Sometimes, old school is just better. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

KAdams4458 · #1 12-02-2007, 04:36 AM

The wife and I just retired our newish Krups waffle maker. It just couldn't hold a candle to our new-to-us, vintage GE waffle iron and sandwich grill. It's certainly not the first time in my life that I've discovered something which is getting on in years can still whoop up on newer, flashier versions when it comes down to function and longevity.

Sure is shiny. The chrome plate on modern stuff doesn't tend to have such deep reflective properties. It took a lot of Bar Keeper's Friend and three hours to clean the decades of grime off of it, though.

Well, it's not a non-stick surface, but it sure is tough as nails. I had to soak the plates in Simple Green for a while to loosen all of the carbon enough to scrub it off with a toothbrush.

Ah, the plates flip over to reveal a smooth surface that's perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches! George Foreman is an imitator, folks, not an innovator.

But that's not all! It also lays out flat to provide two horizontal cooking surfaces, and both plates have spouts to direct liquid run-off away from the food.

This sucker takes only two minutes to reach its highest temperature setting, as opposed to the Krups, which took about six. A waffle is ready to serve about a minute after the batter is poured with this old GE. The Krups took about 6 minutes to cook two waffles half the size, and a three or four minute wait while it ramped back up to a high enough temp for the next two waffles. The old GE is ready to have batter poured back in as soon you have pulled out the previously cooked waffles.

It's amazing to me that people today would rather buy cheap crap every few years instead of buying something good one time and using it as long as it still functions. What, on a whole, are we thinking?

LaRondo · #2 12-02-2007, 06:16 AM

How much power does this GE 'power sucker' run through the waffle-making process?

Not that I am too picky when it comes to classic home appliances and sure enough, I wish I would have never bought that George Foreman joke of a grill ... It quit on me after not even 3 months. Well, they replaced it under warranty, but by then, my appetite was already down the drain.

The replacement G. Foreman is still unpacked in its box...

KAdams4458 · #3 12-02-2007, 07:22 AM

1200 watts. Guess if it gets cold enough this winter, it can double as a space heater. Between the waffle iron and my console radio/phonograph full of vacuum tubes, I'll be able to stay nice and toasty.

LaRondo · #4 12-02-2007, 07:46 AM

I don't think 1200 watts is too bad. It's about the power usage of an average toaster.

I used to have a nice circular electro grill. Ceramic body with stainless insert and a circular heating rod. I bought it at a yardsale for $5, unused in the box. The glass lid of my large frying pan would fit exactly on top of the grill. Steak, Beef and Chicken came out with a nice smoke flavor. The best were grilled mushrooms ...

Well, I don't have it anymore. I voluntarily handed it to my ex.
One of those seemingly insignificant things.

The $100 George Foreman won't match it in a lifetime.

Gurkha · #5 12-02-2007, 08:31 AM

For waffles, I use old fashioned cast iron waffle maker from Wagner, comes out good, something about cast iron that gives a unique taste over non stick, I have no non stick cookware in my kitchen except few Scanpans which don't use PTFE.

G-Benz · #6 12-02-2007, 09:20 AM

Any of you guys heard of "Eggos"??!

Sorry for the jab (lol), I wish I had casual time at home for such fanciful stuff...

Gurkha · #7 12-02-2007, 09:27 AM

Eggos won't go with Grade A Dark Amber Maple, good for Aunt Jemima colored sugar syrup though. I make time for good stuff.

t walgamuth · #8 12-02-2007, 09:31 AM

I like that iron. I usually run two here when the kids come in for breakfast.

One would be sweet!

Tom W

KAdams4458 · #9 12-02-2007, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gurkha

For waffles, I use old fashioned cast iron waffle maker from Wagner, comes out good, something about cast iron that gives a unique taste over non stick, I have no non stick cookware in my kitchen except few Scanpans which don't use PTFE.

I made the wife do away with the Teflon cookware she had. We cook almost everything in either my 80-year-old 9" Wagner cast skillet, or one of the pieces from the Le Creuset set we picked up recently. That old Wagner is a workhorse. I keep my eye out for the good pre-60's Wagner and Griswold stuff at secondhand stores. Another of those things they just don't make like they used to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by G-Benz

Any of you guys heard of "Eggos"??!

Sorry for the jab (lol), I wish I had casual time at home for such fanciful stuff...

Those frozen waffles really taste and feel nothing like waffles should. We make waffle batter from scratch, right down to whipping the egg whites to soft peaks, and then folding them in to the mix. We like to eat well, and most convenience food is pure crap.

A little trick I learned at some point is that you can make your own "frozen" waffles. Just cook them enough to be set, but not golden brown, then slap them in bags and toss them in the freezer for later. A round through the toaster at a later date thaws them, and finishes cooking them. Making a batch of them up when there's time to spare and freezing them makes it possible to have good waffles on a tight time schedule. Did I mention it costs a lot less than icky store-bought waffles. too?

Gurkha · #10 12-02-2007, 10:34 AM

Next time try some buttermilk in batter, also try out Grand Marnier in batter. I was extremely lucky to have collected some significant amount of Wagner cookware from a wholesale joint in Staten Island before they went out. Luckily you can still buy lots of cast iron utensils in India, most of them hand made old fashioned way but Teflon is a hip thing here, a rage sadly and cast iron is going out of fashion.

KAdams4458 · #11 12-02-2007, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gurkha

Next time try some buttermilk in batter, also try out Grand Marnier in batter. I was extremely lucky to have collected some significant amount of Wagner cookware from a wholesale joint in Staten Island before they went out. Luckily you can still buy lots of cast iron utensils in India, most of them hand made old fashioned way but Teflon is a hip thing here, a rage sadly and cast iron is going out of fashion.

Grand Marnier in the waffle batter, eh? You don't say? I do believe I may have to try that. Buttermilk, I've experienced, but never Grand Marnier waffles! I'll be sure to discuss this with the wife soon. Thank you for the suggestion!

Gurkha · #12 12-02-2007, 10:53 AM

Pure Vanilla, Grand Mariner, Cointraeu, Southern Comfort Dark all go quite well with waffles and so does Drambuie.

Jim B. · #13 12-02-2007, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gurkha

Pure Vanilla, Grand Mariner, Cointraeu, Southern Comfort Dark all go quite well with waffles and so does Drambuie.

Oh my doG. That sounds wickedly, sinfully, sublimely delicious.

Maybe it is time to give up my breakfasts of toxic shock coffee and cold pop tarts

davestlouis · #14 12-02-2007, 09:22 PM

I'm not a waffle connoisseur, but I agree that older appliances are amazing. My parents got married in 1965, got several irons for wedding gifts, which they stored in the basement. I believe they are using the 3rd iron, 40+ years later. My mom had the same Hoover upright vacuum the whole time I was a kid, I buy $100 Hoovers and Bissells at least once a year when they crap out. My grandmother bought a fridge in 1947 that she used until she died in 2002, my 4 year old Frigidaire is falling apart.

Gurkha · #15 12-02-2007, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim B.

Oh my doG. That sounds wickedly, sinfully, sublimely delicious.

Maybe it is time to give up my breakfasts of toxic shock coffee and cold pop tarts

It is, try it for Sunday breakfast with some sauce made out of the same liquor you have used for the batter, breakfast won't be the same again, I promise that.