Presto 03510 Ceramic FlipSide Belgian Waffle Maker, Nonstick, Cool Touch Handles, Black

Harv United States

Flipped over Flipside Belgian Waffle Baker

I decided to purchase this waffle baker after reviewing many others and reading the pros and cons of this one as compared to the many other choices available. In addition, I decided to visit a local housewares department of a nearby retail store to visually compare the design and quality of the many machines on the market. This Presto Waffle Baker, in my opinion, is far and above superior to anything else on the market at a comparable price. One could pend many hundreds of dollars on a waffle baker but I was looking the best quality that money could buy. Overall, the positive reviews on this waffle baker overwhelm other machines. The disadvantages that some have mentioned, such as the battery powered timer are not considered by me to be a last minute add on by Presto's engineers or an enery wasting, battery consuming device. This timer is there to simply serve as a reminder and to help as an aid in turning out a quality waffle. Timers can be misleading in any cooking product, including microwaves, where they automatically turn off the power. As anyone who has used a cooking device with an automatic timer knows, the food is usually over or under done. the timer on this machine is merely meant as a guide. Waffles will cook differently depending on the ingredients used in the batter and even weather conditions. I find the timer useful because it reminds me that a waffle is cooking in case I get busy with something else. Also, the battery consumption of this timer is insignificant. I have not owned the waffle baker long enough to know how long the battery will last but I suspect it will be many months and would most likely compare to a quartz clock you probably have somewhere else in your home. As far as the quality of this machine goes, it is well built and has no obviously cheap parts that would appear to weaken over time as compared to some of the competitive waffle bakers. Now for the quality of the waffle: I have tried the recipe that comes with the unit, a couple of my own cookbook recipes, and a few taken from varied internet sites. I have tried pre-mixed, boxed mixes that require adding only some water, milk, or and egg and I have made my own batters from scratch..No matter what I do, all my waffles come out nearly perfect, with crispy outside edges and uniform pockets that are nicely browned. The interior of the waffles are almost always fluffy and full of flavor. I have found the timer useful because it helps me to adjust my cooking times. I must admit, that at first, I over cookeing the waffles because I was cooking them for more than 4 minutes.. I was doing this because all the books and recipes I read said to wait until steaming stops before opening the waffle baker. Well, I found by doing this, I was watching too closely and try to observe every bit of a lack of steam. This caused over-baking..Overall, I have found that 3 minutes and 45 seconds but no longer than 4 minutes has produced the best waffle for me. Yours could be a little longer or shorter but I would advise to not only watch for steam but use the timer, at least until you become familiar with the machine. After a while you will be able to pretty much cook a perfect waffle without a timer. One or two bits of advise: DO NOT use any kind of spray on this non stick surface. These sprays will build up a sticky residue that is almost impossible to remove. Instead, make sure you inlude the proper amount of oil in your recipe and also lightly oil the grids before pouring in the batter. I purchased an inexpensive oil sprayer that pumps and allows you to spray the oil. It is refillable and was available at a local home appliance center. Amazon may also sell a similar product but I have not checked. One more thing: I have found that approximatley 1 cup of batter is the proper amount of batter. Be sure to cover the grids but don't overfill or you will have waffle batter oozing out all over the place. One final note: This unit is light weight and is easy to store, either in or under a cabinet due to its vertical storage capability. Keep in mind that it takes about 10 minutes to come to cooking temperature so I recommend plugging in the unit and while it is heating you can compile your recipe. An indicator light will go out, telling you the unit is ready to cook. Cleaning is easy if you merlely wipe the grids with a damp paper towel, while the unit is still warm but not hot. It takes about 5 minutes to fold a damp paper towel and wipe vertically and horizontilly between all the grids. By doing this while the unit is still warm, you will be removing most oil residue and left over batter. Very easy!! Definetely a worthwile purchase and an excellent value at Amazon. No disappointments here

Dan in Upper Midwest United States

Like this unit after many other waffle irons in our "waffle iron test kitchen"

We bought this to replace a Kitche***d KPWB1000 that died after about 2 1/2 years. We are very pleased with this iron after about a month of use. My only complaint would be possibly for a better built-in timer, but that actually may be advantageous (read on as to why). We are a waffle iron test kitchen. We have four children and the oldest just went off to college this fall. Since the first was young, we have been making quick breads (pancakes, waffles) for breakfast. When we bored of pancakes about 14 years ago, our family started making waffles. Since then we have worn out (or should I say killled?) about a half dozen or more waffle makes. We make 8-egg batches most times; we are down to once or so a week, but it used to be about twice weekly. We freeze the extras and then take them out of the freezer for the next days' breakfasts. One child likes waffles enough still to request 'em on his birthday for supper. I share this to say that we have a LOT of experience in waffle makers. We started with a cheap unit and kept moving up, hoping for increased reliability and features. We went to the more expensive flip-style. One brand would wear out at the hinge as it was never designed to last with its plastic hinge (War**g 600?). So, finally we popped for the double waffle maker(sub $200 price). The first went back under warranty when it died suddenly after about 11 months. Kitchen**d replaced it and asked that we ship back the defective iron according to the warranty conditions. That second,replacement iron broke in early Dec. of last year (2014). It would occasionally flip the GFI in our house. This is not that unusual in theory, but because the first one died just after doing that, it gave me pause. I think the steam/water gets down in the electronics of the unit and fries the electronic controls (hence if no fancy controls and timers, maybe greater reliability?). I could not find parts for the expensive iron available anywhere. The other thing about the DEEP Belgian style waffle maker is that the waffles stuck often. This Presto does not so far. Use a wood chopstick or skewer to get the waffle out, so as to not damage the non-stick surfaces. SO, our journey taught me a lot about waffle irons. I bought this one based on other reviews. but also to go back to a simple, but hopefully useful yet reliable iron. So far it has proven so. This one is very convenient in that it stores vertically, taking up half the space (or maybe 1/3 of the old big double iron, or a wide, flat single waffle iron). I like that this iron still flips, as this gives the cook a more consistently full waffle. Unlike the deep Belgian Kitchen**d, this iron has not stuck yet, as the recesses are not as deep. I follow the manufacturer's instructions to oil before each use. This struck me as odd, but I followed it; other nonstick waffle irons have said DO NOT oil. I do oil this one liberally at the start of each batch but NOT between waffles, using oil and a brush. This iron takes about 4 minutes for a waffle, plus or minus. This is a little bit faster than the old dual model's cycle time, which took about 4 1/2 or 5 1/2 minutes, but that iron also gave two waffles. (We would lengthen the time in the old iron to attempt to get it to stick less if it was sticking, hence the 5 1/2 minutes sometimes.) I may buy a second Presto to get the speed back to a dual iron. I could easily store two of these vertically in the space of the big, ol' Kitchen**d. We use a 33% old fashioned oats and 67% flour recipe, so that may make the iron take longer. This 4 minute time gives a good, crispy, well-browned waffle. I am still getting in the habit of setting a kitchen timer; I have not used the battery powered built-in timer yet. The tip of watching the steam also helps when I forget to set the timer. The reason I say that the use of an external timer may be useful is the electronics of this iron are very uncomplicated, compared to the old Kitchen**d. I hope the Presto's simplicity will do well on our reliability test in our waffle test kitchen! Enjoy this useful unit.

Robert H United States

Very good as a one job product-waffles!

I believe as a dedicated (Belgian) waffle maker it is outstanding. Time and quantity per serving may not suit everyone if time is always short and many mouths to feed that are impatient, but please read on. The ACTUAL time per waffle (not including your mix prep), is 3+ min to warm machine is quick, & then 4-5 min Per Waffle, (+/- seconds you apply to preference, like crispier...) & by how many you need to make-do the math! A full 1-cup (max) of waffle batter cooked is actually much larger than a frozen square you toast (probably 3 of them) and breaking one into the four sections that are created by design will certainly get any 4 kids started until you produce another in 4-5 minutes. While cooking, you fill your measure at the ready, when-beep/open/remove/plate/pour a new one & set timer/flip/serve 4 pc/& repeat. Process goes that quick and really not that much more time IMO. By then, maybe they want another piece or just a couple bites, you know how kids eat! Again, this size of waffle halved as two servings for adults may be enough for most, so waiting for more may not be that big a deal. I am a larger eater and I could barely finish one whole myself if that helps. Add toppings like whip cream and fruit and 1/4 servings to most will suffice. (Yum...Try the batter from GOLDEN MALTED.com The same as the good hotels use, and fast prep! ) The unit is made well, and function was easy. You can pour left or right side position, does not affect operation. Be sure to leave room for the flipping while in use on your counter or u may have a batter mess. If your batter is to runny, wait to flip 45sec. for it to crust helps. You could leave it and not flip it and yes it will still cook, though the finished product will have a different appearance as the batter will not be as airy. You do NOT need to spray oil or wipe oil on the ceramic grids for ANY waffle, they work that good, plus you have oil or butter in your mix (right?), and this is why it’s so much faster to make the next one! Once hot, no need to worry about the red light, just the timer. The handle works as designed, though it looks...???, stays cool at the grab portion, just don’t grab it next to the metal which does get hot, and when you do flip be sure to grab both sides of that handle and use one continuous motion and you never see a mess ever! 1-cup max no mess ! How great is that. Occasional wipe of grid (COLD), and done! [ TIP: Warm up serving plates in microwave for 30-sec+ when the waffle timer 1-min beep is herd, then plate when done. You will have less moisture forming from a cold plate leaving a warm & crisp to last bite treat instead of cold and soggy finish! ] Speaking of heat, on the very first heating, do it outside if you can so the burn off smell stays outside. I let mine heat for 5 min then left it to cool. I then reheated and tested the heat balance of both grids (you don’t have to do this) and they were only 5° different which is well balanced. Heat was peaked at 420° then cycled to 340° and repeated. Plug it in for ON! Unplug it for OFF! It will take an hour to cool down in the closed position, so be patient, and yes the metal will be hot so don’t touch it their! Storage after the cool down is in a space saving upright position with the attached & provided red flip up clip, and the cord can then wrap around the base area. I used the tie that came with it to keep it tied in place. Note: Instructions say pour batter, set timer, close and flip. I prefer, close, set timer, then flip. A few extra seconds with the lid closed sets up the batter for a flawless flip IMO, and if you forget to flip immediately, just flip when you remember which does not affect timer. Don’t open it for first 2-3min. to check on it or batter will not form a perfect solid waffle. I will update later on the longevity to see how it performs over time. Some have reported that theirs have failed early. Now I want a waffle from all this explaining, “Bon Appetit” RH

D. Burke United States

Excellent Product

To help balance some of the negative reviews,(do people read instructions before they use appliances, I wonder?) I'll add my 2 cents. I made my first waffles (with this product) last night using Stonewall Farms Pancake and Waffle Mix. I doubled the recipe on the canister and got 3 perfectly browned, crispy, fluffy, delicious waffles. I used exactly 1 cup on the first 2 and a little shy on the 3rd. All 3 came out perfect. As to the timer: it's handy. I, of course, have other timers in my kitchen, but it was convenient to (following the instructions) pour in the batter, set the timer, then flip the waffle. Just that small amount of time before flipping may make a difference, if not--oh, well. It's just a count-down timer. It does beep when the set amount of time is reached (four times, I think.) The thing is, when making waffles, you don't really go by the amount of time, you watch for the steaming to stop. What is convenient about the timer is, not only that it is conveniently right in front of you when you're pouring and flipping, but when it beeps it brings your attention back to the waffle maker in time for you to watch the steam. I thought it was kind of a nice little extra. I've never before seen a waffle maker with a timer. If you don't like it, don't use it. It has no affect on the on/off function--good thing because cooking time is going to vary according to several factors including what batter you are using. This was the easiest waffle making experience I've ever had. I was very impressed. Really easy clean-up, too. You just wipe it out--if there is any thing to wipe out. The instructions tell you that if there is a little bit of cooked batter stuck somewhere, you just put a little cooking oil on it to soften it, then wipe it off. I didn't get to experiment with this. Nothing stuck. The waffles came out perfectly. I did, as instructed, brush the grids with cooking oil after it had first pre-heated. It is recommended, for even browning, to use oil rather than spray. I did not need to re-apply it and won't unless waffles begin to stick. I'm usually kind of compulsive about hot soap and water, but in the case of the waffle iron, as long as there is no material in the grids, any germs will be killed during the initial heating up process. With this kind of simplicity and success, we will be having waffles much more frequently than ever before. If you have any of the problems I have read described here, and if you have read and followed the instructions, you must have a faulty product and should return it for a replacement. If mine develops problems or dies early, I will update my review. Until then, I highly recommend this product. I couldn't be more satisfied.