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A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or
dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening ag ...
that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape, and surface impression. There are many variations based on the type of
waffle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a utensil or appliance used to cook waffles. It comprises two metal plates with a connecting hinge, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles. The iron is heated and either batter is poured or dou ...
and recipe used. Waffles are eaten throughout the world, particularly in Belgium, which has over a dozen regional varieties. Waffles may be made fresh or simply heated after having been commercially cooked and frozen.


Etymology

The word ''waffle'' first appears in the English language in 1725: "Waffles. Take flower, cream..." It is directly derived from the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...
, which itself derives from the
Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarch ...
. While the Middle Dutch is first attested to at the end of the 13th century, it is preceded by the French in 1185; both from
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
'honeycomb' or 'cake'. Other spellings throughout modern and medieval Europe include waffe, wafre, wafer, wâfel, waufre, iauffe, gaufre, goffre, gauffre, wafe, waffel, wåfe, wāfel, wafe, vaffel, and våffla.


History


Medieval origins

In
ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
times the
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
cooked flat cakes, called , between hot metal plates. As they were spread throughout medieval Europe, the cake mix, a mixture of flour, water or milk, and often eggs, became known as wafers and were also cooked over an open fire between iron plates with long handles. Waffles are preceded, in the early Middle Ages, around the period of the 9th–10th centuries, with the simultaneous emergence of / (communion wafer irons) and (wafer irons)."Les Moules à Oublies"
, Gilles Soubigou, Conservateur du Patrimoine, Monuments Historiques – Lorraine
While the communion wafer irons typically depicted imagery of Jesus and his crucifixion, the featured more trivial Biblical scenes or simple, emblematic designs. The format of the iron itself was almost always round and considerably larger than those used for communion. The oublie was, in its basic form, composed only of grain flour and water – just as was the communion wafer. It took until the 11th century, as a product of The Crusades bringing new culinary ingredients to Western Europe, for flavorings such as orange blossom water to be added to the oublies; however, locally sourced honey and other flavorings may have already been in use before that time. Oublies, not formally named as such until , spread throughout northwestern continental Europe, eventually leading to the formation of the guild in 1270. These oublieurs/obloyers were responsible for not only producing the oublies but also for a number of other contemporaneous and subsequent (light pastries), including the waffles that were soon to arise.


14th–16th centuries

In the late 14th century, the first known waffle recipe was penned in an anonymous manuscript, , written by a husband as a set of instructions to his young wife."LE MENAGIER DE PARIS"
, Michael Delahoyde, Washington State University
While it technically contains four recipes, all are a variation of the first: ''Beat some eggs in a bowl, season with salt and add wine. Toss in some flour, and mix. Then fill, little by little, two irons at a time with as much of the paste as a slice of cheese is large. Then close the iron and cook both sides. If the dough does not detach easily from the iron, coat it first with a piece of cloth that has been soaked in oil or grease''. The other three variations explain how cheese is to be placed in between two layers of batter, grated and mixed in to the batter, or left out, along with the eggs. However, this was a waffle / in name only, as the recipe contained no leavening. Though some have speculated that
waffle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a utensil or appliance used to cook waffles. It comprises two metal plates with a connecting hinge, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles. The iron is heated and either batter is poured or dou ...
s first appeared in the 13th–14th centuries, it was not until the 15th century that a true physical distinction between the oublie and the waffle began to evolve. Notably, while a recipe like the fourth in was only flour, salt and wine – indistinguishable from common oublie recipes of the time – what did emerge was a new shape to many of the irons being produced. Not only were the newly fashioned ones rectangular, taking the form of the , but some circular oublie irons were cut down to create rectangles. It was also in this period that the waffle's classic grid motif appeared clearly in a French and a Belgian – albeit in a more shallowly engraved fashion – setting the stage for the more deeply gridded irons that were about to become commonplace throughout Belgium. By the 16th century, paintings by and clearly depict the modern waffle form. Bruegel's work, in particular, not only shows waffles being cooked, but fine detail of individual waffles. In those instances, the waffle pattern can be counted as a large 12x7 grid, with cleanly squared sides, suggesting the use of a fairly thin batter, akin to contemporary Brussels waffles (). "Het gevecht tussen Carnaval en Vasten", Pieter Bruegel (the elder), 1569 The earliest of the 16th century waffle recipes, – from the Dutch ''KANTL 15'' manuscript () – is only the second known waffle recipe after the four variants described in . For the first time, partial measurements were given, sugar was used, and spices were added directly to the batter: ''Take grated white bread. Take with that the yolk of an egg and a spoonful of pot sugar or powdered sugar. Take with that half water and half wine, and ginger and cinnamon.'' Alternately attributed to the 16th and 17th centuries, from the Belgian was published as the first recipe to use leavening (beer yeast): ''Take white flour, warm cream, fresh melted butter, yeast, and mix together until the flour is no longer visible. Then add ten or twelve egg yolks. Those who do not want them to be too expensive may also add the egg white and just milk. Put the resulting dough at the fireplace for four hours to let it rise better before baking it.'' Until this time, no recipes contained leavening and could therefore be easily cooked in the thin . , in its use of leavening, was the genesis of contemporary waffles and validates the use of deeper irons () depicted in the and paintings of the time. By the mid-16th century, there were signs of waffles' mounting French popularity. I, king from 1494 to 1547, of whom it was said (loved them a lot), had a set of waffle irons cast in pure silver. His successor, enacted the first waffle legislation in 1560, in response to a series of quarrels and fights that had been breaking out between the oublieurs. They were required "" (to be no less than 4 yards from one to the other).


17th–18th centuries

Moving into the 17th century, unsweetened or honey-sweetened waffles and oublies – often made of non-wheat grains – were the type generally accessible to the average citizen. The wheat-based and particularly the sugar-sweetened varieties, while present throughout Europe, were prohibitively expensive for all but the monarchy and bourgeoisie. Even for the Dutch, who controlled much of the mid-century sugar trade, a kilogram of sugar was worth ½ an ounce of silver (the equivalent of ~$7 for a 5 lb. bag, 01/2016 spot silver prices), while, elsewhere in Europe, it fetched twice the price of opium."The Price of Sugar in the Atlantic, 1550–1787"
, Figure I, Klas Rönnbäck, Europ. Rev. Econ. Hist., 2009
The wealthier families' waffles, known often as , were "''smaller, thinner and above all more delicate, being composed of egg yolks, sugar, and the finest of the finest flour, mixed in white wine. One serves them at the table like dessert pastry.''" By the dawn of the 18th century, expansion of Caribbean plantations had cut sugar prices in half. Waffle recipes abounded and were becoming decadent in their use of sugar and other rare ingredients. For instance, Menon's from included a livre of sugar for a demi-livre of flour. Germany became a leader in the development and publication of waffle recipes during the 18th century, introducing coffee waffles, the specific use of beer yeast, cardamom, nutmeg, and a number of (sugar waffles). At the same time, the French introduced whipped egg whites to waffles, along with lemon zests, Spanish wine, and cloves. Joseph Gillier even published the first chocolate waffle recipe, featuring three ounces of chocolate grated and mixed into the batter, before cooking."Gauffre"
, Le Cannameliste français, p. 111, 1751.
A number of the 18th century waffle recipes took on names to designate their country or region/city of origin – , and, most famous of all the 18th century varieties, , which were first recorded in 1740. These (Flemish waffles / ) were the first French recipe to use beer yeast, but unlike the Dutch and German yeasted recipes that preceded them, use only egg whites and over a pound of butter in each batch. They are also the oldest named recipe that survives in popular use to the present day, produced regionally and commercially by Meert. The 18th century is also when the word "waffle" first appeared in the English language, in a 1725 printing of ''Court Cookery'' by Robert Smith. Recipes had begun to spread throughout England and America, though essentially all were patterned after established Dutch, Belgian, German, and French versions. Waffle parties, known as "wafel frolics", were documented as early as 1744 in New Jersey, and the Dutch had earlier established waffles in New Amsterdam (New York City). waffles, the most popular contemporary Belgian waffle variety, are rumored to have been invented during the 18th century, as well, by the chef to the prince-bishop of . However, there are no German, French, Dutch, or Belgian cookbooks that contain references to them in this period – by any name – nor are there any waffle recipes that mention the waffle's distinctive ingredients, brioche-based dough and pearl sugar. It is not until 1814 that publishes a recipe in where brioche dough is introduced as the base of the waffle and (crushed block sugar) is used as a garnish for the waffles, though not worked into the dough. , the famous Parisian pastry chef, is the first to incorporate into several waffle variations named in his 1822 work, . Then, in 1834, Leblanc publishes a complete recipe for (hail waffles), where is mixed in. A full recipe does not appear until 1921.


19th–21st centuries

Waffles remained widely popular in Europe for the first half of the 19th century, despite the 1806 British Atlantic naval blockade that greatly inflated the price of sugar."From extreme luxury to everyday commodity"
, Sugar in Sweden, 17th to 20th centuries, pp. 8–9, Klas Rönnbäck, Göteborg Papers in Economic History, No. 11. November 2007
This coincided with the commercial production of beet sugar in continental Europe, which, in a matter of decades, had brought the price down to historical lows."Sweet Diversity: Overseas Trade and Gains from Variety after 1492"
, Jonathan Hersh, Hans-Joachim Voth, Real Sugar Prices and Sugar Consumption Per Capita in England, 1600–1850, p.42
Within the transitional period from cane to beet sugar, Florian Dacher formalized a recipe for the Brussels Waffle, the predecessor to American "Belgian" waffles, recording the recipe in 1842/43.
, Henk Werk,
(Dutch syrup wafels), too, rose to prominence in the Netherlands by the middle of the century. However, by the second half of the 1800s, inexpensive beet sugar became widely available, and a wide range of pastries, candies and chocolates were now accessible to the middle class, as never before; waffles' popularity declined rapidly. By the early 20th century, waffle recipes became rare in recipe books, and only 29 professional waffle craftsmen, the oublieurs, remained in Paris. Waffles were shifting from a predominantly street-vendor-based product to an increasingly homemade product, aided by the 1918 introduction of GE's first electric commercial waffle maker. By the mid-1930s, dry pancake/waffle mix had been marketed by a number of companies, including
Aunt Jemima Pearl Milling Company (formerly known as Aunt Jemima from 1889 to 2021) is an American breakfast brand for pancake mix, syrup, and other breakfast food products. The original version of the pancake mix for the brand was developed in 1888–188 ...
,
Bisquick Bisquick is a pre-mixed baking mix sold by General Mills under its Betty Crocker brand, consisting of flour, shortening, salt, sugar and baking powder (a leavening agent). History According to General Mills, Bisquick was invented in 1930 aft ...
, and a team of three brothers from San Jose, Calif. – the Dorsas. It is the Dorsas who would go on to innovate commercial production of frozen waffles, which they began selling under the name "
Eggo Eggo is a brand of frozen waffles owned by the Kellogg Company, and sold in North America. Several varieties are available, including homestyle, miniature, cherry, blueberry, strawberry, vanilla bliss, brown sugar cinnamon, apple cinnamon, butt ...
" in 1953. Manufacturers are now testing the production of waffles with potato starch, which increase the stability of the waffle and protect them from sticking to the iron. Belgian-style waffles were showcased at
Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (french: Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles de 1958, nl, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Bel ...
in Brussels. Another Belgian introduced Belgian-style waffles to the United States at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, but only really took hold at the
1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...
, when another Belgian entrepreneur introduced his "Bel-Gem" waffles. In practice, contemporary American "Belgian waffles" are actually a hybrid of pre-existing American waffle types and ingredients and some attributes of the Belgian model. Even as most of the original recipes have faded from use, a number of the 18th and 19th century varieties can still be easily found throughout Northern Europe, where they were first developed.


Varieties

File:Brussels waffle.jpg, alt=Thick, rectangular waffle deeply browned and topped with powdered sugar., Brussels waffle File:Nice waffle.jpg, alt=Half-moon shaped waffle with browning on surface, Plain waffle sold at a neighborhood store in Singapore. File:Essen Waffeln 01 (RaBoe).jpg, alt=Thin waffles rolled into a cylindars, Rolled waffles File:Waffle cookies.jpg, alt=Thin, round waffles, Waffle cookies made in Belgium and imported to the United States. File:Galettes campinoises.jpg, alt=Round waffles with irregular edges, Galettes campinoises File:Waffle with ice cream.jpg, Waffle with ice cream


Brussels

Brussels waffles are prepared with an egg-white-leavened or yeast-leavened batter, traditionally an ale yeast; occasionally both types of leavening are used together. They are lighter, crisper and have larger pockets compared to other European waffle varieties, and are easy to differentiate from Liège Waffles by their rectangular sides. In Belgium, most waffles are served warm by street vendors and dusted with confectioner's sugar, though in tourist areas they might be topped with whipped cream, soft fruit or chocolate spread. Variants of the Brussels waffles – with whipped and folded egg whites cooked in large rectangular forms – date from the 18th century. However, the oldest recognized reference to "Gaufres de Bruxelles" (Brussels Waffles) by name is attributed from 1842/43 to Florian Dacher, a Swiss baker in Ghent, Belgium, who had previously worked under pastry chefs in central Brussels. Philippe Cauderlier would later publish Dacher's recipe in the 1874 edition of his recipe book "La Pâtisserie et la Confiture". Maximilien Consael, another Ghent chef, had claimed to have invented the waffles in 1839, though there's no written record of him either naming or selling the waffles until his participation in the 1856 Brussels Fair. Neither man created the recipe; they simply popularized and formalized an existing recipe as the Brussels waffle.


Liège

The Liège waffle is a richer, denser, sweeter, and chewier waffle. Native to the greater Wallonia region of Eastern Belgium – and alternately known as ''gaufres de chasse'' (hunting waffles) – they are an adaptation of brioche bread dough, featuring chunks of
pearl sugar Nib sugar (also pearl sugar and hail sugar) is a product of refined white sugar. The sugar is very coarse, hard, opaque white, and does not melt at temperatures typically used for baking. The product usually is made by crushing blocks of white s ...
which
caramelize Caramelization is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting sweet nutty flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: caramelans (C24H36O18), caramelens (C36H50O25), and c ...
on the outside of the waffle when baked. It is the most common type of waffle available in Belgium and prepared in plain, vanilla and cinnamon varieties by street vendors across the nation. In the United States, they are best known for being sold at ski resorts, mostly in the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...
, under the Waffle Cabin brand.


Flemish

Flemish waffles, or Gaufres à la Flamande, are a specialty of northern France and portions of western Belgium. The original recipe, published in 1740 by Louis-Auguste de Bourbon in ''Le Cuisinier Gascon'', is as follows: Take "deux litrons" (1.7 liters or 7 cups) of flour and mix it in a bowl with salt and one ounce of brewer's yeast barm. Moisten it completely with warm milk. Then whisk fifteen egg whites and add that to the mixture, stirring continuously. Incorporate "un livre" (490 grams or 1.1 pounds) of fresh butter, and let the batter rise. Once the batter has risen, take your heated iron, made expressly for these waffles, and wrap some butter in a cloth and rub both sides of the iron with it. When the iron is completely heated, make your waffles, but do so gently for fear of burning them. Cooked, take them out, put them on a platter, and serve them with both sugar and orange blossom water on top.


American

American waffles vary significantly. Generally denser and thinner than the Belgian waffle, they are often made from a batter leavened with
baking powder Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increas ...
, which is sometimes mixed with pecans, chocolate drops or berries and may be round, square, or rectangular in shape. Like American
pancakes A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying wit ...
they are usually served as a sweet
breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or "t ...
food, topped with butter and
maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tre ...
, bacon, and other fruit
syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugar ...
s, honey, or powdered sugar. They are also found in many different savory dishes, such as fried chicken and waffles or topped with kidney stew. They may also be served as desserts, topped with ice cream and various other toppings. A large chain (over 1,900 locations) of waffle specialty
diner A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe. Diners offer a wide range of foods, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...
s, Waffle House, is ubiquitous in the southern United States.


Belgian

Belgian waffle Outside of Belgium, Belgian waffles are a variety of waffle with a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than American waffles. Belgian waffles were originally leavened with yeast, but baking powder is now often used. They are often ...
s are a North American waffle variety, based on a simplified version of the Brussels waffle. Recipes are typically baking soda leavened, though some are yeast-raised. They are distinguished from standard American waffles by their use of 1 ½" depth irons. Belgian waffles take their name from the ''Bel-Gem brand'', which was promoted by waffle vendor Maurice Vermersch, who came from
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, Belgium. The thicker style was also popularized at the
1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...
.


Bergische

Bergische waffles, or Waffles from Berg county, are a specialty of the German region of
Bergisches Land The Bergisches Land (, '' Berg Country'') is a low mountain range region within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, east of Rhine river, south of the Ruhr. The landscape is shaped by woods, meadows, rivers and creeks and contains ov ...
. The waffles are crisp and less dense than Belgian waffles, always heart shaped, and served with cherries, cream and optionally rice pudding as part of the traditional afternoon feast on Sundays in the region.


Hong Kong

Hong Kong style waffle, in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta ...
called a "grid cake" or "grid biscuits" (格仔餅), is a waffle usually made and sold by street hawkers and eaten warm on the street. It is similar to a traditional waffle but larger, round in shape and divided into four quarters. It is usually served as a snack. Butter, peanut butter and sugar are spread on one side of the cooked waffle, and then it is folded into a
semicircle In mathematics (and more specifically geometry), a semicircle is a one-dimensional locus of points that forms half of a circle. The full arc of a semicircle always measures 180° (equivalently, radians, or a half-turn). It has only one line o ...
to eat. Eggs, sugar and
evaporated milk Evaporated milk, known in some countries as "unsweetened condensed milk", is a shelf-stable canned cow’s milk product where about 60% of the water has been removed from fresh milk. It differs from sweetened condensed milk, which contains added ...
are used in the waffle recipes, giving them a sweet flavor. They are generally soft and not dense. Traditional Hong Kong style waffles are full of the flavor of
yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...
. Sometimes different flavors, such as
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civi ...
and honey melon, are used in the recipe and create various colors. Another style of Hong Kong waffle is the eggette or gai daan jai (鷄蛋仔), which have a ball-shaped pattern.


Pandan

Pandan waffles originate from
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
and are characterized by the use of pandan flavoring and coconut milk in the batter. The pandan flavoring results in the batter's distinctive spring green color. When cooked, the waffle browns and crisps on the outside and stays green and chewy on the inside. Unlike most waffles, pandan waffles are typically eaten plain. In Vietnam they are relatively cheap and so are popular among children. They are a popular
street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
made in either
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
molds heated with
charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, cal ...
or in electric
waffle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a utensil or appliance used to cook waffles. It comprises two metal plates with a connecting hinge, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles. The iron is heated and either batter is poured or dou ...
s.


Croffle

Croffle The croffle is a hybrid of a croissant and waffle. It was popularized in South Korea and then spread throughout the world. The concept is reminiscent of another pastry, the Cronut which is a croissant and donut hybrid which was created by Domini ...
(a compound word of
croissant A croissant is a buttery, flaky, Austrian viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape, the dough is layered wi ...
and waffle) is a dessert where croissant raw paper is baked in a waffle pan and eaten with ice cream or maple syrup. The chewy taste of the waffles makes it fun to eat them like a croissant. It is a popular dessert in
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic of ...
. On the Internet, jokes about "the greatest invention of the Covid-19 Age" spread. There are various types of croffles that utilize various toppings such as basil, corn, cheese and so on. It is also popular with people because it is easy to make and eat at home. The beginning of Croffle is the cafe “Le Petit Parisian” in Dublin, Ireland. According to the Irish newspaper Dublin Gadget (reported on July 20, 2017), Louise Lenox, a baker at the café in Camden Street, Dublin, first created a menu item called Croffle.


Kue gapit

Kue gapit Kue gapit is an Indonesian '' kue kering'' (dry snack) which originates from Cirebon, West Java. Generally made from tapioca flour, its name comes from the cooking process, in which it is grilled between iron molds like a waffle. The snack comes ...
is an Indonesian ''kue kering'' (dry snack) which originates from West Java. Generally made from tapioca flour, its name comes from the cooking process, in which it is grilled between iron molds like a waffle. The snack comes in a variety of shapes and flavors.


Scandinavian

Scandinavian style waffles, common throughout the Nordic countries, are thin and made in a round waffle iron. The batter is similar to other varieties, but does not contain sugar. The most common style are heart-shaped slices with a sweet topping such as
cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
or jam. * In
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and th ...
, ''
brunost Brunost ("brown cheese") is a common Norwegian name for mysost ("whey cheese"; da, myseost; sv, mesost; fi, mesjuusto; is, mysuostur), a family of cheese-related foods made with whey, milk, and/or cream. The term is often used to just refer ...
'' and gomme are also popular toppings. As with crèpes, there are those who prefer a salted style with various mixes, such as blue cheese. * In
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Both ...
, savory toppings are uncommon; instead
jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...
,
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double s ...
,
whipped cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, and ...
or vanilla
ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as s ...
are usually used. * In
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
, the traditional topping is either
rhubarb Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks ( petioles) of species and hybrids (culinary rhubarb) of '' Rheum'' in the family Polygonaceae, which are cooked and used for food. The whole plant – a herbaceous perennial growing from short, thick rhiz ...
or
blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, b ...
jam with whipped cream on top. Syrup and chocolate spread are also popular substitutes for the jam. * The Swedish tradition dates at least to the 15th century, and there is even a particular day for the purpose, Våffeldagen (waffle day), which sounds like ''Vårfrudagen'' (" Our Lady's Day"), and is therefore used for the purpose. This is March 25 (nine months before Christmas), the Christian holiday of
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
. They are usually topped with strawberry jam, bilberry jam,
cloudberry ''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the bla ...
jam, raspberry jam, bilberry and raspberry jam, sugar and butter, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Other, savory, toppings include salmon roe, cold-smoked salmon and cream fraiche.


Gofri

Gofri (singular gofre) are waffles in Italy and can be found in the
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
ese cuisine: they are light and crispy in texture, contain no egg or milk (according to the most ancient recipe) and come both in sweet and savory versions.
Central Italian Central Italian ( Italian: ''dialetti mediani'') refers to Italo-Romance varieties spoken in the so-called ''Area Mediana'', which covers a swathe of the central Italian peninsula. ''Area Mediana'' is also used in a narrower sense to describe th ...
cuisine also features waffle-like cookies, which are locally known as pizzelle, ''ferratelle'' (in
Abruzzo , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1 ...
) or ''cancelle'' (in
Molise it, Molisano (man) it, Molisana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 ...
).


Stroopwafel

Stroopwafel A ''stroopwafel'' (; literally 'syrup waffle') is a thin, round waffle cookie made from two layers of sweet baked dough held together by caramel filling.
s are thin waffles with a
syrup In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugar ...
filling, which originated from the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...
city of Gouda. The stiff batter for the waffles is made from
flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultur ...
,
butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
,
brown sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
,
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
,
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulatin ...
, and
eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
. Medium-sized balls of batter are put on the
waffle iron A waffle iron or waffle maker is a utensil or appliance used to cook waffles. It comprises two metal plates with a connecting hinge, molded to create the honeycomb pattern found on waffles. The iron is heated and either batter is poured or dou ...
. When the waffle is baked and while it is still warm, it is cut into two halves. The warm filling made from syrup is spread in between the waffle halves, which glues them together. They are popular in the Netherlands and Belgium and sold in pre-prepared packages in shops and markets.


Galettes

Galettes campinoises/ Kempense galetten are a type of waffle popular in Belgium. They are rigid and crunchy, but are buttery, crumbly and soft in the mouth.


Hotdog

Hotdog waffles (or waffle dogs) are cylindrical waffles with a
hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frank ...
cooked inside them, similar to a
corn dog A corn dog (also spelled corndog) is a sausage (usually a hot dog) on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried. It originated in the United States and is commonly found in American cuisine. History Newly a ...
. It is made with specialized waffle irons with cylindrical hotdog-bun shaped molds. They originate from
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is ...
where it was first served at the KC Drive Inn in 1934, owned by the
Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...
Jiro Asato (who later legally changed his name to KC Jiro Asato). The original version has a distinctive shape, with an oblong middle section (containing the hotdog) surrounded by flattened square edges. It is served plain or with a combination of
ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among oth ...
,
mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
, and pickle relish. Its popularity spread to the continental United States, the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
(then an American colony), and throughout the rest of the
Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
. Waffle dogs remain an iconic part of Hawaiian culture, though it has waned in popularity in the rest of the US. It has also remained popular as a
street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
item in the Philippines, where variants can use other savory fillings like ham, bacon, ''
longganisa Longaniza (, or ) is a Spanish sausage (embutido) similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça. Its defining characteristics are interpreted differently from region to region. It is popular in the cuisines o ...
'', tuna, or cheese; as well as sweet fillings like
ube UBE or Ube may refer to: * Ubiquitin-activating enzyme * Ube, Yamaguchi, a city in Japan * Uniform Bar Examination * Unilateral Biportal Endoscopy * Ube Industries, chemical company * Union bound estimate, a probability theory bound * Union of ...
,
chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civi ...
, or yema custard. The Filipino versions are also more uniformly cylindrical, with a grid pattern, and are usually served on bamboo skewers. The Filipino fast food chain Waffle Time, founded in 1998, specializes in hotdog waffles as well as other savory and sweet fillings. In modern times, it has also gained popularity in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
and the rest of
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, where it is served with
ketchup Ketchup or catsup is a table condiment with a sweet and tangy flavor. The unmodified term ("ketchup") now typically refers to tomato ketchup, although early recipes used egg whites, mushrooms, oysters, grapes, mussels, or walnuts, among oth ...
,
mayonnaise Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar s ...
, or both.


On a stick

Waffles on a stick are long waffles cooked onto a stick, usually dipped in something like
chocolate syrup Chocolate syrup is a sweet, chocolate-flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping or dessert sauce for various desserts, such as ice cream, or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk or blended with milk and ice cream to make a chocolate mi ...
, and with sprinkles on top.


Toppings

Waffles can be eaten plain (especially the thinner kinds) or eaten with various toppings, such as: *
butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...
* chocolate chips *
apple butter Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives a ...
*
dulce de leche ''Dulce de leche'' (; pt, doce de leite), also known as caramelized milk, milk candy or milk jam in English, is a confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over a period of several hours. The resulting substance, wh ...
*
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particul ...
s: **
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s **
blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, b ...
** boysenberries **
raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...
**
blackberries The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy of ...
**
strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
*
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primaril ...
*
jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...
or jelly *
chocolate spread Chocolate spread is a sweet chocolate-flavored paste which is eaten mostly spread on breads and toasts or similar grain items such as waffles, pancakes, muffins, and pitas. Although it tastes, smells, and looks like chocolate, it does not solidi ...
*
peanut butter Peanut butter is a food paste or spread made from ground, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, sweeteners, or emulsifiers. Peanut butter is consumed in many countr ...
* syrup: **
maple syrup Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tre ...
**
chocolate syrup Chocolate syrup is a sweet, chocolate-flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping or dessert sauce for various desserts, such as ice cream, or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk or blended with milk and ice cream to make a chocolate mi ...
**
caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of caramelizati ...
** flavored syrups *
whipped cream Whipped cream is liquid heavy cream that is whipped by a whisk or mixer until it is light and fluffy and holds its shape, or by the expansion of dissolved gas, forming a firm colloid. It is often sweetened, typically with white sugar, and ...
*
powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, p ...
Ice cream cone An ice cream cone, poke (Ireland/Scotland) or cornet (England) is a brittle, cone-shaped pastry, usually made of a wafer similar in texture to a waffle, made so ice cream can be carried and eaten without a bowl or spoon, for example, the Hong Kon ...
s are also a type of waffles or wafers. Waffles are also eaten with savory rather than sweet toppings.


Consistency

On the industrial scale, waffles are baked at 140–180 °C for 110 and 180 s, depending on thickness and batter type. Waffles should be fully baked and golden brown but not burnt. To decrease product loss, whether in the kitchen or in a factory, a waffle needs to be stable (not torn during takeoff). The ideal waffle should also have an even color throughout and not be crumbly. The perfect waffle is made of finely granulated wheat flour with low to medium protein content and low water adsorption capacity. The recommended pH value for waffle batter is from 6.1 to 6.5. High pH values can cause an increase in the browning reaction which causes an increase in the amount of batter residues on the waffle iron and therefore, more sticking. Waffle batter temperature should be in the range of 21 to 26.6 degrees Celsius. If batter temperature is too high the batter forms clumps and sticks to the apparatus. Density and viscosity are also important aspects that have an effect on overall waffle quality. The recommended
density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematicall ...
of a waffle should be about 80–95 g/100 ml because it needs to be fluid enough to fill the whole plate of the waffle iron. Too stiff, and the dough's spreadability decreases. Too much liquid, and the batter runs right off the plate.
Viscosity The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the inter ...
is influenced by density (higher the density the higher the viscosity) but in the case of waffles, the effect of CO2 gas is more prevalent. The more aeration, the stiffer the waffle gets and the more viscous it is (it becomes foam-like). Aeration is the major factor that determines viscosity in a recipe so overall, the higher the aeration, the lower the density, and the higher the viscosity. Recipes vary for different types of waffles. Usually, better air-filled batters contribute to softer, fluffier waffles but viscosity should remain lower in order to have sufficient spreadability. Softer waffles do not have a correlation with sticking behavior. Density and viscosity do not have effect on sticking or adhering properties.


Shelf stability and staling

Mixing is a critical step in batter preparation since overmixing causes the gluten to develop excessively and create a batter with too high of a viscosity that is difficult to pour and does not expand easily. A thick batter that is difficult spreading in the baking iron has an increased water activity of around 0.85. The increased viscosity made it harder for water to evaporate from the waffle causing an increase in
water activity Water activity (''aw'') is the partial vapor pressure of water in a solution divided by the standard state partial vapor pressure of water. In the field of food science, the standard state is most often defined as pure water at the same tempe ...
(''aw''). The control waffles with a softer texture had a water activity of 0.74 after cooking. The ''aw'' is less because the softer texture allows the water to evaporate. With an increased storage time, waffle physical and textural properties changes regardless of the batter viscosity. Aged waffles shrink because air bubbles leak out and the structure starts to condense. Hardness and viscosity also increases as time goes by. Aged waffle samples displayed a starch
retrogradation Retrogradation is the landward change in position of the front of a river delta with time. This occurs when the mass balance of sediment into the delta is such that the volume of incoming sediment is less than the volume of the delta that is lost ...
peak that increased with storage time due to the fact that more crystalline structures were present. Starch retrogradation is mentioned previously in this paper. The enthalpy value for melting of starch crystals increased with storage time as well.


See also

*
Krumkake (, meaning 'curved cake'; plural ) is a Norwegian waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. A special decorative two-sided iron griddle similar to a waffle iron is traditionally used to bake the thin round cakes, similar ...
*
Barquillo Barquillo is a crispy rolled wafer pastry originating in Spain. It is made from the basic cookie ingredients of flour, sugar, egg whites and butter rolled out thinly and then shaped into a hollow cylinder or a cone. It was traditionally sold by ...
*
List of quick breads This is a list of quick breads. Quick bread is any bread leavened with some leavening agents other than yeast or eggs. Preparing a quick bread generally involves two mixing bowls. One contains all dry ingredients (including chemical leavening age ...
* Moffle – a waffle prepared using mochi *
Pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying wit ...
* Pizzelle *
Potato waffle Potato waffles are a potato-based savoury dish in a waffle shape. They are common in the United Kingdom and Ireland and are also available in some other countries, including Australia, Canada and United States. They are made of potato, oil, a ...
mainly found in the UK and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, made from potato formed into a waffle iron shape *
Egg waffle An egg waffle is a spherical egg-based waffle popular in Hong Kong and Macau, consisting of an eggy leavened batter cooked between two plates of semi-spherical cells. They are usually served hot, and often eaten plain, although they may be se ...


References


External links

* * * Waffle recipes in the Cookbook wikibook {{Authority control Quick breads Sweet breads European cuisine French cuisine Belgian cuisine Articles containing video clips Dutch cuisine Dutch words and phrases Belgian inventions American breakfast foods Yeast breads