The Birth of the Waffle Maker

The Vintage Waffle Makers

Although the Ancient Greeks were the first people who cooked pancakes similar to waffles, the origins of the first waffle iron can be traced back in Holland or Germany around 1300’s. These waffle irons are far from the waffle irons of today. They were assembled by cooks in the ancient times using two hinged iron plates attached to two, long wooden handles, and were held over an open fire to cook waffles. The two metal plates of the waffle iron had the traditional honeycomb pattern on each side. The waffle batter back then is still the same as today and similar to pancakes which consists of flour, butter and eggs beaten together to form a light mixture. The batter is poured into one side of the pre-heated waffle iron, the other side is closed, and these two plates are hinged together, and held over an open fire or stove during the process of cooking waffles. 

These vintage waffle makers have always had elaborate patterns since then. They were made with plates that could imprint religious symbols and landscapes into the waffles. However, they could only mold waffles into a limited number of patterns unlike the waffle makers of today.  

In 1620’s, it was believed that the Dutch pilgrims brought waffle irons to United States, then in the year 1869, Cornelius Swarthout patented the first ever waffle iron in America. He made it with cast iron plates joined together by a hinged that revolved around a cast iron collar. This waffle iron rested atop wood or gas stoves. 

The First Electric Waffle Maker

Waffles started to become on-the-spot treats for breakfast and desserts in the year 1911 when General Electric created and began selling the first electric waffle iron. This waffle iron was designed by Thomas J. Steckbeck and was the first one to have a built-in thermostat to prevent overheating which was a usual problem encountered with the early versions of waffle iron. Since then, the basic design and function of waffle irons has remained the same although its overall appearance had been changing and evolving into more sophisticated versions. 

In 1926, Charles M. Cole produced a new version of the waffle iron- an electric waffle iron that could cook two waffles at one time.

In 1939, Karl Ratliff designed the “Twin-O-Matic” based on Cole’s idea, and introduced the new model in New York’s World Fair. Such waffle iron includes a thermometer and thermostat at the same time. 

Other Ideas Bloomed Because of the Waffle Iron

Top: Remnants of the Ancient waffle maker
used in molding the soles of the famous Nike shoes

In 1971, Bill Bowerman, an Oregon Coach and one of the co-founders of the famous footwear Nike, experimented on his wife’s waffle iron. 
(Read more of Nike's History and its connection to the ancient waffle irons here)
This led him to the idea of designing a new sole for footwear using waffle-ironed rubber that would hold efficiently and is made of lightweight material. His idea led to the creation of the so-called “moon shoe” in 1972. It was named as such because the waffle tread used in making the shoe looked like the footprints left by astronauts on the moon. This was the beginning of the explosive growth of the giant footwear company, Blue Ribbon Sports, famously known today as Nike.