Waffle Me This, Waffle Me That (Food Review)

Unbelievably, before Sunday 13th August, 2017, I've never had the gastronomic pleasure of eating waffles. I will admit though, I have had Ice-Cream Waffle cones, but hot freshly made waffles? Never.

My lovely breakfast plate. 

Some short history on Waffles (adapted from Wikipedia extremely lengthy history) before I get into my experience of Waffle eating at 10:45 a.m. in the morning. Yes - I was having a very late breakfast.

A waffle is a dish made from leavened batter or dough that is cooked between two plates that are patterned to give a characteristic size, shape and surface impression. Waffles may be made fresh or simply heated after having been commercially precooked and frozen.

In the late 14th century, the first known waffle recipe was penned in an anonymous manuscript, Le Ménagier de Paris, written by a husband as a set of instructions to his young wife. It was during the 15th century that the waffle's classic grid motif appeared clearly in a French fer à oublie and a Belgian wafelijzer, setting the stage for the more deeply gridded irons that were about to become commonplace throughout Belgium.The 18th century is when the word "waffle" first appeared in the English language, in a 1725 printing of Court Cookery by Robert Smith. 

By the early 20th century, waffle recipes became rare in recipe books, and only 29 professional waffle craftsmen, the oublieurs, remained in Paris. By the mid-1930s, dry pancake/waffle mix had been marketed by a number of companies, including Aunt Jemima, Bisquick, and a team of three brothers from San Jose, Calif. – the Dorsas. It is the Dorsas who would go on to innovate commercial production of frozen waffles, which they began selling under the name "Eggo" in 1953.

Varieties of Waffles. 

• Brussels waffles are prepared with an egg-white-leavened or yeast-leavened batter, traditionally an ale yeast; occasionally both types of leavening are used together. They are lighter, crisper and have larger pockets and are easy to differentiate from Liège Waffles by their rectangular sides. 
• The Liège waffle is a richer, denser, sweeter, and chewier waffle. Native to the greater Wallonia region of Eastern Belgium.
• Flemish waffles, or Gaufres à la Flamande, are a specialty of northern France and portions of western Belgium. 
• American waffles vary significantly. Generally denser and thinner than the Belgian waffle, they are often made from a batter leavened with baking powder, which is sometimes mixed with pecans, chocolate drops or berries and may be round, square, or rectangular in shape. 
• Belgian waffles are a North American waffle variety, based on a simplified version of the Brussels waffle. 
• Bergische waffles, or Waffles from Berg county, are a specialty of the German region of Bergisches Land. 
• Hong Kong style waffle, in Hong Kong called a "grid cake" or "grid biscuits", is a waffle usually made and sold by street hawkers and eaten warm on the street. 
• Pandan waffles originate from Vietnam and are characterized by the use of pandan flavoring and coconut milk in the batter. 
• Scandinavian style waffles, are thin, made in a heart-shaped waffle iron. 
• Gofri are waffles in Italy and can be found in the Piedmontese cuisine: they are light and crispy in texture, contain no egg or milk and come both in sweet and savory versions. 
• Stroopwafels are thin waffles with a syrup filling. They are popular in the Netherlands and Belgium and sold in pre-prepared packages in shops and markets.
• Galettes campinoises/Kempense galetten are a type of waffle popular in Belgium. They are rigid and crunchy, but are buttery, crumbly and soft in the mouth.
• Hotdog waffles are long waffles with a hot dog cooked inside them. Originating in Thailand, this snack is served with ketchup, mayonnaise, or both. The batter uses margarine instead of butter.
• Waffles on a stick are long waffles cooked onto a stick, usually dipped in something like chocolate syrup, and with sprinkles on top.

Waffles can be eaten plain (especially the thinner kinds) or eaten with various toppings, such as: butter, chocolate chips, apple, butter, fruits, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, honey, jam or jelly, chocolate spread, peanut butter, syrup, maple syrup, chocolate syrup, caramel, flavored syrups, whipped cream, powdered sugar.

Just thinking about all these fabulous varieties of Waffles has started me drooling and craving them again. How long has it been since I've had these? Let's see, SEVEN WEEKS! That's too long to go without the breakfasty goodness of a freshly made waffle. Must figure out how to get freshly made waffles again for breakfast. Hmmm. 

Now then, I was on vacation in England and I had trundled off with my brother, my sister and my nephew to play badminton at 9:00 in the morning. It was a thrilling hour of smashing around a shuttlecock and just about managed to distract me from the hunger pangs of not having breakfast at my usual time by 6:00 a.m. As we had agreed the night before that we should have breakfast when we come back after badminton. 

It was by the time we walked back in the door at around 10:30 a.m., I discovered my dear niece had emerged from her bedroom and was sleepily cooking away delicious smells of something I was soon to discover was waffles. 

Now, being very hungry as I was and having literally worked up an appetite, I could've gorged myself silly on a plateful of waffles and not left any for anyone else. But prudence cautioned my stomach and I took two waffles, which I liberally sprinkled with original maple syrup, and covered with strawberries, which my other niece so nicely cut-up. 

 

This was the plate where all the waffles were piled after being made. It had two sets of these, I should point out that this was not my breakfast plate! :)

The innocent looking device in the kitchen where the action happened.

Made with blueberries and some chocolate chips, it made for a delightfully sweet and crunchy combination. I ate the waffles slowly and carefully, savoring every bite, not knowing when I'll have it again and although I would swear that I told my niece I loved her waffles when I was eating it, I suspect that she didn't have her full complement of coffee to properly wake up and process the day. So she may not remember me telling her that I really liked it. So I'll tell her again via this medium. 

Presentation - 5 stars
Texture and taste - 5 stars
Memorable - 5 stars

My complements to the chef!