Jul. 11, 2012 - Issue #873: The Big Cover-Up
Provenance
Six things about waffles
Dessert for breakfastWaffles seem to stand in a class of their own, but they're actually considered cakes. They began as wafers in the Middle Ages in what is now Belgium. Early varieties were cooked similarly to how they are now: the batter was poured into an iron made of two small metal plates, which was held over a fire. Add electricity and you've got a modern day waffle
iron.
Perfect pairing
The waffle ice cream cone was allegedly invented at the 1904 St Louis World's Fair, when an ice cream vendor asked a waffle vendor to roll up waffles to hold ice cream when he ran out of cups to serve his customers.
L'eggo my Eggo
In the '30s, three brothers from San Jose, California introduced frozen waffles to supermarket shelves throughout the United States. The product was called Froffles, but soon earned the nickname "eggo" due to its eggy tasting batter. The name stuck and the brothers began to use it in marketing.
Think outside the toaster
While Belgian and American waffles are the most common, there's also other international varieties such as Scandinavian, which are often heart shaped; Liege, which are sweeter, richer versions of their western Belgian counterparts with pearl sugar throughout that caramelizes when baked; Hong Kong, where they're known as "grid biscuits" and topped with butter, peanut butter and sugar. Chocolate and honey melon flavours are often used as well. There's also Dutch stroopwafels, which are thin cookie-like treats with syrup in the middle.
Too much of a good thing
The world's largest waffle was made in 1986 in Chicago, measuring more than 3000 sq ft.
A side of what?
Waffles are commonly served with a side of protein, like bacon, but in the United States it's not uncommon, especially in the south, to have a side of fried chicken with them. V vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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