The sugary over-sized fruity delight now known as the Belgian Waffle came from very humble beginnings. The invention of commercial waffle makers was most likely the workings of a bored blacksmith, looking for something new to do one day when business was slow in the horseshoeing and anvil creating market. No one is exactly sure when the waffle we know and love today was actually created.
For thousands of years, nomadic peoples and those who worked the land had various versions of travel foods based on the grains and cereals they cooked over fires. A soupy cereal mess was not advantageous for taking on the road, but making a thicker gruel and tossing it over some stones produced a type of cake that could be eaten on the run. This was greatly valued by hunting types as it just is not practical to eat cereal when pursuing or being pursued by large furry mammals.
It is believed that the first commercial waffle makers appear somewhere around the 13th century when blacksmithing really took off and waffle irons began to appear. The cross hatched patterns are thought to have originated from drawings of beehives. Waffles began to be popular as street food. The early churches cashed in on their popularity around feast times as vendors were required to pay a fee to sell their wares outside of church doors after services.
There are as many types of commercial waffle makers as there are types of waffles in Belgium. As with many national foods, different regions of the country have different recipes, ingredients and even waffle thicknesses. The two most well-known are the thick waffles known as Liege’s and the thinner variety called Brussels’.
In the U.S., the waffles referred to as Belgian are more like the Brussels’ than the Liege’s, though Brussels’ are rectangular at home, but Belgian tends to be circular in America. Waffle makers have adapted to the U.S. preference for round and they have become a huge hit at fairs and other outdoor events.