Is It Worth It to Invest in Waffle Makers?

If you prefer waffles for breakfast or as a sweet treat sometimes, you might want to consider investing in a waffle maker.

Even while waffle machines are reasonably expensive, they still take up a lot of room in your kitchen and, of course, cost money. Are they, therefore, worthwhile?

Industrial waffle machines and waffle makers with extra luxuries that cost more than $100 aren’t worth the money. Still, if you eat waffles frequently, you might want to consider investing in a $20 to $40 waffle maker.

I’ve discovered that the value of a waffle maker is largely determined by how frequently you consume waffles. If you eat them twice a week or have a large family and routinely cook a batch, the purchase might save you a lot of money.

In any case, I’ve written this post to help you fully comprehend the various factors that may influence your waffle purchasing decision, including the initial cost of purchasing a waffle maker as well as additional details such as how much it costs to run a waffle maker and similar products you could use if you decide that a waffle maker is not right for you and your family.

What Does It Cost To Purchase A Waffle Maker?

Waffle makers are among the most affordable kitchen gadgets, costing between $20 and $40 in most situations.

While a budget waffle maker may do the job, you may be losing out on features like a keep warm mode, designed to make waffles and keep them warm until the cooking process is through.

This allows you to finish the rest of your breakfast before returning to the waffles when it’s time to serve.

There are, of course, high-end waffle makers with additional features, which are typically designed for industrial use (hotel breakfasts, etc.). These are expensive, ranging from $100 to $200, and unnecessary for regular home use.

If you decide to acquire a waffle maker, you shouldn’t expect to pay much more.

How Much Would a Waffle Maker Cost to Operate?

By no means is a waffle maker a piece of power-hungry equipment. When you consider how infrequently a waffle maker is used to, say, a boiler, you can see why the real-world cost is so cheap.

The average waffle maker will cost about twelve hundredths of a cent per minute to operate.

This adds up to $0.07 each hour or $0.56 per day if run continuously. Of course, this isn’t the cost of a waffle maker in the real world.

In actual life, a waffle maker will likely run for 30 to 40 minutes before turning off for a week or more. We don’t use our waffle maker more than once a month in our house. This indicates that the cost in the real world is virtually nil.

Alternatives to Using a Waffle Iron:

Aside from using a traditional waffle iron, there are two basic methods for making waffles.

The first method involves using a grill or grill pan. This kitchen gadget is unexpectedly great for making waffles due to the thickness of the pan and the griddle lines on its surface.

Prepare a batch of your favourite waffle batter and place parts onto your preheated baking surface. The grill or grill pan lines will allow you to form rough square shapes, resulting in a rough waffle that will be ideal once drenched in maple syrup.

You might also try using a silicone waffle form, which will allow you to cook waffles in the oven.

You’ll get evenly cooked, crispy waffles this way, and you can even make huge batches at once!

Other benefit of this method is that once the batter has been poured into the moulds and placed in the oven, it can be removed, you can remove them, you may move on to something else that requires your attention in the meanwhile, such as preparing a pot of coffee or finishing the rest of the breakfast.

Waffle Maker Advantages:

There are numerous advantages to acquiring a waffle maker; here are a few of my favourites:

You can consume meals where you know exactly what’s in them if you use a waffle maker. With so many waffle iron-centric recipes available online these days, You can fry almost anything in a waffle iron until it becomes crispy, and you’ll always know what’s in your food.

Waffle makers don’t create nearly the same mess as other kitchen appliances. The cleanup is quick and simple for the great majority of waffle makers: Place the waffle iron plates in the dishwasher after removing them from the machine. It’s much easier to do this than to wrestle a big waffle iron into the sink.

The majority of waffle machines come with a non-stick coating. This implies you won’t need almost as much fat to keep your meal from sticking to the waffle machine as you would normally. Waffle makers have this advantage since nothing is much worse than greasy food, especially greasy waffles!

Cons of Using a Waffle Maker:

There is only one real flaw with a waffle maker, which is most noticeable in a stovetop maker. Cleaning those gadgets can be a big pain!

You risk scorching some of the batters on the iron if you hold your waffle too close to the heat source for too long. Cleaning up this mess is a hassle, and it may take several rounds of soaking and scrubbing before the burned-on waffle comes off.

This is especially apparent when using this waffle iron in an environment where no other waffle maker would work: the wide outdoors.

Waffle irons are great for cooking over a campfire because they help distribute the heat evenly across the surface of the batteries inside your maker.

For example, let’s imagine you burn some of the batters on your iron. Your iron will have to be washed with the rest of the dishes at that point.

You might be able to clean your iron more easily if you’re camping on a campsite with kitchen facilities. If you don’t have that luxury, you might find yourself washing your dishes in a local creek.

If this is the case, scraping the burned-on batter from the iron may be tough, especially if the stream water is cold and you didn’t bring steel wool or a hard scraper with you.

Is Investing in a Waffle Maker Worth It?

Overall, a waffle maker is a good investment. They can yield some great food if you’re willing to go headfirst into the maintenance side.

Waffles are one of the tastiest breakfast meals available, especially when topped with your favourite ingredients. It’s quite luxurious to have the luxury of being able to create those waffles whenever you want them.

As a family member who owns a waffle iron, I can attest that, while we don’t use it very frequently, it is appreciated when we do! It’s a lifesaver on those special Sunday mornings when we want to be swimming in maple syrup at the dining table.