If you think waffle irons are only for making waffles, I will change your world. They are the best way to make a meal at home, and they are also great for omelets, cornbread, birthday cakes, cookies, and anything else you can think to put in them. I have lived in a vintage RV with a broken oven and relied on a waffle iron for most of my baking.
It needs to be up to the task if your waffle iron is going to do all that. I got the cheapest I could find when I first bought one. It only made two waffles at a time. If you have three kids, you should get a waffle iron that makes two waffles at a time.
When the ultra-budget model died, I started looking for a replacement that could make four waffles at a time and stand up to the level of not-technically-waffles abuse I was going to throw at it. It had to be easy to clean. The 4-Slice Belgian Waffle Maker is inexpensive and ticks most of these boxes.
Talk about waffles.
The waffle maker is made with a sturdy plastic lid. If you leave it out, it will take up a lot of counter space. I put it in a cabinet under the counter when it isn't being used.
This model makes waffles with holes. The Belgian waffle results are not quite what I would call a Belgian waffle, but the precise meaning of that term is highly debatable. What matters is that the waffle plates are cast aluminum and coated in a non-stick material.
I have been using it two to three times a week for several months, and there is no sign of wear on the plates, no scratches in the nonstick, and still no sticking. After making two birthday cakes, two birthday cakes, and lots of other non-waffle cooking.
The secret to the long life of a coating is to never use metal tools on it. A good spatula will help pry out your waffles. I use one that is similar to the Oxo version. Silicone won't scratch the plates and you won't melt the spatula because it's heat-proof.
Waffly good.
The waffle maker has a simple temperature control. The indicator light lets you know when the iron is ready and when waffles are done. I almost never pay attention to the indicator light. Everyone in my family likes their waffles at different levels of brownness and crispiness, so I would constantly be fiddling with the temp settings to make them happy. The kids can keep cooking it as long as they please. What is my pro tip? If the green light is on, you should never open your waffle iron before it turns on.
The one to five settings offer a good range of brownness and the one to five settings won&t burn your waffles, which is to say that setting it to five won't burn your waffles. You will want to time your cooking just like you would in an oven once you move beyond waffles to things like hash browns.
The plates don't pop out, which would make them easier to clean, was my gripe when it first arrived. This has turned out to be a non issue. After each use, I wipe it down with a damp rag. It is not that heavy, so you can turn it around to get a good angle on all sides. It would be nice if those plates came out, because at some point the nonstick will start to fail, and I have never owned anything that didn't eventually become stick. I would be able to take them out and scrub them. The non-removable plates are not a deal-breaker.
Depending on how often you make waffles, you should spend $60 on this waffle maker. If waffles are a special treat you enjoy a couple of times a year, a cheaper waffle iron might suffice. This is well worth the investment for those of us who are serious about waffles.
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