Every Day Is Special: August 24 – National Waffle (Iron?) Day

August 24 – National Waffle (Iron?) Day

Posted on August 24, 2020

On this date in 1869, an American man named Cornelius Swarthout received a patent for his invention: a device with which to bake waffles.

Now, remember, waffles of some sort go waaaaay back. Ancient Greeks used to cook batter between two hot metal plates, and during the Middle Ages the metal plates often had designs such as religious symbols or family crests that were pressed into the cooked wafer. At this time, cooks began to make yummier batter, including spices and sweeteners and leavening and cream.

Waffle irons started to have designs ranging from simple (above)
to complex and gorgeous (below).

In the 1400s, Dutch wafelers (folks who made wafers/ wafels) started making rectangular waffle irons that were deeper, so the wafels were thicker and fluffier, and that had grid patterns. Probably no particular reason for the grid pattern, but it caught on. People preferred it to plain (flat) wafel irons or wafel irons with decorative pictures or crests. I think I know why: If you put any topping on a deeply gridded waffle, including just butter or syrup, the little squares hold that topping rather than let it all run off onto the plate!

In the 1700s, in the English language, another "f" was added to the food name, and we finally have "waffles" - complete with yummy batter and deep grid patterns!

So...if all of that had developed long ago, what was it that Swarthout invented in 1869?

Swarthout's waffle iron was a stovetop version made of cast iron. It had a hinged top and a handle (later, a wooden handle).

Just a couple of decades later, the first commercial pancake mix was produced - and the easy-to-use waffle iron plus one-step pancake mix made waffles a popular part of American breakfasts.

And that is why today is National Waffle Day and also (in other listings) National Waffle Iron Day.

(By the way, the first electric waffle iron was introduced about half a century later, in 1918, and almost a half century after that, in 1953, Eggo introduced frozen waffles.)

Enjoy waffles all day long!