The Waffle has Clearly Taken Off Running

Americans eat a lot of waffles. According to Waffle House, approximately 900 million waffles plus have been served since the restaurant chain’s opening in 1955. Served sweet, with a topping of syrup or fruit, or savory, garnished with everything from eggs to chicken, today’s waffle has a long and mouthwatering history. They even helped launch an iconic shoe company. But more on that later.

Waffles seem like a modern culinary invention. But those crispy cake-like treats actually date back to the Neolithic Age. Yes, cavemen enjoyed the first rendition of the waffle. These rustic hotcakes were made with cereal pulp and cooked between heated stones. The Iron Age brought iron tools into the mix, improving upon the early waffle stone cooking technique. Two heated iron plates were pressed together to heat the grain batter over an open fire.

European craftsman of the 13th century brought the waffle honeycomb design into play. The Old French word “wafla” is translated to a piece of honeybee hive. Batter was placed between two honeycombed pieces of iron that were hinged in place, then heated over an open hearth.

Add the waffle iron to the items we can thank Thomas Jefferson for introducing to North America. In 1789, Jefferson returned to the United States from his position as Minister of France and brought along several items with him, including a hand-cranked pasta machine and a waffle iron. This began a trend referred to as “waffle frolic” or waffle parties.

The use of a waffle iron to create the iconic Nike shoe sole sounds like an urban legend, but it is anything but. Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman was having breakfast with his wife one morning in 1971 when it dawned on him that the grooves in the waffle iron she was using would be an excellent mold for the sole of a running shoe. A rare pair of these early Nike “Moon Shoes” was recently sold at the New York auction house Sotheby’s for $427,500. You can catch a glimpse of them in their new home, the Dare to Dream Automobile Museum in Toronto, Canada. No word on where the waffle iron landed.

THE DELECTABLE POTENTIAL OF THE WAFFLE
 

Who knew that those early caveman waffles made between two hot stones would evolve into the versatile waffle that we know today? Yes, there is more to the waffle than a morning breakfast food, often popped into the toaster for a quick grab and go meal. Few folks will pass by a perfectly crisped waffle slathered with butter and drizzled with pure maple syrup. But this age-old favorite has a savory side as well.

The trend of extending breakfast hours throughout the day has become something more and more restaurants practice regularly. With breakfast items fast becoming many consumers’ most loved comfort foods, it makes perfect sense to serve waffles throughout the day.Think of the waffle as the canvas a chef starts with to create a mouthwatering recipe. Topped with cheese, meat, fresh vegetable, herbs and spices, waffles can be turned into a complete lunch or dinner.

THE FALAFEL WAFFLE
 

If you follow any food blog, you most likely will encounter a culinary mashup on a daily basis. These creative and sometimes farfetched mixups of flavor combinations and techniques are the current culinary rage. There’s the turducken (a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken), the cronut (croissant meets donut) and even a cherpumple (a novelty cake that combines cherry, pumpkin and apple pie with three different flavors of cake mix).

Bring the waffle into the mashup mix by creating the waffle falafel; a falafel made in a waffle maker. My gluten-free recipe takes all the flavors you know and love from traditional falafel and puts them into a crispy and oh so cute mini-waffle. Plus, the name is just fun to say.

Since the batter is less wet than traditional waffle batter, falafel waffles are best served straight out of the iron. Serve them on a bed of lettuce with a garnish of Greek yogurt flavored with cucumber, fresh herbs and diced tomato or in a pita for an easy falafel sandwich.

HAVE YOUR WAFFLE WITH EGGS, TOO
 

Ditch the toast and grab the waffle iron. A waffle ranchero combines the crunch of a waffle with a healthy dose of seasoned black beans, tomatoes, queso fresco and, of course, the traditional topping of a fried egg.

Masa harina, a finely ground flour made from corn, gives the waffles a sweet, grainy flavor. Diced jalapeno adds a hint of heat and a finely diced chipotle pepper gives the black beans a pop of smoky flavor.

DON’T FORGET BREAKFAST
 

With all the talk about waffles becoming this year’s culinary canvas, don’t forget to enjoy them the way we all were first introduced to these crispy treats: breakfast.

Rich, buttery chocolate waffles make the perfect special occasion breakfast, brunch or a fun dessert (topped with ice cream and chocolate sauce, oh my). Cocoa powder and cinnamon are added to the batter along with pure vanilla extract. Although these chocolatey waffles are terrific with a drizzle of maple syrup or a dusting of powdered sugar, try going one step further and make your own syrup. Cinnamon, brown sugar and plain old water are all that’s required to whip up homemade syrup to finish off these special waffles.

And if you make the waffles in a mini waffle maker, you can freeze them, making them ready for a fast reheat. Pop them in a toaster or 350-degree oven for a quick breakfast, dessert or late-night snack. Because you are going to want to snack on them all day long.

Sweet or savory, big or small, the waffle has, as they say, come a long way baby. From caveman to iconic shoe sole to edible canvas for breakfast, lunch or dinner, the waffle is a food staple that’s here to stay.