We were gifted a modern waffle maker as a wedding present. It worked well for four years before it conked out, which was very nice. But, it did not stand up to anywhere near the amount of time or use that my Mom's vintage waffle makers have.
The Fostoria waffle maker is the only one with a fabric covered cord
I was excited when I recently acquired three vintage waffle makers. There is a thrift store in our area that has turned out to be a good place to look for vintage waffle makers.
My family is not big enough to require three waffle makers to feed everyone. And, I have no intention of starting a vintage waffle maker collection. (The more I learn about these old appliances, though, the more I am tempted.....)
I made a plan to try them all out and keep the one that I liked the best.
As I expected, the first couple batches stuck badly to the waffle griddles. What a pain!
The oldest waffle maker that I tested was the Fostoria by McGraw Electric Co.
I fell into a deep internet rabbit hole reading all I could about the McGraw Electric Company. The long and short of it is, that a fascinating gentleman, Max McGraw, started his electric company in 1900 when he was only 17. He had good business sense. He was able to expanded his company in many directions. In 1948 he bought the Fostoria brand. The waffle maker I have was manufactured between 1953 and 1957.
The waffle griddles are made from cast aluminum. They are not coated with any non-stick finishes. The griddles become seasoned with use and end up behaving like a they have a non-stick surface. Just like cast iron does once it has been seasoned.
The Fostoria waffle maker is not temperature regulated. It does have a temperature indicator. To keep it at the right temperature for baking waffles you have to manually regulate the temperature by unplugging the appliance when it starts to get too hot and plugging it back in when it starts to get cool. I didn't have any trouble keeping it at the right temperature.
Further reading:
The newest waffle maker I tested was a General Electric model A2G48T. I don't know when it was made. One indicator of it being a newer appliance is the heating elements. They are not the coiled spring heating elements of earlier times.
The A2G48T made the regular style waffles with small dimples and not the larger hole Belgium style waffles.
This waffle maker has a very shiny chrome finish.
I saved the best for last........
This Sunbeam no. WB-K is the winner in my kitchen!
The waffles are rectangular. They come out nice and crispy on the edges. They have American style dimples. The waffle maker is hefty and well built. It heats up quickly and the temperature is self regulated.
It looked brand new when I bought it. I hope it lasts for many, many years. I believe this waffle maker was built at a time when durability was one of the main objectives.
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The griddles are reversible and the waffle maker can be converted into a smooth griddle for cooking eggs or pancakes.
As near as I can tell the Sunbeam WB-K was made in the 1960's.
If you are in need of a waffle maker, I advise looking for a vintage Waffle Maker. You may be able to find one at a thrift store, flea market, or estate sale. Online sites like eBay and Etsy have several listings for vintage Waffle Makers. These old waffle makers stand up to a lot of use. Consider that you will probably get your money's worth when you buy an older appliance like these.
Do you like vintage waffle makers?
Are you a fan of Belgium style dimples or American style dimples in your waffles?
Tell me any waffle stories that you have, in the comment section. I'd love to read them!
3 comments:
This was such an interesting post to read about the waffle makers! I honestly never knew there was such a thing as "Belgium style dimples" or "American style dimples" in waffles before, lol. I learned something new! :) These vintage waffle makers definitely do sound nice compared to the new ones. I will have to be on the lookout for one myself now. :) Do you notice a difference in being able to get a crispier waffle with these versus the modern waffle makers, or are they the same? I don't care very much for spongy waffles without the crisp outside.
Thank you for the comment, Sunshine Country!
I am glad you found this post interesting. :)
I have noticed that the older waffle makers turn out crispier waffles. I am not sure why this is, but it is nice. I don't think anyone wants spongy waffles. Lol :)
I was craving waffles and decided to go to the thrift shop and get a waffle maker. I ended up finding the same GE waffle maker you have. (I love older made in America appliances even though I am younger in my late 20s now)The first three batches were horrible and stuck really bad I almost threw the waffle maker in the trash. But then I learned waffles were hundreds of years old and people used to make them on iron waffle makers over the fire. I watched a video on YouTube how a person uses a stick of butter to rub across all the surface area of the iron. And Viola perfect waffles everytime! Now my maker has a good seasoning on it and it never sticks.
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