I love this waffle maker! It's like the ones our mom used, not those cheesy seeming plastic things they're making now. It's also got a lot of excellent features that make my life easier. I'll mention right now that this is a VERY hot waffle maker. They make the plastic ones to be "cool touch". I'll trade the cool touch feature for the sturdier design of this versatile machine. I'm being careful and haven't burned myself yet. But it's something to consider if you'd like your children making waffles. My ten year old could be careful enough, but I keep my five and eight year olds away. The waffles this machine makes are great! They freeze well too. The family is very happy. When the light goes of the unit is ready to make waffles. Pour in the batter and the light comes on again--wait for it to go off and the waffle is done (however, I usually go on instinct and sometimes pull out the waffle before the light goes off.)The open grill feature makes wonderful pancakes and fried eggs. I have a big family and it's nice to have two pancakes cook at a shot without taking up all my stovetop! I can have bacon and eggs on the stove and the pancakes on the waffle maker. (I can also have a heart attack if I keep eating all these bacon and eggs!) The sandwich feature is nice. I can cook two grilled cheese sandwiches at one time getting me out of the kitchen quicker. Some advice--cheese might drip out the side of the sandwich. Just keep the sandwich away from the back of the unit where the cables run in and the mess just wipes off--no problem. The sandwiches cook far more uniformly than they do in a pan on the stove. They taste great. This unit cleans up easily and changing the grills from waffle to flat is easy. I recommend it over a lot of more costly models if you want more value for your money. This is the most versatile waffle maker I've found and all the features actually work!
I got this one after unsuccessfully trying the Cuisinart waffle maker. It is wonderful! None of the batters, not even gluten-free ones would stick. All waffles came out great, crisp outside and moist inside. The grill feature was a plus and makes great grill cheese or other types or grilled sandwishes in a jiffy.
Back in the 60's I loved the Sundays my Dad made waffles on a toastmaster Waffle/grill. He would add cinnamon, fruit, all kinds of things. Never stuck always light and fluffy. When I went to college my odyssey began. I have gone through 4! different brands and here is why you want this machine - Ok Betty Crocker and others may have a beeper but the waffle that comes out could have come out of a toaster, B&D lets you choose on a dark to light waffle 'zone' with a light that goes out when it reaches that temp. Even with a thick from the box batter out came the most fluffy waffle with a Belgium like crust. Take a close look at this baby it's CROME and yes it will get hot, (kids don't touch) but unlike others it CLEANS UP. Overflows are no problem. Just as good a George Forman. And grilled sandwiches were wonderful but I use old world bakery bread with brie and dry salami, again adjust for light and dark. Favorite recipe? Coco for a chocolate waffle and chocolate chip ice cream to make a sandwich. This is an 'open and closed' case and really is space saver 3 in 1 product for our family.
My mother has had her B&D Wafflemaker for years and it's fantastic. She bought me this one as a gift, but I have to say the quality is not nearly as good as it used to be. The chrome is very thin and the plates don't always line up easily and lock snugly into place. I had to bend the clips in the front so they wouldn't touch each other and cause the plates to come loose. I don't agree with other reviewers that it doesn't get hot enough or bake waffles well. As long as you have a good recipe and keep them in long enough (until they stop steaming) then they will come out crisp and yummy. I don't recommend the receipe that comes with the unit- the batter is too thin. I have also used the griddle side for grilled cheese and it worked fine. Be sure to season your plates well before trying to use jellies or cheese on them. All in all the wafflebaker works well, but the quality could be much better (especialy for the price!).
This is a great waffle maker!! Every time we make waffles, they flip right out just like they're supposed to. We haven't had any of them get stuck or had any of the disasters/frustrations that we've had with other waffle irons. It's actually easy to make a waffle again. Can you imagine!? I think the reason why is that the Teflon is good and it gets hot, evenly.
After you get it, my recommendation would be to FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS that comes with it. Just before preheating, brush on some vegetable oil like it says to do. (I guess you can use spray but we've found the oil at first works best.) After that, you won't need anything at all for the other batches. Also, be sure not to mess up the Teflon coating by washing it while it's still hot (let it cool off completely) or by using utensils that will scratch it up, like metal forks and scrubbers. If you take care of this sensitive Teflon, it will take care of you. I think it says not to put it in the dishwasher so you probably don't want to. Both plates, top and bottom, are completely removable and they're really easy to clean with a basic sponge...don't use the scrubby side of the sponge though...you won't need to anyway.
We've made waffles several times already and they've been perfect every time. It DOES get really hot but that's a good thing. We've also flipped it over to the grill side and that's great too. We've made quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, and burgers. For burgers, it has a trench like thing around the border of the grill that the fat collects in. You'll need a little cup or something to catch it where it supposed to drip out.
If you really want it to "drain the fat away" fast like a Forman type grill, just put something under the back left leg to tilt it a bit. Don't put something under the leg that could catch fire though....again, say it with me, "It gets really hot!" We've been placing it on our stove top when we use it...if you have sensitive counter tops, do that too.
If you make a sandwich, keep the grill open and flip the sandwich as needed. Otherwise, your sandwich will get really flat. I think that's it -- It really is one of our better purchases lately and so we take good care of it. Oh, and adding a nice amount of vanilla extract to your waffle batter makes them delicious!! (wife said to throw that in) Happy Waffle'n! - Waffle - Appliance - Waffle Iron - Electric Grill - Wafflemaker - Sandwich Grill'
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