International Waffle Day

Parkerman & Christie from San Diego, USA / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

March 25th is International Waffle Day.

Waffles are a dish made from unleavened dough cooked between two platers that bear a distinctive pattern that gives the waffle its characteristic appearance. Waffles, in one form or another, are a very old dish; the Ancient Greeks cooked a type of flat cake between two metal plates. The first true waffle recipe dates back to the 14th century and since then many different types of waffle have been made. The modern waffle is recognisable for its hollow pits and it is frequently served as both breakfast and dessert dishes. Variations are used to create types of sandwiches and, although waffles are typically a sweet dish, there are savoury variations, such as the potato waffle.

Waffles are rarely served plain. They are often dusted with sugar or cinnamon, served with ice cream or with maple syrup. They are a traditional accompaniment to fried chicken in the Southern United States.

National Waffle Week

The first week in September in the United States is National Waffle Week.

Waffles, especially when served with syrup of any type but particularly maple syrup, are often considered to be a breakfast item. Depending on the waffle and the other ingredients, they can also be a savoury item.

They can also be eaten for desserts. One example of a dessert that uses waffles is this:

You need to toast a waffle, a cinnamon waffle if you can get it, but otherwise a plain one.

Top the waffle with two scoops of ice cream - vanilla is probably the best to use.

Drizzle syrup over the waffle and ice cream, dust with ground cinnamon and, if you have them, small bits of crunchy toffee.

Eat the dessert quickly before the toasted waffle melts the ice cream.

Even though vanilla ice cream may be the best, you can use other flavours, and you can also use different syrups.

National Waffle Day

August 24th is National Waffle Day in the United States.

Waffles are a cooked using a waffle iron, originally two pieces of metal and these days often built into an electric appliance, which leaves a distinctive pattern on them. Today, this pattern is most usually of squares but, in the past, other, more distinctive patterns have been used, such as religious ones.

This day celebrates the waffles made from batter or dough, rather than the potato waffle which is a savoury dish. As waffles are made from batter or dough, whether or not they are sweet or savoury depends on what they are topped with, like pancakes and crepes, but sweet waffles are the most common.

Waffles are eaten in many different countries, with many variations of toppings and recipes even within the individual countries. They can be eaten plain, possibly sprinkled with sugar, or topped with such things as fruit and syrup. Really, there is no limit to what a waffle can be topped with - they are a very versatile dish - so use anything you like; jams, butter, spreads, fruit, syrup, chocolate or a combination of any of them. American waffles are usually made using leavened batter and, although they are a popular breakfast dish, they are also used to accompany savoury foods such as fried chicken.

National Oatmeal Nut Waffle Day

National Oatmeal Nut Waffle Day is on March 11th in the United States.

This is yet another day celebrating a really, really specific type of food. Not merely a waffle, but an oatmeal waffle, and not merely an oatmeal waffle but an oatmeal nut waffle.

Waffles are made from dough that is cooked between two plates, or "waffle irons," which gives them their distinctive appearance. In oatmeal nut waffles, the dough is made as usual, only oats and chopped nuts (of whatever type) are folded into the mixture before it is cooked.

The waffles are then cooked, as usual, and are usually eaten for breakfast, perhaps with a sweet accompaniment, such as maple syrup or fruit. This is a healthier version of the normal waffle recipe. Of course, to keep it healthier, fruit is a far better accompaniment than maple syrup is.