58 replies to this topic

[Susie Q]

I love my Waring Pro (model #WWM200PC). It was either $39 or $49 at Costco. It makes about an 8" round waffle divided into fourths.

It's one that you pour the batter, close it and flip it over. The waffles come out light, never heavy. A beeper sounds when they are done. It has a darkness knob with several different settings. Plus you can leave it in longer if you like them super extra dark as my dad does.

If you use Marion Cunningham's (Fanny Farmer Cookbook) yeast waffle recipe you're in for a real treat....you just have to start them the night before.

You can find the recipe on line too.

Edited by Susie Q, 01 January 2008 - 04:50 PM.

[PBHokie]

I have the Chef's Choice Waffle Pro. It just stopped working after about 10 batches. Other than that I love it!! :-(

I've also heard the Waring is the way to go.

[sanrensho]

I love my Waring Pro (model #WWM200PC). It was either $39 or $49 at Costco. It makes about an 8" round waffle divided into fourths.

How long does the Waring Pro take to bake a waffle? And does it need to warm-up again between waffles?

Thanks.

[KitchenMom]

We got a Waring Pro a couple months ago and absolutely love it. The waffles come out perfectly cooked and light, with a crispy exterior. I've never paid attention to how long it takes, but it isn'tlong--a couple of minutes. It definitely does not need to warm up in between uses. I take one out, pour in another measure of batter, and start it right up. I have done 6 or 7 in a row this way in a relatively short period of time.

[Pat W]

We bought a VillaWare Belgian Wafflemaker a few months ago and have been very happy with it. In fact we like it so much that we've even bought one for a friend.

At first I used a Belgian waffle mix but after I found the Amazing Overnight Waffle recipe in The 150 Best American Recipes I was converted. It's also a yeasted recipe (very fast & easy) and makes the best waffles we've ever had. They also freeze well.

I'm getting hungry just thinking about them. Mmmm... a hot crisp waffle topped with blueberries & maple syrup..... it just doesn't get better than that.

pat

[Susie Q]

I love my Waring Pro (model #WWM200PC). It was either $39 or $49 at Costco. It makes about an 8" round waffle divided into fourths.

How long does the Waring Pro take to bake a waffle? And does it need to warm-up again between waffles?

Thanks.

There is a light that comes on when the iron is ready to make another one. And it's back on by the time I lift one waffle out and am ready to pour another.

Some other notes. It's easier and cleaner to use Pam instead of a brush on the grids. The clear batter measuring cup has a black fill line on the outside that will wear off. Before the line wore totally off, I just scored mine with a knife and it works fine. The unit cleans up very easily.

Edited by Susie Q, 12 February 2008 - 09:29 PM.

[sanrensho]

Thanks Susie Q and KitchenMom for the comments. It sounds like I need to pick up a Waring Pro.

[Susie Q]

You're welcome. I think you will like it.

Also, do try the Fanny Farmer yeast waffles. They are my favorite. The batter goes together easily the night before. In the morning you beat in the eggs (you can do that too the night before, just put it in the icebox) and beat in the soda and go to it. If you like a sweeter waffle add a tablespoon of sugar.

[MelissaH]

You're welcome.  I think you will like it.

Also, do try the Fanny Farmer yeast waffles.  They are my favorite.  The batter goes  together easily the night before. In the morning you beat in the eggs (you can do that too the night before, just put it in the icebox) and beat in the soda and go to it. If you like a sweeter waffle add a tablespoon of sugar.

I prefer the Cook's Illustrated technique modification for overnight waffles, noted by Susie Q: put the batter together the night before, but beat the eggs in. Leave the batter to rise overnight in the fridge. No need for baking soda, because the colder temperature reduces the amount of acid produced. I find I prefer the Fanny Farmer recipe to the Cook's Illustrated recipe, but I like the fridge technique because it makes the morning easier, and I find the flavor better.

MelissaH

[MITllama]

I had an old steel waffle iron but it stuck sometimes and my mother gave me a new one with plastic plates. Unfortunately I threw out the old iron when I received the gift. Then I discovered the new one sticks terribly. I have thrown it out too. We haven't had a waffle at home in a couple of years, but are starting to hanker after one, especially with pecans on top.

Can anyone recommend a waffle iron that doesn't stick to the waffle and tear it to shreds when you try to harvest it?

[pastrygirl]

This might belong in a different forum, but:

I have a Vitantonio that I like. I got it quite awhile ago after reading a good review in Cooks Illustrated or somewhere like that.

Maybe a little more fat in the recipe would decrease the sticking?

Ahh, October, time for the waffle harvest. Fields of waffles slowly turning golden...

Edited by pastrygirl, 03 October 2008 - 05:16 AM.

[JanMcBaker]

This might belong in a different forum, but:

I have a Vitantonio that I like.  I got it quite awhile ago after reading a good review in Cooks Illustrated or somewhere like that. 

Maybe a little more fat in the recipe would decrease the sticking?

Ahh, October, time for the waffle harvest.  Fields of waffles slowly turning golden...

Is that near the spaghetti trees?

[Soup]

I was a flippable waffle maker at costco yesterday. I'm assuming you put the batter in and your suppose to spin or turn it 180 on it horizontal access. Does this design have significant improvement on cooking or clearning?

I am in the market for a new waffle maker. The one I have is a non-stick one but it sticks alot and requires a lot of oil.

[Marlene]

I have a kitchenaid waffle maker. It has waffle irons on both sides, so you pour batter in one side, flip, and pour batter in the other side, then flip back over.

I've never had any trouble cleaning the non stick interior and waffles don't stick to it. Plus I can make two batches at once. I believe the idea of the flippable machine is that when you flip it, the batter distributes evenly over the plates.

[budrichard]

I'll second the Kitchenaid.
I have the Pro-Line and it works like a charm. Waffle web thickness is related to the heat the maker puts out in watts. Less watts, smaller and thinner waffles. The Kitchenaid makes good sized waffles but not like a Pro machine.-Dick

[fooey]

The one they're selling at Costco is the non-commercial version of this waffle maker.

Costco is $60, commercial is $260.

It also looks like the Costco version has been discontinued by Waring. The few places I've looked say it's not dependable, which is odd for Waring. Their commercial products are very well built, I don't know about the consumer versions.

[Lisa Shock]

I don't like the modern tall 'Belgian' style waffles, so, I use a couple of vintage waffle irons that I re-wired. I have a large round Edison that belonged to my grandmother, but I prefer to use my Sunbeam duo brunch model that makes two six inch waffles at once. Both irons have built in thermometers.

There are some really great old commercial models as well. -Made back during a time when these things were expected to last through several lifetimes.

[fooey]

I just spent 15 minutes trying to figure out the difference between the Costco version and the commercial, and I came up trumps.

Costco changes to model numbers, so it's impossible to comparison shop. That's the main reason I never buy hardware at Costco, at least nothing that's cheap enough not to be disposable.

After looking at reviews on about 10 sites, there are enough people saying "mine broke" or "waiting weeks for repair" that I'd avoid this version.

I wouldn't avoid Waring's commercial version, as I have three pieces of their commercial hardware in my home kitchen and they are rock solid.

Edited by fooey, 30 August 2009 - 05:44 PM.

[Moopheus]

I just spent 15 minutes trying to figure out the difference between the Costco version and the commercial, and I came up trumps.

Just looking at the pictures, it looks like the costco version has more plastic parts, and the commercial version has more steel parts.

[OliverB]

I have that red Foreman grill with interchangeable inserts, two are for waffles. Works quite well and gives me a handy grill and hotplate (or what a flat top grill is called) at the same time. All non stick, I think I spend $70 on it. Makes nice panini, sometimes I make bacon on it (it tilts and the grease drips into a long narrow plastic pan you place underneath) etc. I usually don't like these 7 tools in one things, but I'm quite happy with this one. You need to let it heat up for a while, but then it works great.

What it does not offer, is that indicator that your waffles are done, green light or something. I never missed that though.

[snowangel]

If you want a great flippable waffle maker, I cannot endorse the Nordicware Waffler enough.

No electrical element to burn out, no cord to lose. The ones I have are some 20+ years old, and going strong. The ease of them makes the deeper pockets just fine.

Just think low-tech.

[earlgrey_44]

The Krups DD-912 is another reasonably well made "home flipover" iron that is still available here and there for closeout prices. See my review here:

http://www.amazon.co...#R2NQW5SH0819ZA

Like the Krups, The Waring is also not the best made device in the universe but is probably well worth $60.

My experience with these deep pocket "belgian" irons is different from Lisa's above. I like them very much. I find they give an excellent texture - crisp on the outside, soft in the middle - that I can't quite duplicate on other designs, and that includes my beloved over-engineered vintage electrics from the 20's, 30's, and 40's.

When the Krups finally decides to die, I will likely fall back on Snowangels excellent suggestion.

[rosejoy]

I'm in the market for a Belgian waffle iron/maker and am hoping I can get some recommendations of units that folks here have used and liked or didn't like.
I have a VillaWare heart-shaped regular waffler that's gotten light-to-moderate use for 8 or 9 years now that I'm happy with - it works fine and produces thin attractive waffles. Now I'm yearning to tackle Belgian waffles so I need a new machine.

I purchased a flip-maker about 5 years ago from QVC (can't remember the brand) that broke on its 3rd use and immediately went back. I've looked at the home flip waffle makers on Amazon and some other sites and see that negative reviews run about 1 out of 3 for the VillaWare, Waring & Cuisinart makers with the biggest problem being that the machines tend to blow a fuse and stop working after a very few uses so that makes me a somewhat leary of them, but other than that the reviews are quite positive for them. Presto makes a flip machine that's a little different and less expensive that has very good reviews.

What waffle maker do you have? Is it a flip maker or regular? Is there a real benefit to the flip makers? I live alone and don't need a commercial unit. What can you recommend?

Thanks for your advice, I'm looking forward to great belgian waffles in the very near future!

[pax]

FWIW...My Cusinart Belgian waffle maker works just fine and has for 8 years. It gets fairly regular use, plus once in a while I fire it up to make and freeze a triple batch. I wish I had one that did more than one at a time.

Edited by pax, 21 January 2010 - 04:27 AM.

[ray goud]

I recently bought the B&D square unit, based on the recommendation of Cook's Illustrated. Other than the low price, I am not overjoyed with my decision. Number one, the grids cannot go in the dishwasher; bummer. Number two, it takes too long and doesn't really get hot enough to make browned, crispy waffles with the Krusteaz mix, which is my favorite. And Number three, the waffles are too thin; I'm used to the ones I got from our old GE unit, last made about twenty years ago.
Ray

[MelissaH]

A few days ago, I used our "American-style" waffle iron to make some Chocolate Waffle Cookies...

I just rediscovered this post. And wouldn't you know: not long ago, the King Arthur Flour blog posted this about baking cookies and brownies in a waffle iron. Since I do love the crunchy edges of brownies, I think I may need to give this a go.

Now, I'm off to cook the waffle batter that's been resting in the fridge overnight....

MelissaH

[andiesenji]

I'm bumping up this topic because a person in the L.A. area posted a comment on my blog indicating that she has a
New, never used, in original box Armaid Grill and Waffler as well as a vintage Osterizer with a copper base.

The Armaid is not rare and not all that expensive, made by Knapp-Monarch between 1938 and 1941. However it is unusual to find one that is unused. They were a mid-line sturdy appliance that held up well and was a bit faster baking than many others.

The Osterizer with the copper base is fairly rare.

In any event if anyone in the L.A. area is interested just PM me and I will provide the email address.

[Chris Hennes]

Thanks for bumping this Andie. It reminds me of a question I've had for some time: how do people feel about the non-commercial variant of the rotating waffle irons? These are the waffle irons that flip upside down when you rotate the handle (presumably so the batter better fills the lower side of the cavity?). When I was an undergrad the cafeteria had a commercial model that prepared my "dinner of last resort" on a pretty regular basis. Are the residential varieties any good?

[andiesenji]

Almost everyone I know that has them is really enthusiastic about them.

Unfortunately for my taste, the new ones are only for Belgian waffles which are not my preference.
I much prefer the thinner, crisp waffles.

They are not a recent invention though some companies seem to be pushing the idea that they are.

In 1939 Manning Bowman introduced the Twin-O-Matic waffler at the 1939 Worlds Fair, which was extremely popular and a very efficient baker.
I've been looking for the one I bought some twenty years ago. I packed it away so well I can't find it! I packed it and some other appliances when I moved up here in 1988 and have never unpacked them. I can't even remember what all I have in that trunk.

Like others of that era, it is very Art Deco in styling. Here's one.
Second to the bottom on the page.

Over the years I have met several owners of these vintage wafflers who have been using them successfully for decades.

Edited by andiesenji, 04 September 2011 - 07:13 PM.