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.
