JoeEkaitis's Full Review: Waring WMK300 Professional Belgian Waffle Maker
UPDATE, January 24, 2008
After three years of wonderful weekly waffles, our Waring Pro Belgian waffle maker literally went to pieces.
One would think the word "Pro" in the brand name, the heft and feel, and the hefty price tag would all add up to an heirloom-quality appliance that relatives will fight over after one has been summoned to make breakfast in The Big Kitchen in the Sky. Sadly, not so.
The commercial version of this appliance sells for about triple the price. I have yet to see one up close, but I suspect it's because the restaurant model is made with a lot more metal.
If you examine this and similar rotating waffle bakers, you'll discover a fatal design flaw. Near the hinge, two not-so-substantial screws driven into narrow plastic shafts are all that hold the heavy metal grid and its shell in place. Repeated heating and cooling makes the plastic brittle. The shafts break and the grid drops away when the baking platform is rotated.
Until that happened, this iron really did turn out restaurant quality waffles, week after week. So the revised rating is as follows:
Five stars for all the great eating minus three for falling apart so soon.
We're awaiting delivery of another flipping waffle baker of a simpler and possibly more sturdy design. Stay tuned!
A VERY early Christmas present from my loving wife (thank you, thank you, thank you, Cathy!), the Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker marks the end of a quest that began with the first taste of a real Belgian waffle.
You know the kind of waffle I'm talking about: at least an inch high and lighter than helium, with wells deep enough to hold a quart of syrup and a half-pound of butter, or a bushel of strawberries and a mountain of whipped cream. There's only one way to make them, and that's with an iron that flips over during the baking process. NordicWare's stovetop Belgian Waffler does just that but requires more skill and patience than most folks are willing to cultivate. The average household Belgian waffle maker is really a modified traditional waffle iron producing results that fall short of the mark. For those who crave homemade Belgian waffles, things haven't progressed much since the Belgian waffle made its American debut at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Enter the Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker, a direct descendant of those used by professional chefs, but for a fraction of the price. It is virtually identical to Waring's commercial Belgian waffle maker, all the way down to its LED "power" and "ready" indicators and beeping electronic timer. The commercial version has a few more metal parts instead of heat-resistant plastic as on the home version.
This is the only Belgian waffle maker I've used that has a timer I can trust, producing waffles that are a consistent shade of golden brown and ready in about two minutes, compared to five minutes for the average waffle maker. When you switch it on, it preheats and then sounds six beeps to let you know it's ready to get to work. You pour in your batter (I drizzle it slowly over the entire bottom grid in a spiral pattern contrary to the instructions' advice to dump it in the center and spread it to the edges), lower the top grid and rotate the handle 180 degrees. The waffle bakes upside down, allowing gravity to work its special magic. A couple minutes later, the iron beeps three times to tell you your waffle is ready to enjoy. A rotary knob lets you lighten or darken the waffles as you please.
Because the overflow rim is much narrower than on most countertop waffle makers, the Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Maker includes a removable stainless steel catch tray that cleans up in the dishwasher. The brushed stainless steel finish allows overflowed batter to slip right off after the iron has cooled. It's such a handsome piece of kitchen machinery, you won't want to put it away, since you'll most likely use it a few times every week. Though it's four times the price of the average waffle maker, it's over a hundred times the quality.
From Waring comes this Waffle Maker: Brushed Stainless Steel - part of their Pro line. Waffle Maker: Brushed Stainless Steel- Extra Deep Waffle Pocket...More at CutleryAndMore.com
FREE SHIPPING. Professional quality waffle maker for home use. Waffle maker rotates 180 grades to consistently bake and brown each waffle.More at Kitchen Universe
Product Features New Waring Pro WMK300 Belgian Waffle Maker, Brushed Stainless · Professional-quality Belgian waffle maker with extra-deep pockets ·...More at eBay
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