I just fired up my newest iron, a very vintage Sunbeam with a cast iron
waffle plate. AT one point, reaching behind to unplug it when I
finihshed, my arm grazed the outside and youch, it burned me real good.
The outside top was far hotter than the inside ever got with the Black
and Decker non-stick I tried and hated. I fail to understand why no
current manufacturers offer a cast iron waffle iron? Non-sticks cannot
be heated too hot, lest they ruin the non-stick surface, and non-stick
pans should never be heated without something in them to temper the
heating, yet a waffle iron must be heated before adding anything, so
this is so contradictory to me. My cast iron was at 437 degrees
according to the when I started cooking last night, and these waffles
came out wonderful.

My last one finally burned out the heating coil. I still have it, and
if I can find a source for a replacement coil, I would love to fix that
one back up, at at least I have a good one again, now.

jt

On Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:11:06 -0500, jt august > wrote:

>I just fired up my newest iron, a very vintage Sunbeam with a cast iron
>waffle plate. AT one point, reaching behind to unplug it when I
>finihshed, my arm grazed the outside and youch, it burned me real good.
>The outside top was far hotter than the inside ever got with the Black
>and Decker non-stick I tried and hated. I fail to understand why no
>current manufacturers offer a cast iron waffle iron?

I've never seen a Black & Decker appliance or tool made in the last fifteen
years that was worth a nickel, so I'm not surprised.

I love my cast iron frying pans, but I wouldn't want a cast iron waffle maker.
It would just be too much trouble to clean and maintain a good coating on the
uneven surface, IMO.

Besides, my five year old Waffle Pro 830 aluminum non-stick waffle maker cranks
out perfect waffles every 90 seconds, with the occasional 30-second rest between
waffles, so I don't see that there would be any advantage to the heat retention
of cast iron. If this one dies, I'd buy the same thing again. YMMV, of course.

BTW, the outside top of mine gets damned hot, too. Insta-burn, nasty.

-- Larry

"pltrgyst" > wrote in message
>
> I love my cast iron frying pans, but I wouldn't want a cast iron waffle
> maker.
> It would just be too much trouble to clean and maintain a good coating on
> the
> uneven surface, IMO.
>

Agree on the cast iron, but cast aluminum, not coated, can make a fine
waffle and be easy to care for. We have a pizzelle maker that is cast
aluminum and it is very easy to care for and nothing sticks to the seasoned
grids.

Most people, sadly, thing non-stick coatings are the best material out there
for waffles and the like. They don't know how to care for the good stuff
and don't even know how good a waffle can be. Just look around and see how
many people buy Wonder bread and you know they have no taste.

On Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:00:58 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote:

>> I love my cast iron frying pans, but I wouldn't want a cast iron waffle
>> maker. It would just be too much trouble to clean and maintain a
>>good coating on the uneven surface, IMO.
>
>Agree on the cast iron, but cast aluminum, not coated, can make a fine
>waffle and be easy to care for. We have a pizzelle maker that is cast
>aluminum and it is very easy to care for and nothing sticks to the seasoned
>grids.
>
>Most people, sadly, thing non-stick coatings are the best material out there
>for waffles and the like....

Agreed, that an uncoated waffle iron is fine for waffles, because they have so
much butter in them. A very light coating before the first waffle and you're
good for a session.

Very unlike crepes, where a thin coating of clarified butter before each crepe
is critical to an exceptional product.

I'm grumpy today because my wife is out in Colorado, and I'm too lazy to make
our weekly Sunday morning crepes or waffles just for myself. 8;(

But the waffle cartoon of the day is at http://www.xhost.org/images/waffler.gif.
8

-- Larry

In article >,
pltrgyst > wrote:

> I love my cast iron frying pans, but I wouldn't want a cast iron waffle maker.
> It would just be too much trouble to clean and maintain a good coating on the
> uneven surface, IMO.

At 430 degree F, it's self seasoning. Just a spray with the veggie
spray, and then unplug it.

jt

In article >,
pltrgyst > wrote:

> But the waffle cartoon of the day is at
> http://www.xhost.org/images/waffler.gif.
> 8

Do I hear divorce? Yikes.

jt