The Great Waffle Maker Bake Off

This review compares what I believe are the two most desirable waffle makers on the market for under $300. The units are the Kitchenaid Pro Line Series Waffle Baker model KPWB100, a 1400 watt, two waffle iron unit and the Waring Waffle Pro model WMK300, a 1200 watt, single iron unit. The Kitchenaid produces two 8.5 inch waffles and the Waring produces one 7.5 inch waffle. The Kitchenaid costs about $300 and the Waring costs about $80. I am not affiliated with any manufacturer of kitchen appliances nor am I a professional cook, I'm just a schmo who loves waffles.

BTW, just to be fair, I will post this review under the heading of the Waring Pro also.

Above all else, I value producing waffles that meet my tastes and preferences. I’m willing to put up with a few extra hassles in order to produce waffles the way I want them, not the way that someone who designed the waffle iron thinks I should want them. Almost any waffle maker can make respectable waffles with simple white flour batters, but my preference is to use whole wheat batter and to cook the waffles with a crispy crunchy exterior that stands up to hot maple syrup with a soft doughy (not bread-like) center. This is the ying and yang of waffles that make them so special. In order to produce waffles that meet these criteria, it is necessary to use high temperatures and a short cooking time. If you are a seasoned waffle baker in search of the most versatile and most effective waffle maker for under $300, read on…

Aesthetics – The Kitchenaid unit is a gorgeous piece of kitchen art and it will display well on any countertop. The combination of the enameled cradle, the brushed stainless steel domes, and the black anodized center make for an attractive presentation. Whoever designed the aesthetics of the Kitchenaid unit did a wonderful job. The Waring unit is also attractive, albeit a bit more industrial, with plenty of brushed stainless steel. The Waring unit has the benefit of a cord storage space under the base for ease of storage which creates a tidy appearance if you wish to leave it on the counter.

Non-Stick Surfaces - As indicated in the Kitchenaid instructions, the non-stick surface on the waffle irons work very well by simply adding oil to the batter (no spray or brushing of oil). With the Waring, it is necessary to coat the plates for every other waffle, and even then, the waffles tend to stick and sometimes pull apart if a fork is not used to “start” the separation from one waffle plate. Using a low cholesterol egg product like “better’n eggs” exacerbates the sticking. This portends poorly for the Waring because the constant application of cooking oils directly to the surface will eventually lead to a sticky buildup that can only be resolved by ditching the gummed up appliance and buying a new one. Thus, based on my usage frequency (3-4 times a week) and past history with waffle irons that need frequent spray oils, this Waring will last me about a year before it will need to be replaced. However, the sticking seems to be less frequent with greater use of the unit. This morning I made five waffles with the Waring unit and only sprayed twice with minimal sticking. In sum, the Kitchen Aid is tops in ease of removing waffles (although I wonder how much of this is due to the lower cooking temperatures of the Kitchenaid).

Mechanics of operation - Each unit approaches cooking to taste with a different strategy, a difference that matters if you like crunchy exteriors with doughy centers. One strategy is to vary the heat intensity so that the exterior of the waffle cooks quickly, perhaps even so quickly that the center of the waffle is not heated enough to be cooked through. A second strategy is to have a constant cooking temperature and vary the cooking time. This strategy can produce browned exteriors but may cook so slowly that the waffle center is over cooked and is more bread-like than doughy.

Both units feature a rotating waffle iron that helps to spread the batter evenly on both irons in order to produce light, airy waffles. On the Waring, the cooking controls are a clunky dial for the cooking setting and an industrial feeling toggle switch for on/off. A red light signals “on” and a green light signals “ready.” The higher the cooking setting (i.e., 1 to 6), the longer the iron requires to pre-heat, so I assume that the cook setting sets the heat intensity which is powered by 1200 watts. In this case, higher is better (think crispy waffles with doughy centers). The cooking time is the same for all settings. With the Waring, a handy measuring cup is included that reduces the likelihood of over or under filling the waffle plates. The Waring operates by closing the waffle iron and rotating the plastic covered handle. The rotating mechanism seems quite tight and precise, thus minimizing drips. Also, upon closing the iron, an automatic timer is initiated which beeps upon completion of the time.

The Kitchenaid has an on/off button with a flashing blue indicator light for “on” and a solid blue light and an audible tone for “ready.” It has a digital timer that is easily set to a time ranging from to 2:30 to 5:30. The cooking strategy employed appears to be one of constant heat intensity with a varied cooking time. This unit has two waffle irons that are powered by 1400 watts, 200 watts more than the Waring unit with one waffle iron.

Instructions are given to fill the irons so that the tops of the grids are almost covered. After lowering the waffle iron onto the batter, two things need to happen; first, the timer must be manually and immediately started (assuming you have preset the time), and second, the iron must be rotated. A beep sounds when the cooking time expires. The iron drops down but doesn’t successfully lock or snug up to maintain alignment. When rotating the irons, the plates tend to shift, causing drips (much more than the Waring). The Kitchenaid unit that I currently have is my second unit. The first unit dripped horribly due to plates that shifted quite a bit. When I called the Kitchenaid customer service, I received excellent customer care, a replacement unit was shipped to me and I returned the first unit. I was also assured that the Kitchenaid Proline products come with the assurance that if I was not satisfied with the product in the first year of use, Kitchenaid would buy it back from me. Sounds like a great way to stand behind their product. The second unit does not shift as badly, but there is still some shifting that causes more drips than the Waring Pro. I even tried squeezing the two handles together but it did not help.

Cooking time and heat intensity are both critical to producing quality waffles. The lack of heat control on the Kitchenaid and the absolute dependence upon a time variable results in the need to compromise between waffles that are crunchy on the outside (somewhat) and bread-like on the inside versus waffles that are barely crunchy on the outside and doughy on the inside. Either way, the crunch produced by the Kitchenaid does not stand up to hot maple syrup and I always end up with soggy waffles. The Kitchenaid appears to be under powered because it barely produces a crunchy waffle at the maximum time setting of 5:30. It doesn’t take an engineer to figure out that two waffle irons at 1400 watts (i.e., the Kitchenaid) won’t cook the same as one waffle iron at 1200 watts (i.e., the Waring). Additionally, I find that there are times when I forget to start the manual timer and have to guess as to the elapsed cooking time.

In contrast, when set on the highest heat intensity setting, the Waring produces crunchy waffles with doughy centers that stand up to hot maple syrup. The automatic timer eliminates the risk of forgetting to start the timer. With regard to productivity, using two waffle irons @ 1400 watts is about the same as using one waffle iron @ 1200 watts. I get the same number of waffles within the same amount of time because the Kitchenaid takes twice as long to cook as the Waring (and the Waring waffles are better). In sum, the Waring unit has a much better mechanical design, is easier to use (with the exception of the sticking waffles), creates less mess, and produces better waffles. Keep in mind that my preferences may be different from yours. If you are an occasional waffle baker who uses the pre-mixed pancake/waffle mixes made from white flour that contain a lot of sugar (i.e., lots of crunch), you will be will probably be able to produce crunchy waffles with either the Kitchenaid or the Waring.

Clean-up - On the Kitchenaid there is a cast anodized ring in which the waffle irons sit that is not coated with a non-stick surface but that routinely comes into contact with batter when it leaks out between the plates. Some of this anodized surface can be seen in pictures of the unit as the black middle section. Additionally, the batter tenaciously sticks to this anodized surface when the batter drips out of the plates. The brushed stainless surfaces (i.e., the domes) are also exposed to dripping batter. Both the anodized and brushed metal surfaces are quite difficult to clean if the batter dries; a normal occurrence when the waffle maker is hot. There are grooves between the different surfaces where batter collects. With regards to drips and splatters, it is surprising how difficult it is to clean dried batter from the cradle. Even if the batter is wiped off immediately, there is frequently a “ghost” image that must be re-wiped later. I found that wiping the surfaces just after the batter has stopped dripping eases the cleanup hassles, although with the hot steam escaping from the plates, this probably isn’t a wise thing to do. Even though the Waring has similar looking brushed stainless surfaces, it is much easier to clean, and in fact, the dried batter crumbles off easily. The Waring has a catch tray for dripping batter that catches most drips. Splatters from the waffle iron are easy to wipe off of the brushed surfaces of the cradle. In short, the Waring is much easier to maintain.

Wish List – So what should a great waffle maker have? Here is my open letter to manufacturers of waffle irons:

1) Give me the capacity to produce rapid, sustained, high levels of heat. The manufacturer of my range and toaster trust me to burn my food, why do waffle iron manufacturers feel compelled to protect me from burning my waffles by under powering or time limiting the waffle irons they produce? I have a right to burn my waffles if I so choose. If I can buy a toaster for under $20 that will burn my toast, why am I unable to buy a waffle iron capable of burning waffles without spending over $800?

2) Control, control, control! I want to control the intensity of the heat AND the duration of the cooking cycle and I want to set the time and heat intensity beyond any limits the cooks in your test kitchens can imagine. Please place adjustment controls for heat intensity and cooking time on your waffle bakers.

3) Make my life easy by installing an automatic timer (like the Waring Pro). But please let me set the time.

4) Make cleanup easy by recognizing that baking waffles is a messy business. Eliminate those nasty little grooves that collect batter (like on the Kitchenaid unit), coat everything in a non-stick surface for easy cleanup, and include in your design a channel to guide overflows to a location away from the hinges and other impossible to reach locations. While you are at it, it would be great if you would include a shroud that would guide splatters down, even if it directs the splatters to the counter below, instead of allowing the splatters to shoot out of the side of the waffle iron and onto my floor and cabinets.

The Waring appears to be the best waffle maker for my needs but the Kitchenaid unit is so beautiful that it will be hard to return. My wife wants to keep both but she never cooks waffles and rarely eats them. I can’t imagine that I will ever use the Kitchenaid. It is hard to justify a $300 piece of artwork when an $80 kitchen appliance will do the job. Looks like I will take up Kitchenaid on their buyback offer.