine. I find the Waffletone is pretty much essential in a kitchen when one is also doing other things like making coffee, heating syrup, washing up, etc...

Here's a link to my model 3200:

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www1.epinions.com

Here's a link to a current version that makes standard waffles with tone:

creativekitchenonline.com - This website is for sale! - Electrics Cook Resources and Information.

This website is for sale! creativekitchenonline.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, creativekitchenonline.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

www.creativekitchenonline.com

 

[joeekaitis]

Presto FlipSide Belgian waffle maker.

Performs like the overpriced faux-pro fall-apart posers (can you say "Waring"?) for half the price. We've had ours for nearly a year of weekly and sometimes twice-weekly use and it's still crankin' 'em out. Our Waring Pro lasted only 3 years and went to pieces, which ALL of the household pro-look phonies are designed to do.

 

[mattl]

We have an old Oster waffle iron, very basic and it does a good job. Must be 30 years old. Non sick grids and no controls, just an amber light to indicate it's hot. Supposedly you fill it when the light goes out and the waffles are done once it cycles on and off, put I prefer to wait until most of the steam has stopped. It just makes two waffles, but that is fine for me, I prefer them fresh.

I too use the Hungry Jack Pancake Mix, I prefer the non complete Extra Light, but it can't be found in my area anymore. Add from good maple syrup and you have some good eating!

 

[petek]

Here's some of mine.. The Sunbeam I use occasionally. Very nice units

 

[petek]

A General Electric another really nice waffle maker and similar in design to the Sunbeam above. Both have reversible plates for making grilled sandwiches. Neither have non-stick coating either, that came later.

 

[petek]

A General Mills 4 waffle size

 

[petek]

An old Triona round waffle maker.. have no idea about this company, it's pretty though. There are lotsa different old waffle makers out there for the collecting.

 

[petek]

You can be sure when it's Westinghouse. I'm guessing this one is from the 40's possibly early 50's

 

[tolivac]

Gotten a couple of very nice Toastmaster waffle machines at yard sales--when the sales have real appliances and other neat things instead of baby things.Got the two I have for less than 2$ each.Work great-best 2 dollar waffle irons I have bought.Made great waffles when I brought them home.