Waffle Irons

I've noticed the last few years there is this tread for waffle irons that flip upside down while cooking. These waffles irons cost a lot more, but they produce a better waffle... right? Well as it turns out, no. At best it will produce the same quality waffle in which case you've spent a lot of extra money on a waffle iron than you needed to. And at worst it may produce an inferior waffle.

Before I go any further I want to say that "better waffle" is obviously subjective. What one person enjoys is not necessarily the same as another person. That said, taste-tests suggest that most people prefer waffles with a crisp exterior and a moist interior, versus a waffle with a uniform texture. Turning the waffle upside down during cooking does not affect taste or texture in anyway. It doesn't matter the orientation of cooking, it will come out the same.

The way you produce a waffle with a crisp exterior and a moist interior is with heat, a lot of it. You want to cook the waffle hot and fast. Since most waffle irons are electric, that means watts (wattage). You want a waffle iron with as many watts as possible, and not all waffle irons are created equal so shop around. But there is an upper limit for household appliances. In the US most households have 15 amp circuits, meaning they cannot exceed 15 amps of current. 15 amps x 120 volts = 1800 watts. This is the upper limit. No standard appliance can exceed 1800 watts without blowing a circuit. Most waffle irons are well below that, maybe around 1000 watts. One example of a waffle iron that pulls close to the 1800 limit is the Chef's Choice Belgium Waffle Iron (around $50 from places like Target or Amazon). This is the waffle iron I own, and it does produce excellent waffles with crisp a exterior and a moist interior.

Going back to the flipping waffle irons. There are two types of these waffle irons, the ones that produce 1 waffle at a time and those that produce 2 waffles at a time. The single waffle model could produce a crisp exterior with a moist interior if the watts is close to the 1800 limit. In which case the only problem with this waffle iron is it costs more than it needs to. As for the two waffle models, since you're cooking twice as many waffles on the same watts, you've effectively split the amount of watts going to each waffle. At most each waffle is getting 900 watts, well below the 1800 watts of the single model. This is why the flipping waffle irons are a gimmick and not worth the money.

But wait, what about those professional waffle irons I've seen in restaurants and buffets. They flip and they produce two waffles. Well the reason it works for them is because they are not standard 120 volt appliances, they run off of 220 volt. This allows them to pull more than the 1800 watts.

If you do buy one of these high-wattage single waffle irons, you'll be in for another treat - speed! A typical iron may take 5 minutes to heat up, and then up to 3 minutes per waffle to cook. A high-wattage iron heats up in about 2 minutes, and individual waffles take 60-90 seconds. They come off quick, which is great when you're cooking breakfast for a lot of hungry people.