Waring Professional Makes Hot Belgian Waffles With Ease

Breakfast isn’t one of my favorite meals. I usually don’t bother making eggs, bacon, pancakes, or any other hot food and instead opt for a bowl of cereal or a doughnut. My reluctance to making hot breakfast food isn’t because I don’t like it. The reason is because of limited time. A bowl of cereal takes only seconds to prepare and minutes to consume, thereby ensuring that its consumption doesn’t interfere with my morning routine.

But hot breakfast is making a comeback in my household thanks mainly to a gift I received this past Christmas. My present was the Waring WMK300 Professional Belgian Style Waffle Maker, a small appliance for making delicious waffles.

Facts About This Product:

Waring Pro Belgian Style Waffle Maker is different from the old fashioned waffle irons that featured a square- shaped design with a lid, a light, and nothing more. This appliance is comprised of three main parts: The base, the waffle maker itself, and the drip plate. The base of this device is made from stainless steel and measures about sixteen and one- quarter inches in length; nine and three- quarters inches in width; and seven and three quarters inches in height. Attached (on one end) to this base is the round waffle maker. It has an upper and lower stick- free plate that lift apart to fill with batter and join back together to cook a waffle. This waffle plate has a handle in the front to make it easy to open and close and this end rests in the front of the base. The third component to this device is the drip tray- a square, flat, stainless steel tray that rests beneath the waffle iron and catches any batter that runs over the edges.

On the front of the base there are two lights: An orange power light and a green “ready” light. On the left/front of the base there is a temperature setting that ranges from 1 to 6, with six being the hottest. Where this is knob is turned will determine how crispy the waffles will be when cooking is completed. Other items included are a measuring cup, an instruction book, and waffle recipes.

How to Use:

To prepare the Waring Professional Belgian Style Waffle Maker you begin by turning on the power, spraying the two inside surfaces of the iron with cooking spray, and then closing the waffle iron. When the waffle iron is properly preheated, the green “ready” light will glow. At this point, all you do is lift the handle to open the iron, pour in the batter, and then close the iron. Then, you turn the handle 180 degrees so that it is facing down. When the waffle is ready (which won’t take very long), the unit will beep. At this point, you turn the handle back to the upright position, open, and remove the waffle.

Final Thoughts:

My culinary skills are quite limited so I am always happy when I find a new appliance that makes cooking easy. Waffles, pancakes, eggs, and other foods are not necessarily difficult to make but they take more time than I am willing to give up as I begin my day. With the Waring Professional Belgian Style Waffle Maker, I can make waffles with little or no effort. This has greatly increased my number of hot breakfasts since this device is so easy to use and so easy to clean.

The most desirable quality of this device is the ease of use and this factor alone makes it worth the purchase. When I first opened the box and looked at this waffle maker, I still had my doubts about its simplicity. But a few uses showed just how simple it was. Everything is automated for the consumer, removing all of the guesswork from the process of waffle making. First, you flick the switch. Then, you wait for the green light to tell you that the waffle iron is preheated. Then, you pour the batter, close the lid, and turn the handle. When the waffle is ready, the device beeps. That’s all there is to it. Even the measuring cup that Waring includes is already pre- marked with a "fill line". There are no ounce markings. No, that would require too much thinking. Instead, Waring marks a line on the cup that says "fill line". By pouring the batter into this cup and reaching this line, you can be assured that the batter will be just the right amount to make one waffle.

With the heat settings, there are six different knob positions and they control how quickly the beeper sounds off and how soft or crisp your waffle will be. Waring recommends using the "4" setting. This is usually the one I use but I have been known to lower this setting to "3" for a softer waffle. Again, by following the manufacturer’s recommendation, one can get a very good waffle without any cognitive input. Waring takes care of all this for you, helping to create a tasty waffle with minimal effort.

The next great thing about the Waring Professional Belgian Style Waffle Maker is the ease of cleaning. With the non- stick cooking surface, there is almost no cleanup at all. Any waffle bits or batter left behind fall right off of the surface. All you need is a damp cloth to glide over the indentions on the waffle iron and the bits of waffle fall right off. And you don’t need to worry about any mess from drips because the square drip tray catches these errors. All you do is transfer the tray to the kitchen sink for a quick rub down. In a matter of seconds, the tray is clean. The reason the drips remove so easily is because the tray remains cool during the cooking process and the batter (if any happens to drip) is usually also cool or slightly warm. It isn’t hot and cannot get burned onto the surface. You don’t need a scoring pad or steel wool pad to clean. A wet cloth is all it takes.

Yet another good reason to purchase this waffle maker is the waffles themselves. The pockets in these waffles are large and deep and the waffles themselves measure about seven inches across. This is a nice size. They fit right on your plate and one of them makes for a nice morning meal. And with those large pockets, they hold syrup and other toppings with ease.

Is there anything bad about the Waring Professional Belgian Waffle Maker? I can think of only one thing: It makes only one waffle at a time. There is nothing else bad to say about this device. You know a product is very good when the worst thing I can say about it is that it doesn’t cook twice as great a quantity as it does. It really is that good!

Cooking breakfast is still an infrequent occurrence in my household but hot breakfast food is becoming a more and more common part of my mornings thanks to the Waring Professional Belgian Style Waffle Maker. It’s one of the few small appliances that occupy a permanent spot on my kitchen counter and it’s one of the best presents I have received in a long time. Great waffles made with ease and with little or no cleanup make this waffle maker an excellent addition to any home.