January 11

January 11

There was a long period of my life when I was always on the lookout for vintage waffle irons. It started when I was around nine years old and my dad’s 40 year old chrome model blew a connection and stopped heating on one side. He tried to replace it with a new model, but found all those made after 1970 to be entire inadequate to his needs. And so, it was a family effort to search out the old ones. It was never enough to have just one, either. Must like the British aristocracy, we needed to have both an heir and a spare.

When I moved out to Philadelphia, I continued the hunt and any time I found an old chrome bodied one for less than $10, it would come home with me. There was a time when I had four or five, but I’ve slimmed down the collection considerably since then.

One way that I divested myself of waffle irons was by shipping one to my sister a couple years back. This morning, we pulled it out and cooked up waffles for a crowd. Raina whipped up a gluten-free batter and I managed the iron. The first one was a complete disaster (as they so often are), but once the sacrifice to the waffle gods had been made, the rest came off gloriously brown and ready to receive syrup.

Truly, there’s nothing like a vintage waffle iron.

 

4 thoughts on “January 11

  1. melissa

    There is something about the old ones. Years ago I had a newer one that my ex bought, it was one of those big Belgian waffle irons and I just ….don’t like those. I don’t like the big holes. Call me fussy.

    Anyway, I was talking to my mom about it on the phone one day…she still had our old one from when I was a kid, from the late 70s…I started complaining about how I didn’t like this new one and missed our old one, and she said she’d been wanting a Belgian waffle maker. I don’t know if it was just her being a nice mom or if she really did want to trade, but we traded and now I have the best waffle maker ever and waffles just how I had them as a kid. Bliss.

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  2. Rita

    Had not checked blog for awhile and was so happy to see all these new posts ! Please try to keep us all entertained with many more ! You are such a delight to read – yes and also love food in jars blog. Have your cookbooks and enjoy them so much. Thanks !!

    Reply
  3. Becky

    Wear-ever fluted pie pans. That’s the vintage kitchen toy I am always on the hunt for. My mom made the best pies in those and I’m convinced that’s part of the key to a good pie – the Wear-Ever fluted pan.

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