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Waffle makers?

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Waffle makers?

Postby jeral » Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:02 am

Does anyone have one? Reviews seem decidedly mixed about quality (break easily), or performance either uneven browning top/underside, or take forever and still not done.

smitch mentioned cheesey waffles in another thread, and I do like cakey and potato waffles, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious winner among Breville, Salter, Cloer, Krupps. Preferably easy clean and small foot print. Any knowledge?

Ta.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby smitch » Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:31 am

Mine is Von Chef. I’ve had it 5 years as it was a wedding present. I’ve been very happy with it.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby slimpersoninside » Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:37 am

I have a Salter one, works well and not too difficult to clean. It was bought for me as a present. If I had been buying for myself I would have bought a Cusinart (at least I think it is) with removable plates - I have their well stuffed (or words to this effect) sandwich maker with removable plates. Having said this I guess the Cusinart is probably more expensive so comes down to is it worth it for the number of times you would use it.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Earthmaiden » Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:46 am

I have got one. I bought it on a whim a few years ago having never made waffles before. It's a Cook's Professional one - I think this is the up to date equivalent https://www.cooksprofessional.co.uk/bak ... maker-grey

They do other shapes and sizes too. I don't use mine much but have never had any trouble with performance or breaking (it seems sturdy). Now that I know more about waffle making and my requirements, I would probably not have chosen that one. It is about 8" diameter and divides the waffles into quarters. I am on my own and they are quite substantial so always have to have 4 quarters minimum. Also, the plates don't lift out for cleaning (I don't know if any do) so it has to be wiped and is bigger than I'd envisaged. If I were choosing again I would pick one which has space for two smaller waffles like a sandwich toaster.

The recipe booklet which comes with it is quite useful but the amounts need to be pared right down unless you intend feeding an army. I have had fun adapting various recipes, I found the basic one quite heavy. My favourite now (I tend to do savoury) includes mashed potato (Smash works!) and beaten egg white to make it lighter. The addition of grated cheese is good too!

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby jeral » Sun Nov 15, 2020 2:36 am

Thanks for the recommendations. I have to say they don't seem foolproof and seem a faff unless making a batch while watching paint dry. Maybe Scotch pancakes in chef rings would be cheaper and as easy.

Thanks for the tip about egg white in spud to lighten it. I'll use that in some of my patty-type things once spud rice'd to get the fluffier effect :thumbsup

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Gillthepainter » Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:19 am

what a good idea for a thread.
I'm looking at the Vonshef one, and will put it on my Xmas list unless I'm told otherwise here.
But not a plug in one.

What do you think of this one? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VonShef-Stov ... 2516788063

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Earthmaiden » Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:54 am

That looks as though it makes waffles of a nice size. I've never used a stove top waffle iron. Presumably you need to consider the size and shape suitable for optimum heat distribution on your stovetop arrangement. Plug in ones make it so easy.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Gillthepainter » Sun Nov 15, 2020 11:42 am

That's a good point,
I have a ceramic hob now. It might not disperse the heat properly for the job.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby smitch » Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:01 pm

Mine is electric. The plates don’t come out but it is very easy to clean.

I’ve never had an issue with mine and I don’t find it a faff at all. I like to add berries to the batter along with spices such as cinnamon and cardamom.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Stokey Sue » Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:09 pm

I have wondered in the past about getting one with interchangeable plates for waffles, sandwiches and general grilling, as no way would I make enough waffles to justify a dedicated maker

The 3 in 1 type all seem to make the smaller square “Belgian’ waffles and the removable plates are possibly easier to clean?

VonShef

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VonShef-Sandwi ... 752&sr=8-3

Salter

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Salter-EK2143- ... NrPXRydWU=

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby jeral » Sun Nov 15, 2020 5:59 pm

I like the idea of the stove top one, but think it would be too heavy for me to manage.

The Salter 3 in 1 has a fair few bad reviews on Robert Dyas as well as those I read yesterday on Amazon. Another recurring complaint was that all our loaf slices are too small so don't reach the sealing edges. Someone said they'd done a patchwork, which worked, but found the machine just didn't get hot enough for toast or waffles.

If they're that hit and miss, buy from somewhere you can return it quibble free methinks.

I came across this dinky little one. I imagine it takes forever being so small. No wattage is given. All the reviews are good, but it cost only £9 at some point per reviews (£22 now) so maybe people just chucked it rather than complaining?
https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/en-gb/s ... quantity=1

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Stokey Sue » Sun Nov 15, 2020 6:21 pm

That does look fun - crumpet sized waffles would be perfect, and the reviews are good

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Busybee » Sun Nov 15, 2020 8:22 pm

Our sandwich toaster started to shed its non stick lining so we were in the market for another, my non negotiable was that the plates came out for easy cleaning.

We bought the Tefal which has removable plates, it came with the standard sandwich toaster plates and you could choose another set of plates from about a dozen different ones - I chose waffle plates. Great little machine with the added bonus of the plates go in the dishwasher.

The waffles are excellent.

Would definitely recommend.

BB

This one https://www.tefal.co.uk/snackcollection

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby jeral » Sun Nov 15, 2020 11:01 pm

Stokey Sue wrote:That does look fun - crumpet sized waffles would be perfect, and the reviews are good

I found them on Amazon (though also not in stock) and unfortunately there is a fair number of bad reviews, oddly many that the machine either arrived broken or was obviously not new. There are loads of good ones, though it is only 300W which might be enough but not if it takes 10 mins as some say. A common complaint is that they didn't last long which is fine if a tenner, not so much at £22.

I think the disparity with reviews is that all makes seem to do a good job the first few times, then the sticking starts and peeling of coatings and failing of heating element. Even the £100 ones have complaints of these and uneven browning so can't win.

A useful snippet I learned was that non-stick finishes, the PTFE and Teflon sort, can't produce crispy coatings that cast iron does. I haven't found an uncoated cast iron one yet though...

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Gillthepainter » Mon Nov 16, 2020 11:58 am

Well, I've ordered a silcone waffle baking tray on Ebay.

It would appear that all you do is fill it with the batter and bake for 15mins - I've got a small 1st/ 2nd oven that I use pretty much every day.
So I'm not exactly putting the big oven on for a little bake.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Silicone-Waf ... 2749.l2649

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby jeral » Mon Nov 16, 2020 2:20 pm

Brilliant! Simple is best :mrgreen: Even more so after I read the site below.

I came across these handy tips, link below, the main tip being to put them, once out of the waffle maker, on a rack over a tray in the oven at 120C for no more than 5-10 mins. In the comments, one says that if you replace one quarter of the flour with cornflour or rice flour they'll be crispier. It also gives a recipe for buttermilk waffles with testing of the methods, Felicity style.

Tips: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/3_tips_fo ... y_waffles/

Recipe: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/c ... k_waffles/

PS The author says she uses a "spendy" Breville waffle maker, which I'm guessing is the £200 one.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Gillthepainter » Mon Nov 16, 2020 3:01 pm

which I'm guessing is the £200 one


Good G :o d!

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Earthmaiden » Mon Nov 16, 2020 4:05 pm

I had no idea they were supposed to be particularly crispy.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby smitch » Mon Nov 16, 2020 4:29 pm

Same, I’ve always been happy with the outside of mine.

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Re: Waffle makers?

Postby Stokey Sue » Mon Nov 16, 2020 4:53 pm

I always assumed crisp on the outside, fluffy inside, like good roasties :D

Or quite a lot of other foods for that matter

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