Customer Reviews

Chef's Choice M840 WafflePro Express Waffle Maker, Traditional Five of Hearts

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

We have a big family and wanted a waffle maker. We wanted a Big Big waffle maker. Mom does not want to make any child wait for their waffles. Unfortunately, the seemingly biggest waffle makers had review that said they cooked un-evenly (because of their square shape) and were hard to clean if they spilled.

We settled for this medium large waffle iron and were very happy. It cooks large waffles so fast, we can cook waffles faster than three children can eat them and actually have left-overs to freeze. Two waffles are enough even for the most ravenous child. The cooking is very even and it is really nice to have both the controls for darkness and for texture. Waffles do cook a little more slowly if the control is set to even texture, but we prefer the crunchy outside texture setting better anyway.

The iron is easy to use, cleans up well, directs spills away from the controls, and heats up quickly. Seems sturdy, but let us use it a year or two to see how it wears with time.

The waffles freeze and recook well, though we suggest using wax paper between them in large stacks. No more Eggos.

I got this as a gift for my wife who likes heart shaped things and secretly I wanted a nice waffle maker too. I've tried a few different waffle makers, Belgian and the smaller grid traditional ones. Not a big Belgian fan, and the smaller traditional waffle irons I tried seemed better at making waffle crackers.

However the M840... wow! My wife and I made a bunch of waffles our first day. We tried all the settings to see which we liked best. There are two controls... a dial (1 to 5) to dial in your brown-ness level, and a switch that toggles from a more evenly softer waffle to a more crispy waffle. The softer waffles reminded me of the waffles you'd get at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles (for you SoCal people out there). I preferred the more crispy setting.... crispy on the outside and still tender on the inside. Not crispy and dry like some cheaper waffle irons I've tried.

The iron takes a few minutes to warm up, but once it reaches its optimal temperature it cooks waffles in about 90 seconds or so. One ladle scoop of batter was the perfect amount to avoid any leaks of batter out of the iron.

The hearts break apart easily, would be great for small kids when you want a smaller portion.

We tried freezing some waffles we made and then used a toaster oven the next morning to warm them up and had great results. My wife said the reheated waffles were just as good if not better than the fresh ones.

The only downside to this waffle iron is the size of the waffle... its a little on the small side. Where I might eat two waffles from other waffle irons, I would probably eat three from this one. Not really a problem since the M840 cooks them pretty darn quick.

Cord can be folded and tucked into the bottom of the iron's base when storing.

Coming from the country of Norway our family have been raised on waffles. Since arriving in the US we have been through several and having worn out the last one, we went on the internet to check out the ratings for a new one.
We have had our Chef's Choice M840 WafflePro iron for 6 wks now, and love it! At first we had problems with spillage - as this iron takes less batter than our previous one. We have adjusted and find that we get perfectly made waffles every time. We had planned to buy two (as we often have guests over and need to be able to keep up with the demand), but wanted to try one out before we comited to the other. We have scrapped that idea - as this iron's turn-around is so efficient that we have no problem satisfying the demand. The iron is easy to clean and has logical controls and alerts.Chef's Choice M840 WafflePro - Five of Hearts

My husband loves waffles. He likes them crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. With my 25-year old GE waffle iron, I'd make extra-large batches once every two months and freeze them for reheating them, on demand, one-by-one in the toaster oven. Alas, I dropped the GE, broke it's handle, and decided that it was time for a new waffle iron.

I did my homework. I checked out equipment reviews on Cooks Illustrated and read all of the reviews for every non-Belgian waffle iron here on Amazon. This Chef's Choice M840 won the day. Here are the reasons why I hate it and am sentencing it to Goodwill after only a week and two waffle-making attempts.

1. It's extremely easy to overfill. After a few attempts at calibrating the pour, I started to get it right. BUT see #2.

2. It's virtually impossible to clean. No part of this waffle iron is detachable nor can any of it be put under water. As a result, when the buttery batter oozes all over the machine, there is no way to get it out of the cracks and crevices of the machine. In addition, little crumbs linger in the clover-shaped iron plates and, short of getting out my vacuum cleaner to remove them, they were still there the second time I used the machine. Ick!

3. As another reviewer pointed out, the paint is very cheap. On the first paper-towel rubdown (I cannot in good conscience call it a cleaning), the paint for the directional copy rubbed off.

4. (This is a good point.) The waffles cook fast. (BUT, see #6.)

5. (This is another good point.) The maker has a "ding" to notify you when the waffle is done.

6. (This is the death sentence.) It makes really skinny waffles. (I'm not talking about the clover shape. I'm talking about the depth of the waffle.) Belgian waffles for us are about two times too thick for us. On the other hand, these waffles were about half as thick as the ones we've come to think of as "normal". It's OK when you eat them straight from the waffle-iron; however, after freezing and reheating in a toaster oven, they have the consistency of crackers.

I'm so sad.

I have been wanting a waffle iron for awhile. However I am very picky and hate bad appliances, so I've hesitated to buy one and crowd my cabinets for no reason. Looked at stores several times, looked at online reviews - all were very critical. Finally read the article in Cook's that rated the Chef's Choice as very good (although the round model) and that caught my eye. They know what they are talking about. Read the amazon reviews and also said they were good, although then I got caught up in which Chef's Choice model to get. Oy! Finally decided on the M840 because 1)I like the smaller waffles and 2) read that with this model you can add fruit or chocolate chips easier than the more cruncy ones. I opened it today and it was so easy to start using. had it going in about 10 minutes. Love that the outide black plastic part does not get hot. Made great waffles right away. The adjustment knobs really do change the way the waffle turns out so you can get lighter and softer or darker and crunchier. I am so happy that I am thinkinga bout ordering one for everyone on my christmas list this year!! Who doesn't love waffles, especially if it's this easy and doesn't take up your kitchen? If you have been debating like I have, go for it. You won't be disappointed!

This is the first waffle maker I have ever bought. I wanted a "heart" waffle maker because the kids had loved the ones we got on vacation.I did some research and this waffle maker has gotten good reviews from a few sites. As I am not known for cooking to well I wanted a machine that would take some of the guess work out for me. I a made a great big batch of waffles for my family with great ease. I like my waffles crisp on the outside and moist in the middle, with the setting at max (6) they came out pretty good. That evening my wife used one of the included recipes to make waffle brownies, and they turned out great too! Very nice product and I would recommend this to others.

Just as it claims, this waffle iron makes perfect waffles very quickly. Be aware, though, that these are thin waffles, rather than the traditional American waffle, so you'll be making more than you usually do to feed a hungry family. They're very pretty waffles, though. Just thinner than what I was expecting. (Although Belgian waffles are too thick.)

I had to come up with a replacement waffle iron for a cheap Salton WM7YL after my ex-wife got that one as part of our split-up, and I like thin Scandinavian style waffles as opposed to the thick style many people are used to. I fired up the Chef's Choice WafflePro M840 this morning and got a close-to-my-specs waffle on the first try. A few tweaks of the settings and perfect waffles were coming out. After the initial "PAM-ing" that is recommended by the manufacturer, it appears that the non-stick grill coating coupled with the butter in the waffle mix makes the non-sticking self-sustaining without any additional oil. The audible beeper that tells when the waffle is done has just the right number of beeps to get your attention if you're doing something else, but not too many to be annoying. Cheaper waffle irons are available, but quality is always worth paying for in the long run. The iron is 1100 Watts and is engineered in Germany and produced in China, of course. I don't think anybody will be disappointed if they buy this gem.

Olav's Waffle Recipe.txt - 24Oct2011 11:47

Blender Batch (~4.5 Cups) . Mixer Batch (~9 Cups)
--------------------------------- . -----------------------------
3 Eggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Eggs
1/4 Cup Sugar . . . . . . . . . . 1/2 Cup Sugar

Mix the eggs and sugar, then add:

2 oz Melted Butter . . . . . . . 4 oz Melted Butter
2-1/2 Cups Milk . . . . . . . . . 5 Cups Milk
2-1/4 Cups Flour . . . . . . . . 4-1/2 Cups Flour
1/8 tsp Salt . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla . . . . . . . . . . 1 tsp Vanilla

Mix for about 5 minutes; let the mixture
stand for about 1/2 hour before baking.

Baking:
Set the Rocker Switch to "Uniform Texture."
Set the Color Control Dial to 3-1/2 or less.
Wait until the Green "Ready" Light comes on.
Pour a level 3 oz scoop of batter onto the
griddle, close the lid and make sure that the
latch clicks. The Green "Ready" Light will
go out and the Red "Baking" light will come on.
The waffle is done when the Green "Ready" Light
comes back on and the beep alarm sounds.

If like me, you prefer thinner waffles there aren't a lot of choices. This iron offers many benefits, but isn't perfect. First of all, the hearts are cute, but not why I purchased the iron, especially since it's about twice as expensive as some others. I hoped the great review by Cook's Illustrated regarding its brother, the Belgian version, would apply here too, and I liked the idea of the iron being a multitasker. Who has room for an appliance that only does one thing unless you're obsessed with that one thing?

Depending on the recipe used, these somewhat more delicately shaped waffles can be used as teacakes, cookies with ice cream, a 'brownie' base for a sundae or a 'toast' accompaniment for soup or a salad. Since I don't often have bread in the house and don't need a whole pan of brownies or cookies, this simpler (and much smaller batch) version appealed to me. One caution, though, DO NOT make the blueberry waffles unless you have the rest of the day to spend cleaning the thing. I don't know what possessed me to try it. It seemed like a crazy idea, but the recipe was there. . . I was wrong. Heed the warning. I suspect the same fate with the chocolate chip waffle. I've learned my lesson.

I like a crisp outside to my breakfast waffle with a fluffy textured inside, and I've not been able to get quite that in spite of the claim that you can. I've experimented and have been able to get a fairly decent result with good color and pretty good crispness, but not ideal.

The first thing I learned about this iron is you have to follow the directions unless you want a mess. It says to use a measuring device to pour in 1/3 cup of batter and they aren't kidding. The overflow if you're trying to use the last bit of batter to clean the bowl, is awful, and cleanup is a pain, plus the quality of the waffle suffers. I learned that it's better to throw away any leftover then try to use it up, or if you want, make a tiny waffle with the remains.

The iron heats up quickly and bakes quickly, signaling the readiness of both phases with a beeper and light, and after the initial oiling (per directions) I've not had to oil it again (as it said I wouldn't) and the waffles release perfectly if you stick to the 1/3 cup program (and don't try blueberry! After that cleaning I had to reoil.).

For the careful cook, the extra care won't be a problem. I'm a little more slap/dash, but will have to control myself with this device, and the quality of waffle resulting is very good, attractive and evenly cooked, but not perfect if you want a really crispy outside texture. For the price I was hoping for perfect, but am satisfied enough to keep the unit and I will enjoy the other opportunities for use where the more cookie like setting will be useful.

The unit is easy to store up on end and lightweight so can be easily put up on a shelf. The cord is quite short (like about 24") so you have to be close to an outlet for use. The cord can not be wrapped around under the unit as described in spite of clips for that purpose. After many attempts to figure it out, I resorted to the directions and found the cord shown in the diagram is coming from a different place in the base than it is on my unit, so the plan they show won't work. I just stuffed it under there best I could. The outside stays cool so handling the unit is not stressful during the cooking. It's worth a bit shy of four stars for me--as in good enough to keep and it will be useful, but for the price I hoped for more.

This is the first waffle maker I've purchased, and I chose it because Cook's Illustrated recommends it. It works great and the functions all work like they say they do. The browning knob is very sensitive so you only have to adjust it slightly to get a lighter or darker waffle, and the unit responds immediately to your changes. It also browns evenly, though not perfect. I might have opted for the regular round waffle shape because it can be hard to get your batter to fill in the curvy edges of the clover shape, so I got some misshapen waffles. Cleanup was a breeze, and I store the machine in it's original box so it can sit on its side.