Last weekend my niece and I went out to find a waffle iron for my sister's birthday. My sister makes waffles at least once a week for her family of four and had been complaining about how slow and small her aging waffle iron was. This Cuisinart unit is the high-end one many departments stores are offering and it looks good, so we brought it home. Only later that day did I read the reviews here, which left me feeling a little nervous.
Not to worry... Thanks to other cooks documenting their bad experiences, I was able to pass on a few caveats and, voila!, great waffles. Here's all you need to do:
* Position the waffle iron so the top doesn't touch anything when it's open. It does get hot, like many waffle irons. Also, make sure to open and close the top using the non-metallic handle, which is large enough and stays cool. Makes sense.
* Use a non-stick spray before making the first waffle of the day, while it's pre-heating. We had no problem with sticking and the waffle iron cleaned up easily with a paper towel.
* Experiment to find the right amount of batter for your favorite recipe. Based on others complaining about overflows, we started with 1 cup, rather than the 1 1/2 cups the instructions suggest. By the second waffle, my sister concluded that 1 1/4 cups works just right for her recipe.
* Spread the batter into a roughly rectangular shape before closing the top, leaving an inch or so around the edges. You don't have to be in a huge hurry and it doesn't have to be perfect.
* Experiment to find the right setting for the crispness and color you like. The beeper seems to go off when the time indicated by the dial setting has elapsed. We started at a setting of 4.5, the beeper went off before the waffle was quite crisp, and by the second waffle, my sister concluded that a setting of 5 is just right.
* Before pouring the next waffle, close the top to preheat and wait for the beeper.
* If your batter does overflow, don't be in a hurry to clean it up, which will just smear it. Let it cook on and when you're finished, it ought to come off pretty easily. No big deal.
My sister doesn't find the beeper annoying. In fact it just means she doesn't have to keep her eye on the light while she's eating with her family. Just looking at the underside of the waffle iron, my bet is you could disconnect the beeper if it bugs you.
My sister's family says her wonderful waffles are even better now... bigger, golden brown, and even a little fluffier and crisper. And for the first time the waffles were arriving at the table fast enough that nobody had to wait long for the next one.
As you might imagine, I'm thinking about ordering one from Amazon for my own family...
