Msfoodiegrl's Blog

(International) Waffle Day is coming! | March 2, 2010

There are definitely some holidays in March worth celebrating. First, there is the National (and real) ‘If Pets Had Thumbs Day.’ though I imagine a soirée of dancing dogs with opposable metacarpals would be odd. Then, there is that pesky St. Patrick’s Day that requires one to pinch and chug to the heart’s content.  But as we are in the food industry, the holiday that elicits the most ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ at our staff meetings is International Waffle Day.

Not to be confused with National Waffle Day, which is in August and celebrates the first patent for an electric waffle iron, International Waffle Day is the result of a linguistic folly. It all begins in Sweden where Swedes living in the country put aside this day–March 25th–to celebrate the beginning of spring and eat frasvafflor or crisp waffles with spring berries.  Eventually, the day was officially named Varfrudagen, meaning “the day of Our Lady” as it coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation in honor of the Virgin Mary. All that feasting can make a person woozy and with a mouthful of frasvafflor, Varfrudagen sounds a lot like Våffeldagen that, translated literally, means “the Waffle Day”.

But the Swedes did not ‘invent’ waffles like they invented flat-pack furniture with funny names. Waffles have been around since the Greeks baked a savory obleios of oats, herbs, cheese, and water between two metal plates over an open hearth. In the 12^th century a crafty obloyeur made an iron cast of a pattern that mimicked that of honeycomb. Soon after, gaufre, from the Old French wafla, meaning “a piece of honeybee hive,” appeared in print for the first time. In the Middle Ages, waffle guilds competed for customers coming and going from church on saint’s days and other celebrations. The commoners were treated to a bland, crunchy unleavened wafer—unlike the fluffy, chewy tidbit enjoyed by high society that consisted of milk, egg, flour and honey. The wafer industry got so heated that King Charles IX had to regulate sales and demand that purveyors maintain a distance of four meters between one another or face a fine.

Once in America, the Dutch settlers popularized the wafel they loved in their native Holland and soon it was Americanized with toppings like maple syrup and molasses, though it was still a somewhat hard, often baking-soda leavened bread. At the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, a baker introduced a light, fluffy, yeast-leavened, rectangular-shaped, large-pocket waffle. The baker, Maurice Vermersch, was from Brussels and markets his waffles under the name “Bel-Gem” Waffles. Charming. And, to this day we continue to appreciate what Mr. Vermersch does for Sunday mornings.

The following is a recipe for genuine Belgium waffles. Beware: The batter must rest for one hour so if you want them fast, you are better off with Bisquik. For a topping, we recommend fresh whipped cream, fruit, real maple syrup, and toasted pecans.

Ingredients

Yields eight servings.

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 3/4 cups warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 egg whites

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of the warm milk and the melted butter. Stir in the yeast mixture, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in the remaining 2 1/2 cups milk alternately with the flour, ending with the flour. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks; fold into the batter. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat the waffle iron. Brush with oil and spoon about 1/2 cup (or as recommended by manufacturer) onto center of iron. Close the lid and bake until it stops steaming and the waffle is golden brown. Serve immediately or keep warm in 200 degree oven.

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