FROM BELGIUM TO BREAKFAST: THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF WAFFLES AND MY FAVORITE BUTTERMILK WAFFLE RECIPE

The funny thing about travel is that sometimes the smallest discoveries stay with you longer than the grand monuments.

Aboard Scenic Pearl, one of Scenic River Cruises most dazzling itineraries, I spent several wonderful days sailing through Holland and Belgium, exploring places that have drawn travelers for centuries. Scenic takes its food seriously. The ship offers five separate dining venues, and the line’s famously all-inclusive philosophy extends to just about everything imaginable. If you happen to forget your toothbrush, they’ll happily provide one. I know this because I forgot mine.

With cuisine playing such an important role onboard, it’s perhaps not surprising that I found myself paying close attention to what was appearing on my plate and in the bakery windows ashore. There were Amsterdam’s famous canals, the immaculate streets of Delft, and enough masterpieces, historic buildings, and charming cafés to fill a dozen guidebooks. Yet somehow it was another local treasure that kept catching my attention.

Waffles.

They seemed to be everywhere. 

In Delft they appeared in bakery windows alongside pastries so perfectly arranged they looked like works of art. Across the border in Belgium they turned up dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with chocolate, crowned with fruit, and even packed into decorative tins sold as souvenirs. By the end of the journey I had encountered more waffles than windmills, and that is saying something in this corner of Europe.

The Waffle Begins In The Church

The word “waffle” first appeared in English around 1725, derived from the Flemish word wafle, yet the food itself dates back to the ninth and tenth centuries when the first communion wafer irons were invented.  Known as fer à hosties or hostiezers, these irons were generally round and often depicted scenes from the life of Christ, including the Crucifixion. Early wafers, called oublies, were made simply from flour and water. Following the Crusades, ingredients such as honey and orange blossom water began appearing in recipes,

For centuries after, waffles grew and grew in popularity.

When Sugar Changed Everything

For centuries waffles remained something of a luxury because sugar itself was expensive. The most desirable recipes often relied on generous amounts of sweetener that ordinary households could seldom afford. Then Caribbean sugar became more widely available throughout Europe, prices dropped dramatically, and waffles exploded in popularity.

Dutch, Belgian, French, and German versions spread rapidly across the continent before eventually crossing the Atlantic. Long before New York became New York, the Dutch had already introduced waffles to New Amsterdam, and by 1744 Americans were gathering for so-called “wafel frolics” in New Jersey, social events built around making and eating waffles. It may have been one of the earliest examples of a themed dinner party.

The arrival of electric waffle irons in the twentieth century transformed waffles yet again, moving them from special occasions to everyday breakfasts. Even so, most of us still save them for mornings when we want breakfast to feel a little more celebratory than usual.

This recipe does exactly what a great waffle should. The buttermilk contributes a gentle tang, the whipped egg whites create a wonderfully light texture, and the finished waffles emerge crisp on the outside and tender within. Top them with fresh blueberries, real maple syrup—preferably Canadian—and perhaps a little butter if you are feeling indulgent. I generally am. The accompanying bacon may cancel any health claims associated with the blueberries, but some breakfasts are simply too important to worry about such things.

Here’s today’s recipe. For a Gluten-Free version, go to: https://chewingthefat.us.com/2019/05/a-new-flour-brings-great-taste-back-to-gluten-free-baking-and-our-buttermilk-waffles-proved-it.html