Today I’m going to waffle, waffle it! Among gourmands, the Belgian waffles are like a breath of fresh air. Light and fluffy on the inside, crispy and delicious on the outside, these waffles are a great invention that should be celebrated every single day.
The good news is that even if Belgians don’t eat waffles for breakfast every morning, they do serve them to the tourists who want to try out a bit of the Belgium lifestyle. But even if the myth of the Belgians who wake up with a waffle in their mouth is not 100% true, the tastiness of these treats certainly is. But more on that and many other unknown and fun facts about Belgian waffles in the following list.
What You Didn’t Know About Belgian Waffles
1. People celebrate 2 National Waffle Days : one is on August 24th and it is meant to celebrate the first patented waffle iron. The second is on March 25th and it has its origin in Sweden.
2. In 1953, the Eggo Waffles were introduced in the freezer sections of supermarkets.
3. The waffles were brought to America by the pilgrims. They probably thought that leaving their city life was harsh enough. Doing it without some comfort food would have been catastrophic.
4. The first waffle recipe appeared in the 14th century in a manuscript called Le Ménagier de Paris. Apparently this was written by a husband who wanted his wife to have the best instructions in terms of cooking tasty waffles.
5. There are multiple types of waffles that have been adapted according to the region and the ingredients available there. The most popular ones are : American, Belgian, Scandinavian, Liège, Hong Kong, and Dutch stroopwafels.
6. Don’t imagine that a Belgian guy woke up one morning and decided to cook some waffles. The original waffles come from the Middle Ages when they were cooked using two metal plates with wooden handles. Primitive, but clever (I think it was the sugar rush that made them inventive).
7. Another version states that Maurice Wemersch was the one who gave the famous dessert the name of Belgian waffles. At the World’s Fair in New York in 1964 he sold his wife’s waffles under the name of Belgian Waffles because he thought that people didn’t know where Brussels was.
8. Some voices say that the word ‘waffle’ comes from Dutch and it means ‘wafer.’
9. We think that there isn’t such thing as waffles that are too big, but Stichting Gouda Oogst in the Netherlands proves that we are wrong. In June 2013 they created the biggest waffle weighting 110 lb and 3.68 oz.
10. The record for most waffles eaten in 10 minutes is held by Patrick Bertoletti: 29 waffles. And he didn’t just eat them in the privacy of his home and then called Guinness Book to tell them all about it. This happened at the World Waffle Eating Championship. Yes folks; there is a waffle eating championship.
11. The dedication for waffles can be proven also through songs. Parry Gripp loves waffles so much that he created a song called ‘Do You Like Waffles?’
It’s great to have a coffee machine like Nespresso at home as Waffles are best enjoyed with a cup of espresso.
Now do you feel you know these little demons better? Do you think it’s time to know their recipe? You’re right!
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How to prepare it?
In a large bowl toss the flour and the yeast that has been previously mixed with 250 ml of lukewarm water. Then add the brown sugar, vanilla extract, powdered milk and the rest of the water. Mix everything well and let the batter rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, don’t waste your time. Don’t you want to taste these little pieces of heaven faster? Start melting the butter and then mix this with the batter. You’re almost done. You just have to beat the egg whites until they have those stiff peaks and add them into the batter, mixing carefully.
The last step: heat a waffle iron and spread the batter there. Close and let it bake until it is done. You can serve the Belgian waffles according to your taste: icing sugar, whipped cream, Nutella, vodka syrup, etc. Bon appetite!
These waffles go great after eating some Chicken Cacciatore. Don’t miss our recipe!
Dana