More Waffle

[mfkaplan]

I have waffle!

Last night I got a perfect waffle out of my new, old iron. Crispy, nicely browned, etc. I described My iron in an earlier post. It was a bargan but covered with a really nasty thick layer of crusty crud. I know a lot of people are getting irons so I'm posting my experience. I'm a real newbe with iron. I was really impressed with the waffle making experience at Mendicino and also like vintage kitchen gadgets.

I put it in a lye bath for 4 days, power washed it, and then soaked it in vinegar for a couple of hours. Every thing came off easily except a couple of tiny spots. I quickly dried it by heating on top of the stove, then coated it with Crisco and baked it at 400 degrees for an hour, letting it cool in the oven. At this point, I put its wooden handles back on. Because older iron has a smoother finish than the newer stuff, you could actually feel the new hardened sesoning coat.

It has the short base but I was able to use it on my electric stove because the paddles cleared the burner element by about 1/4 inch (large burner). It still took a long time to get it really hot. You need to turn it to get both sides hot. I tested it by dropping a single drop of water on the top of each side. If it sizzles, its ready. I sprayed the inside with Pam each time I used it. It takes a few minutes on each side. I couldn't see if the batter was steaming because my seasoning was smoking a bit. The seasoning was a very dark brown, now its black. The first one stuck a bit on one side, the second one was perfect. I was worried about the burner getting too hot as it was on high and glowing red. It's possible that as you make more waffles, you might have to turn the burner down. I'm also not sure if this might harm the stove.

It took a little less than cup of batter to make one waffle in my iron, an early Griswold #8. I don't know if this amount is the same for other irons. I used Krusteze Wheat and Honey Pancake mix, following the waffle recipe. This is my favorite mix. Even though you don't add any thing but water and oil, it's good. I only made enough for two waffles, but I'm going to bring waffles and strawberries for dessert for one of my quilt groups tomorrow night.

I also found that iron is very heavy, takes muscles. The wooden handles on my iron are shorter than the ones on later irons so it is easy to get burned. Much more work than an electric iron, but better waffles. My electric waffle iron is a vintage 1930's. It makes good waffles, but these were better. Crispy with nice deep holes. I know that on one post there was a discussion about waffles from the Griswold irons coming apart, mine didn't. I don't know if the pattern on all the Griswold irons is the same. I hope this helps some of you that have new iron. I got all my information from this forum and cast iron sites on the Net.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Mary,
What an awesome experience!!!
Sounds like yor waffles are just as awesome as your sewing...
Have fun at the competition!!!

[Eunice]

I am already looking forward to waffles at Mendo next year and I am sure that this will be happening at IRG2.
Eunice