Comments on: Going Old-Fangled with My Wafflemaker

By: Mijken

Mijken — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 03:51:10 +0000

You don’t happen to still have the Hamilton Beach, do you? I’m desperately trying to find replacement plates, as mine are all scratched up.

By: jwsharrard

jwsharrard — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:17:50 +0000

Extremely good point—adding the oil too soon won’t work anywhere near as well. How I gauged when the waffle iron was ready to oil was when the faintest whiff of smoke was coming off the hotter side; I’d flip that side so it was on top, away from the heat, and then use a stiff brush to put an even but thin coat over the surface of both sides.

By: justin

justin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:40:22 +0000

just to clarify my previous post, you would add the oil -after- the iron is sufficiently heated (after the water bead test). many people make the error of putting a pan over heat and immediately slapping down a pad of butter or slosh of oil.

By: justin

justin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:36:43 +0000

i would imagine greasing/oiling/buttering a waffle iron is similar to doing the same to a frying pan, i.e. you’d preheat it to the point that when you flick the surface with water from your fingertips, the water beads and dances across the surface (doesn’t stop and sizzle). at that heat, the oil forms a much more effective non-stick barrier on the pan surface, and my guess on the ruined waffles is that the iron surface just isn’t quite hot enough before you add the oil; by the second or third waffle, the iron has heated up sufficiently.

By: stefanie

stefanie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:29:15 +0000

And I love that word, oldfangled. I tried to use it wherever I could slip it in when I worked as a copywriter.

By: stefanie

stefanie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:26:47 +0000

I, too, am a fan of cast iron. I’ve never come across a waffle iron before, though.

I tried making waffles for the first time since childhood not too long ago, and the first few were disastrous, really a pain to scrape out with a chopstick even though I used plentiful oil.

By: mom

mom — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:01:52 +0000

If I were you, I wouldn’t give away the new one just yet. There may be times when you want to make waffles for more than 2 and you can have your guests compare the two and rate them for flavor, etc.

You might try putting a little bit of oil on a paper towel or brush and lightly greasing the non-stick grids before pouring in the first waffle. I’ve had some that tended to stick with the first one and others that work perfectly from the start.

At least your Wagner doesn’t have the annoying smoke detector beeping sound that our new Villaware one does.

By: QoE

QoE — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:59:51 +0000

I have always thought that you were just supposed to throw out the first waffle.
My grandmother told me that was the way and my mother told me that was the way and I have passed it on to my sons and my grandchildren. If I can find a waffle iron like yours, we’ll see if things change.
Love your blog!
Cathy in MN