Apparently, there are waffle makers and then there are waffle makers. And I have just met the waffle maker of my dreams. To be honest, I never knew that my old waffle maker had any problems. It was cheap, tiny and made waffles with little complaint. A small light told me they were done and was usually right. It stored easily apart from that pesky cord. Calphalon’s No Peek Waffle Maker blows my old waffle maker out of the water.
First off, in a sleek stainless steel with a high performance non-stick interior, I’m not exaggerating when I say this waffle maker… it’s kind of sexy. If you’ve always imagined the stainless steel sleek kitchen of your gourmet dreams, this waffle maker will fit right in. It’s a bit heavier than your average waffle maker, but sturdy in a way you didn’t realize a waffle maker would be. Everything feels like it was made to perfection. And when they say non-stick? Basically they mean – you will never have to worry about cooking sprays again – it simply doesn’t need them. Trust me – I’ve made sure. Each batch will come out without complaint, no sticks guaranteed.
To use this baby, you’ll want to plug it in, then move the little knob to the heat setting of your preference – so if you like your waffles just perfectly browned, your husband likes them ‘Cajun style’ and your kid doesn’t want to see any brown whatsoever but still wants it cooked? No problem – with their OPTI-HEAT system you can tailor your waffles to your taste. When you turn the knob, you’ll know you are doing it right because the illuminated dial will light up to where you turn it, then it will go back and light to show you how hot the waffle maker currently is. This actually confused my husband at first because of the waffle makers auto off feature (which helps you conserve electricity) he turned the knob backwards for some reason which turned the waffle maker off instead of to medium. It wasn’t until I glanced at it and said, “Honey I think you did it wrong,” that he figured it out. Personally I love this feature and knowing the dial lights up makes it easy to be sure you’ve done it right. Once you’ve lined up that dial, it’s preheating, so you get exactly the right temperature for the perfect waffle. This is where you go mix your batter, wash some dishes, feed the dog – whatever that other thing you could have been doing if you weren’t in charge of watching to see when the waffle maker is warm enough – the waffle maker will make a dinging sound to tell you it’s preheated and sure enough, the light will be back to lined up with your heat setting. It’s time to cook.
I’ve tried both Bisquick standard waffles and the waffle recipe included in the Calphalon manual (the manual also offers some syrup recipes, too!). Each batch will yield two “waffles” but, with Calphalon’s whole wheat flour / all purpose flour / rolled oats blend recipe in particular, one waffle might feed a family of 2-4 people. The waffle maker’s “waffle” is divided into four sections (my old waffle maker only had two sections) creating four extra-large deep pocket Belgian waffles – which means you spend less time cooking and more time eating. And again, once you’ve poured in your batter you can go attend to your other responsibilities – it will ding again when your waffle is done.
* Word of warning * The Bisquick waffle mix is exceptionally runny compared to Calphalon’s recipe – I’m thinking you want to not put in quite as much batter as you would with the Calphalon recipe. Ours ran down out the edges and all over the waffle maker, making quite the mess to catch. While inconvenient, after we’d caught all those drips we still got perfectly cooked waffles and the mess cleaned up very easily. I think we just used too much batter, but my husband has declared that he’s madly in love with Calphalon’s recipe and has demanded them each time since, so I haven’t had a chance to test that theory.
Remember that pain in the butt cord that I mentioned my old waffle maker was aflicted with? Calphalon’s waffle maker is so easy to store – the bottom of the waffle maker has a notched storage space that you can tuck the cord around, essentially making that pain in the butt disappear. The waffle maker will also lock the top of the iron to the bottom, so you can store it on its side without it falling open – giving you two great storage options. We’re storing it in our lazy susan, laying flat, but only because the waffle maker is rather tall on it’s side and we have midget cupboards that offered no other options – not the first time I’ve wished for new cupboards!
The Calphalon No Peek Waffle Maker retails for $99 which is, I’ll admit, very expensive. But in my now ‘spoiled by waffle perfection stuper’ semi-professional opinion, it just might be worth every penny. I’d consider this an excellent gift for the chef or breakfast fanatic who has it all – this will be a fantastic contribution to their Dream Kitchen for sure! For a list of retailers that carry the Calphalon No Peek Waffle Maker you can click here.
About the Momma:
Jen is a Stay at Home Mom and Loving Wife. She spends her time online reading RSS feeds and posting in her blog. If you haven’t heard from her in awhile, she’s likely lost in a good book, sleeping or watching Grey’s Anatomy.
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