FROM PILGRIMS AND EGGOS TO WAFFLE-FALAFEL AND HOT DOGS

Some foods are new and trendy. Others reach back in time, embedded in ancient history.

Like waffles.

They’ve been around long before 1955 when the first Waffle House Restaurant opened. More than enough time for different versions around the world.

Maybe that’s why the Pilgrims brought the recipe to America when they sailed on the Mayflower (1620)?

Waffles were “invented” thousands of years ago by early humans. They made a mixture of flour and water and cooked it on hot stones. It didn’t look like today’s yummy sweet Belgium waffles but they were the first.

Ancient Greeks improved the recipe, mixing flour, water, milk and eggs. They called them obelios (wafers) and cooked them between two hot metal plates on an open fire.

Sound familiar?

The recipe spread through Europe in the early Middle Ages. New spices and honey were added. They used oublies (cooking irons), often with biblical scenes and designs. By 1270 the Oublieurs Guild was formed. Pieter Bruegel (1500s) painted some of the first images of waffles with the grid pattern we love today. (see below).

Painting by Pieter Bruegel The Younger, Het gevecht tusssen Carnaval en Vasten, Wikimedia Commons

A new tool appeared in the 1700s: the waffle iron. It was cast iron and hinged, designed to be held over an open fire and create the grid pattern we know today.

The English word waffle came from the Dutch wafel (the honeycomb pattern). It was inevitable that waffle recipes would cross the pond to become a staple in American cuisine.

In 1789, Thomas Jefferson returned from France after spending five years representing the United States. Jefferson was well-known as a foodie – before the term was invented. According to Susan Stein in The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson, “He bought furniture, kitchen utensils, candlesticks, teapots, tablecloths fabrics, and many other items . . . eventually [bringing] 86 packing crates from Paris.” The future President also introduced the first long-handled waffle iron from France.

Waffles became very popular – Jefferson often threw waffle parties. He ate his waffles with sweet toppings like maple syrup and fruit.

Enter Cornelius Swartwout. On August 24, 1869 he patented the first stovetop waffle iron. In memory of his innovation, National Waffle Day is celebrated each year on August 24.

Forty years later, General Electric introduced the electric waffle iron. Eventually electric waffle irons became a standard kitchen appliance.

Then there were Eggos – frozen waffles.

Rheanna O’Neil Bellomo wrote in Food News, “Post-war Americans didn’t want fresh waffle batter or even powdered waffle mix. [In 1953] frozen foods were the hot commodity.”

Frank Dorsa was an American food machinery inventor. Dorsa and his two brothers developed Eggo Mayonnaise, a powdered waffle mix, and Eggo potato chips. Dorsa’s greatest invention was designing a “rotating wheel of waffle irons, which churned out thousands of waffles an hour.” The waffles were packaged and frozen. Dorsa called them Froffles (frozen waffles) – a heat-and-serve breakfast.

The frozen waffles were a hit. Two years later he changed the name to Eggo.

In 1970, Kellogg’s Company purchased Eggo and released a jingle that still rings in my head:                                                           Leggo My Eggo.

Today there are over ten different flavors of Eggos, from chocolate chip and confetti to regular, minis, and thick & fluffy.

From American Eggos to The Netherlands (stroopwafel) and Hong Kong (grid cake) to Italy (pizzella), waffles are universal, both savory and sweet. Head to Israel and try the savory waffle-falafel – chickpea paste cooked in a waffle iron and filled with vegetables and sauces. Micah Siva described them in the Jewish News of Northern California as “almost as much fun to say as they are to eat.” Visit Thailand for a popular hot dog wrapped in a waffle. Or nibble on one from a food truck.

It doesn’t stop there. There are waffle ice cream cones and waffle cookies. Guinness World Records awarded the World’s Largest Waffle to Stichting Gouda Oogst in The Netherlands. It weighed 110 pounds with a diameter of over 8 feet.

Whether you prefer American-style with butter and maple syrup or Belgium with toppings like ice cream, berries, whipped cream, and chocolate, those deep squares are there for a reason. Sweet or savory, they “hold” whatever you choose to add.

Enjoy!