Customer Reviews

Rome's #1100 Old Fashioned Waffle Iron, Cast Iron

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought 2 of these. Based on the potential product quality, I would give it 5 stars. These can make great waffles (nonbelgian - i.e. thin), crisp on the outside, tender in the center, and light and airy. It's a revelation in fact, if you are used to the typical doughy waffle. I like these much better the what the waring pro, nonstick, flip, automatic beep, etc. In addition, the cycle time can be quite fast, provided you preheat the irons sufficiently and keep a high enough temperature. I can average 1 waffle a minute.

However, I took off a star because of the following caveats:

1) You must know how to season cast iron, otherwise the waffles will stick. It would be great if they could preseason this, like lodge logic. To season, first i put the irons in boiling water to take off the wax coating, then soaped and washed. I decided to season this on the stove top (make sure you have a good hood & vent). I preheated the irons, then brushed a raw chunk of pork fat on the surfaces several times and continued heating until the seasoning looked hard and black and no longer sticky. It took about 30 minutes (using 4 burners as I had 4 halves or two whole wafflers) and it will give off a lot of smoke. I decided to do this on the stove top because i have more control vs the oven.

2) The handles get hot. So, you need a mitt to handle it. I find a thin mitt easier to use than a thick one. It's easier to lift just the top half with a thin mitt. And you have to be somewhat careful as the halves can disengage while you are filling and removing the waffles. Having said that, I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I would not let my kids use it though. They also sell these with wooden handles. It would probably be easier.

3) You have to use enough heat. You have to preheat each side till it starts to smoke. I use medium to medium high heat on a gas burner. Do not use high heat to preheat as you can burn off the seasoning. By the way, i don't know if this will work on an electric burner. And you have to brush or spray some oil or butter. I brush lightly a mix of oil and butter. I find i only have to do this every other waffle, as the waffle mix does have some butter in it.

4) I don't wash the waffle surfaces, I just brush and wipe after cooking.

HOWEVER, in spite of all that, I really like these and the my kids rate the waffles a 10, especially the cheesy waffles.

I use a yeasted waffle batter that I make the night before. It includes, flour, buttermilk, eggs, and a bit of sugar and salt and some melted butter. I stir in a pinch of baking soda for extra lift prior to baking. You can put vanilla extract or grated cheese. I top with either real maple syrup, dulce sauce, or whipped cream and chopped fruits.

I have been making and freezing waffles for my family (teenagers included) for about 10 years now and this is the best waffle maker yet. I've gone through about 3 electric ones over the years, so it's nice to know I'll never need another!

It can seem to need a lot of attention, but it's really worth it.

1) The most important thing to know is: Are you familiar with working with iron skillets? You'll need to know how to season the iron and keep it seasoned throughout its lifetime of use. This could be the waffle iron's down-fall if you don't know how to do this.
~~~To season this I first burned off the paraffin coating in my oven with double aluminum foil under it. Then I washed it in the dishwasher. Then I heated it on the stove-top with a heavy brushing of canola oil and then let it cool completely. I did this about 4 times. This takes a day or two because of cooling times. Then I washed it again.

2. Once seasoned, I use it on my gas stove top at a flame set just less than medium. I have a bowl with several Tbsp. of canola oil next to the stove and a basting brush. I lightly brush the skillet before each waffle. I sometimes use spray oil and that is easier, but doesn't really help season it in the beginning.

3. Pouring 1/3 to 1/2 a cup of batter on the iron, then I use a countdown timer (Timex Ironman watch: it counts down and repeats automatically) set for 2 minutes. At 2 minutes, using oven mitts, I turn it over for another 2 minutes.

4. After 4 minutes total, the waffle is done and ready for eating, or let cool and then freeze.

5. After use, I may give the iron a light coating of oil, or simply let cool and store. Every two or three uses I place it in the dishwasher without any ill affects to the seasoning.

This waffle iron makes the best waffles: light thin, and fluffy. No uncooked parts as with an electric iron. I like the beautiful simplicity of this iron, and I like that it also is a good source of dietary iron.

I use this on a gas stove. This waffle maker makes perfect no-stick waffles every time. First I melted off the wax coating and seasoned the pan (see below for instructions). Get your wire cooling rack, a clean dishtowel and parchment paper and scissors. Cut about 12 squares of parchment paper to place one in between each cooked waffle (these can be reused for a couple batches and you can use them to place between your waffles for freezing in a container).

The first time I cooked waffles on this iron, I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to spray the iron every time I put more batter in it. This worked out well for me because not one of my waffles stuck (although I did go through almost a whole can!). The second time I made waffles,I only sprayed the irons once at the beginning of the first waffle and they did not stick to the pan when not spraying each subsequent waffle.

Here's my technique for cooking...heat each irons at same time on gas burners heated at medium heat. Using a potholder or folded dishtowel to hold the irons (because they get very hot) Spray the bottom iron's cooking surface (away from flame, of course) (with the bar), place it back on the burner and using a #20 scooper, almost fill it with batter (I use Alton Brown's recipe). Using the back of the scoop smooth it out until the batter is about an inch from the edges of the iron. Turn off the burner under the other iron--this is the one with the hook end (and spray that one with butter spray). Carefully place the hook into the bar and place iron on top of the iron filled with batter and align properly. After one minute has passed, use your towel and flip the irons over (still on medium heat). Cook another minute and check each side using a wooden skewer. You may need to flip it again to brown a little more. I like my waffles a light golden brown. Release the waffle from the iron using a wooden skewer and unhinge the top. Put waffle onto dish towel and start your next waffle, heating both irons again on medium heat. When the second waffle is cooked, place a square of parchment paper on the first waffle and stack it on top. Continue this process. If you like your waffles crispy, pop them into the toaster oven. My daughters now prefer the home-made waffles over storebought!

The first thing I did was boil a kettle of water to pour over the waffle iron to melt off the wax coating placed on the iron to protect it in shipping. Be careful...use pot holders to lift it and turn it over --it will get very hot. Now it's time to season the waffle iron. Preheat oven to 350F. Separate both pieces of the waffle iron and coat each of the 4 sides with lard or Crisco shortening using a paper towel or pastry brush to get into all the little squares. Crisco is the preferred choice because it is very highly refined, although I have used lard. It will start to melt immediately because the waffle iron will still be hot/warm from melting off the wax coating. Use paper towels to smear the fat all over the pan, handle and everything. Keeping the two piece apart still, place the two pieces onto a cookie sheet lined with foil, square sides facing down. Using proper ventilation (because this can get a bit smokey), place the cookie sheet and waffle irons in the 350-degree oven for an hour. Do not open the oven during cooking or you will get a huge cloud of smoke in your kitchen. Turn the oven off, leave oven door closed still; let the pan cool down (I let mine cool down overnight), wipe off the excess oil, and put it away.

The whole process of cooking waffles on cast iron can be quite therapeutic if you're not doing it in the morning rush to get breakfast on the table. I always do it in the afternoon or on the weekends when I have time. I hope you love making homemade waffles on your teflon-free waffle iron as much as I do!

I think I'm going to order the one with the long handles for camping! It wasn't available when I ordered this one.

Bon appetit!

We received the Rome waffle iron this past week and I couldn't wait for the weekend to be able to try it out.

Seasoning was a bit of a hassle. We used the oven to do so and it definitely smoked up the kitchen. I'd recommend seasoning outside on a grill if that's an option.

We then tried the recipe that came with the waffle iron. Our preference is for thinner / crispier waffles. When following the Rome recipe, the waffles were a bit too rich/buttery for our taste. We didn't have any problems with the waffles sticking to the waffle iron, though.

We then switched to a bisquick recipe and liked the result much better - we were able to make very light and flaky waffles. Next step for us is to experiment with adding other ingredients.

The Rome waffle iron is definitely a bit of work but once you get it down, I think the result is very good and I can see us using this for years to come. Nothing beats cast iron for even heat distribution.

Two comments for Rome: first - I agree that they should offer pre-seasoned waffle irons to eliminate the hassle of having to go thru that process and second - it would be good if the handles on the waffle were longer and there was a way to make them from / coat them with a material that doesn't retain heat so well.

This waffle iron works beautifully. It makes lovely waffles, crispy on the outside and cakey inside! I use Arrowhead Mills Kamut Waffle Mix, and it's yummy. My first waffle stuck from not getting the iron hot enough first, so now I heat both sides of the iron on separate burners to get them very hot before cooking, and I have no problem.

I did use the oven to get the paraffin off and didn't have any smoke problem as some did. I could smell the paraffin, but it just smelled like candles, it was not unpleasant. Maybe some people get the oven too hot and burn the wax. It only needs to melt off. I laid the iron halves face down on a sheet of wax parchment on a cookie sheet, and it worked great.

Some reviewers wished it had come pre-seasoned, but I think it's better to pick your own oil to season it with. If it was done at the factory, they wouldn't be able to use the best quality, because it would mean the iron would have to cost too much. Many oils are better avoided, especially in high heat situations. I prefer organic, expeller pressed, high heat, high oleic safflower oil for seasoning. I think some people who have problems with smoking and sticking aren't using a high heat oil. You don't want to burn the oil any more than you can help. Agreed, it may be a bit of a hassle to pre-season, but I actually had fun doing it... you just have to go with it. Then, after that, the waffles come out so cleanly that you don't even have to wash the iron after use, and it seasons a little more each time, and it just gets easier and better!

I agree the handles could be longer, but just get those little pot holders that go over the handles, and you'll be fine! By the way, if you're a camper, check out the manufacturers website! They have some cool stuff for campfire cooking!

I really would like to find a cast iron waffler to replace our teflon one. I wish someone would make an electric waffler with removable cast iron parts. Anyway...

I ordered this waffler hoping it would do the trick until my dream waffler was invented. It definitely takes some work to get the wax off. In retrospect I think the easiest way would be to put it into an outside barbeque and just burn it all off. I got the wax off and put it through several rounds of seasoning in the oven.

I really wanted to make this thing work. The problem is that I have an electric stovetop, and this waffler is not made to work on electric - because the bottom of it is cast so there is not a lot of surface area that makes contact with the burner. It only touches the burner on the logo in the middle and on the outside edge. I think if the surfaces were completely flat, I could probably pull this off. It was really difficult to make this thing hot. I made waffles one time, and also tried out grilled cheeses a few times. It just takes forever, though.

So, kind of a bummer. I will probably give it away to a friend with a gas stove.

I've spent considerable time searching for a solution to satisfy waffle cravings. For occasional use, purchasing an electric waffle maker isn't feasible, because unless it is used on a regular basis, the grids can smell rancid after periods of none-use (regardless of how clean they are). Also most electric waffle makers fail to heat sufficiently to produce a crispy texture, plus most brands have Teflon coated grids, which can be detrimental to health. Frozen waffles are convenient, but contain too many additives, plus some produce a peculiar after-taste.

When I first saw the Rome cast iron waffle maker, I was somewhat sceptical, visualizing the waffle sticking like crazy or the batter oozing out. But the numerous on-line reviews convinced me that for $18 it was worth a try. Although the waffle iron looks small, it's actually a good size. The waffles produced are about 6-3/4 to 7 inches in diameter by 1/2-inch thick - they're larger than the store-bought frozen variety and leftovers can easily be frozen and re-heated either using a toaster or a toaster oven.

SEASONING ON AN ELECTRIC STOVE - Some reviews say it's impossible to use this waffle maker on an electric stove, but I've encountered no problems. Naturally, it's better if you can season the waffle iron outdoors on a gas barbecue, but if not, the process can still be accomplished indoors without too much difficulty.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Remove wax coating - separate the grids of the new waffle iron and thoroughly wash in hot soapy water, scrub with a nylon brush, rinse well and dry with paper towel.
3. Brush both sides of the grids with canola oil (or any vegetable oil that takes high heat - it doesn't have to be lard).
4. Place the grids on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 350 °F for one hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
5. Re-coat both sides of the grids with additional canola oil.
6. Turn the small electric stove elements to medium-high and heat both sides of each grid until the smoke dissipates. Be sure to have good ventilation (stove fan on and windows open) when doing this so it doesn't set off the smoke alarm.
7. Cool the grids, re-coat with oil and repeat the heating process - they should turn colour from grey to black.

MAKING WAFFLES - So, with a bit of trepidation, I recently made waffles for the first time in over 30-yrs using the Rome waffle iron and was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. The first waffle stuck in one tiny spot, but otherwise came out without a hitch. I cleaned off the stuck bits and brushed some more canola oil on the grids, closed and heated it for a few minutes before adding batter. The rest of the waffles came out easily without sticking. Their texture was crispy on the outside, but tender on the inside - yum! Note: To avoid sticking, it is essential to season the new waffle iron properly and to preheat the grids until they smoke before pouring in the waffle batter.

1. Prepare a favourite waffle batter (I use one with folded-in egg whites for a fluffier texture from the Joy of Cooking cookbook).
2. On first try, the waffle iron is a bit finicky to handle, but after a few tries it becomes much easier. When opening the iron to oil, pour in batter or remove waffle, be sure the bar on the hinge faces up - this eliminates inconvenient separation of the iron.
3. Turn the small electric element to medium heat to preheat waffle iron.
4. Open the waffle iron and brush some canola oil on the grids, then close it.
5. Heat the waffle iron for 10-minutes (5-minutes each side) or until it smokes when opened.
6. Ladle in about 1/2-cup of batter (the batter should sizzle; otherwise it's not hot enough), close the iron and set a timer for 1-1/2 to 2-minutes.
7. When the timer beeps, flip the iron over and leave for 1-1/2 to 2-minutes longer. Timing will vary according to your stove's element and depending how brown you like the waffle. If the waffle becomes too dark, too fast, then turn the stove element a bit lower.
8. Remove cooked waffle.
9. Brush the grids again with canola oil and reheat for a few minutes (till it smokes) before ladling in more batter. (Note: Because this is a new waffle iron, I brushed oil on the grids between making each waffle, but it's probably not necessary once the iron builds up it's own seasoned coating).

CLEANING A BREEZE:

1. Allow the waffle iron to cool.
2. Rinse under hot water, scrub lightly using a nylon brush (NEVER use soap to clean).
3. Heat both sides of each grid on the stove element, at low to medium setting, until dry and then wipe with paper towel and allow to cool.

MINOR ISSUES:

1. A pre-seasoned waffle iron would certainly eliminate the hassle of seasoning.
2. The handles are a bit short - should be longer.
3. The handles get piping hot, but an Ove-glove is the perfect solution (I use only one glove on the left hand to open or close the grids, while leaving the right hand free for pouring batter or removing waffles).
4. A bit of oil drips from the hinge onto the stove top, (probably from brushing on too much oil while preheating the grids) but is easily cleaned.

PARTING COMMENT:

If you prefer the thinner, crispier texture of a waffle, then this waffle iron is definitely a winner and worth every penny. It's perfect for 1 or 2 people, but a larger family would definitely benefit from using two of them in order to speed up the preparation process.

This was much smaller than I expected, but it's cute. I seasoned it well, but still had problems with waffles sticking. The only way I've found to make them not stick is to use a recipe with a lot of butter in it, such as the recipes that come with it. I tried several recipes, maybe six or seven, and had to throw most of them away due to sticking. It was a frustrating mess. Once I resolved to use the very buttery recipes (they call for a whole stick of butter) I was able to make good, tasty waffles. Now I'm pretty happy with it. It does take some dexterity keep the two pieces from coming apart while you're adding new batter, taking out waffles, etc. The reason I got this is because I've elected to do away with nonstick coatings that are on other waffle irons. The one with nonstick coatings, however, are much easier to use. To me, it's worth the extra effort. And just as a side note- I use this on an electric stove and that is not an issue. It heats up evenly and stays hot. I hope this helps. I found the other reviews for his product to be very accurate.

I use an electric stove top with this waffle iron. I must have had 4 out of 5 waffles sticking to iron every time until this last time I used it; I may have figured out the trick.

1. Seasoning! complete seasoning of the iron is very important. Even though, I use cast iron skillets successfully all the time, the waffle irons are a little trickier to season. I believe that to season it properly, in addition to following the manufacturer instructions, pour enough oil into one of the halves to COVER THE PROTRUDED SQUARES. Then pour the oil out of the first half into the other half, adding more if necessary, to top the squares. Pour the oil out and put in the oven to season. I believe that the sticking problem is due in part to not getting oil on the protruding squares during the seasoning process.

2. Always preheat both halves on separate burners before making the first waffle in the batch. I sprayed both halves with vegetable oil and preheated for five minutes with each burner set to 5 on my electric stove top. Did not need to preheat for the waffles that followed.

3. Pour 1/2 C batter into one half(I find it easier to open or close with the bar half being on the bottom and the hook half being on top)close the iron and cook on medium heat (5 on my electric burner) for 90 seconds. Flip the iron over so the top half is now down on the burner and cook for another 90 seconds. You may have to experiment with burner settings and cooking times for different stoves, crispiness levels and recipes.

Notes:
** If waffle sticks to iron, allow iron to cool and clean iron by brushing off the stuck parts using a suitable brush for cleaning cast iron, spray with oil preheat and proceed with making the waffles. My observation has been that a very black shiny cast iron surface is a non-stick surface.

** The handles get very hot to handle. I found using "The 'Ove' Glove' (which is made out of Nomex and Kevlar) made handling and manipulating the iron easy and safe. Be certain to read warning for safe use of the glove. I bought the glove for $15 at Wallgreens.

** I only used 2 tablespoons of butter in the batter which I made with "Maple Grove Farms of Vermont ALL NATURAL Belgian Waffle Mix". Delicious even when they stick!

Happy Waffling!

This product doesn't work well for smoothtops, because the handles are so low to the rangetop surface that you won't be able to grab them with oven mits on. And the handles, being cast iron, do get hot. I really wanted this to work, but after one try, it's too ungainly and too messy to bother with.

Also, it's a complete pain in the @** to remove the paraffin coating and then cure the cast iron. You're going to smoke up your kitchen and create a long-lasting, acrid burnt smell. No idea why they couldn't just pre-cure it like the skillets you can buy at Williams Sonoma.

It's probably fine for outdoor cooking or possibly on an indoor gas range.

FYI, it's also made in China.

Attention, manufacturers: There is a HUGE market out there for a cast-iron or enamel electric waffle iron that is free of teflon and of a decent size!